New semester

Who would-a thunk it?  In my mid-70s I'm as delighted by a first week of a new semester as I ever was with school or college and I loved both school and college.  Around the country there are many Academies for Lifelong Learning and even more adult education programs. Cites of all sizes have them, some are organized on a semester plan and some otherwise. Some are a bit pricy so they aren't for everyone, others are inexpensive or even free.  Some are fairly academic and some are more arts and crafts.  All encourage lifelong enjoyment of doing new things, keeping the gray matter churning and making new acquaintances and friends. 

I came to Cape Cod four years ago knowing only my immediate family and a few of their friends.  Four months later I discovered the Academy for Lifelong Learning housed at Cape Cod Community College, a 5 to 7 minute drive away.  Its fees are modest, its class offerings quite varied, it is entirely volunteer, including the teachers (known as class coordinators) nearly all of whom have either been teachers at some level or have special skills they enjoy sharing (like wine appreciation or gathering and cooking local seafood).  The class offerings change from semester to semester although some remain much the same for many years.  For instance, I began a course in Monday with one of our most erudite and respected scholars who teachers various Shakespeare plays and yesterday I went to a poetry class which has remained much the same for about ten years. But today I will go to a class never given before about myths and lies in American history.

By now I have met many people and made new friends.  I constantly meet new people.  And I constantly learn new things -- which includes my personal challenge in the writing skills class I teach which is different every semester depending on the people in the class.  I'm back to school this week and loving it.  And I'm eager for Friday to come when I will meet my new class of writer, some returnees, some new to me or to the organization.

To Hell in a Handbasket

Thomas Friedman [I believe] had an editorial page piece yesterday about American students' moral sensibility. He quoted a psychological study that interviewed many students on many campuses asking questions to assess their moral sense. Most asserted that killing as wrong. Otherwise they had very little to say about moral issues, often they said, "I don't really deal with that." They were asked about cheating, lying, stealing, various other matters and were wishy washy about most of them.

Today in the context of American economics and how American can compete with China and India, I raised the question of education. It's been a supposed knee jerk priority and yet I saw a young woman in a fast food restaurant this summer who clearly could not make change from a $5 bill. I have seen community college students who clearly did not understand sentence structure, the need for paragraphing and did not know enough, or care enough, to turn on a spell and grammar check program in order to present a readable paper. If American students don't know enough basic math to make change how can they become a part of a technological workforce? And if they cannot write and don't care about their communication skills enough to use a computer program how can anyone imagine they can succeed in a service industry that require interpersonal skills. And if they have no concept of right or wrong who can trust them in any kind of job?

I am taking a course that will talk about the economic rise of India and China, in a comparative sense, but it will hark back to American economic repeatedly. I get very tired of people who talk about creating jobs for Americans when they have a workforce that is almost subliterate. Whatever is going on in schools it's not basic education; whatever is going on in homes, it seems to have nothing to do with instilling vales and ethics. Oh, I know that's a broad brush generalization ... but so it that supposed panacea for maintaining the beloved "American way of life" which is jobs creation. This is a three-month course, I'm sure I'll return to this subject.

Of kiwi, gulls, firewood and more

I think it's group dynamics, not specifically me and my teaching of the "Writing With the Whole Brain" class which accounts for a day with a lot of topics covered in high spirited and delightful ways. A group of mostly strangers have to become accustomed to one another and to the teacher before they feel comfortable and write short pieces fluidly. The group today had that comfort level [one man, I'm afraid, will never be quite comfortable. He contributes but takes little part in discussions.]

The assignment was to write about anything where you could use sensory description. Subjects ranged greatly from the neurology of sight and recognition to those above subjects, kiwi fruit, gulls, sawing firewood, enjoying a recliner, watching rain clouds, and more. I am certainly learning as much as the students -- about what will pique their interests, how to include the needier ones in discussions, how to time the class and slowly I'm learning how to inspire conversation in a group -- something I've never had to do before. I have belonged to groups that discussed things excitedly, and groups where Roberts Rules of Order pertained, but I have not been responsible for classroom discussions. I'm enjoying this challenge. And I'm enjoying the wide ranging subjects about which these people write. They've all had long full lives and have much they can write about, that's a large part of the joy of adult ed classes.