JENN McKINLAY: Picking up on Monday's discussion of languages, I'm realizing that while I was not a stellar student in school (if I wasn't interested in the subject, I was not motivated to study), I have always been a lifelong learner.
Over the years I have picked up classes and courses in whatever interested me at the time. From pottery to investing to master gardening, if there was a class that matched my current field of interest, I took it.
I was knocked out the other day when Hooligan 1 stopped by the house to announce he'd signed up for a college class in photography - we're talking old timey film photography - just because he wanted to learn about it. "I think I'm a lifelong learner, Mom." This is mostly shocking to me because he just graduated college last May and I was certain he'd take a longer break than nine months. Apparently, not.
It also cracked me up as I'm currently taking a class in Tai Chi (so much harder than I thought!) and I've joined a women's investment group because I've always been intimidated by investing but now I want to understand it down to the nuts and bolts. So, I think the constant quest for knowledge is hard wired into our DNA.
So, how about you, Reds, what adult education classes have you taken over the years?
HALLIE EPHRON: For me, early on, I took adult ed classes in cooking and conversational Spanish (I was an elementary school teacher and lots of my kiddoes had parents were non-English Spanish-speaking.)
Since then, it’s been all about writing - finally succumbing to it. First I went to the Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center for a week-long summer class on writing fiction. I was in the middle of writing my first unpublished novel. It was there that I learned all about the power of VERBS!
Then for several semesters, I took a weekly creative writing seminar at Racliffe Seminars in Cambridge with Arthur Edelstein. He was a brilliant teacher. That’s where I honed my first published novel.
RHYS BOWEN: I have been a lifelong learner/striver in art. Over the years I’ve taken courses in life drawing, pastels, oils and watercolor. I have finally made some headway in the latter and paint quite often. I find it’s a great way to de-stress. When you are painting you can’t think about anything else.
I also tried ceramics once. Not a success. Some big lumpy pots are all I have to show for it, and I didn’t really enjoy it.
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Well, as I was trying to write my first book. I took a two-day course in… mystery writing! From our very own Hallie Ephron. Talk about a game changer! That became Prime time, and TRIH. And since then, I’ve participated in many many writing classes–but I have to say, almost always mostly teaching. But I always learn something when I teach!
I am deep into DuoLingo, does that count? I took Tai Chi and Chi Gung for many years, and still love it. Oh, and let’s not forget that some years ago I decided to go back to ballet. TOTAL DISASTER. My brain knew exactly what to do, but my body was having none of it.
DEBORAH CROMBIE: After I graduated from college, I took some post grad courses in English lit, including medieval English literature, intending to work towards a masters degree. All that was upended by moving to Scotland and I never got back to it. I had already read most of the texts due to a teenage obsession with Arthurian legend and history. I also took non credit courses in French and in Creative Writing–that last one was a total bust as the instructor said I had zero talent.
It took a few years for my ego to recover, but eventually I started taking courses in novel writing and mystery writing, and research projects for different books have kept me pretty well occupied since.
JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Back when I was a young wife and mother, I took SO many adult ed homemaking courses. Sewing (beginner to advanced) vegetable gardening, canning and preserving… honestly, high schools need MORE home economics classes, not less!
But my formal learning bug was satisfied (or maybe burned out) with getting a masters and a Juris Doctor, so I haven’t done many “take a class activities,” other than the Stone Coast Writing Workshop after my first book sold. I’m more of a lifetime auto-didact; I love nonfiction, and the podcasts I listen to are about current events, economics, history and other interesting, educational topics. I want to feel like I’m learning something new while I’m washing dishes or walking the dogs.
LUCY BURDETTE: Besides French, which you’ve all heard about, I took many writing classes while writing my first mystery. I still like taking them because I learn something new every time. But my latest classes were in the fine points of beginner pickleball. This game is lots of fun, but it has many arcane rules about scoring and when you’re allowed to hit a volley (not in the kitchen, which is a marked off area closest to the net.) Did you happen to see the article in the NY Times about the big brawl over pickleball that happened in a retirement community in Florida recently? I definitely sense a mystery in the making…
JENN: There's a romcom series by Ilana Long called PICKLEBALLERS. Super cute!
How about you, Readers, what adult education classes have you signed up for and how did it go?
Several years after graduating from college, I went back to school for my Masters degree, but nothing following that as I was too busy teaching to take classes as well . . . now that I'm retired, perhaps I will look into individual classes . . . .
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your retirement, Joan!
DeleteSo many, from pottery painting, to every flavor of sewing, to a really fun class in the early 1970s about all kinds of weird handcrafts: rya and punchneedle rug, hardanger embroidery, needlepoint, and macrame, plus some I've forgotten. I have been going to the Cincinnati Zoo's gardening symposia almost since they began, and I have taken several different kinds of art classes. During the pandemic my neighbor invited me to join them in outdoor Tai Chi once a week, one of many kinds of exercise classes, ballet, racquet ball, tennis (I am terrible), swimming, Jazzercise, chair yoga, etc. Writing classes galore, and when I was in the insurance/business consulting field I studied business law and accounting.
ReplyDeleteUntil last year, the University of Cincinnati used to have something called Communiversity, which began in 1949, noncredit courses in all kinds of pursuits. I think the OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) took its place. We're having dinner tonight with a retired professor friend who teaches for OLLI; his current class is on Twain's Connecticut Yankee and Roughing It.
We have OLLI in Marin with really interesting topics. I’d like to take more but there just I’d timing my life
DeleteI’ve taught OLLI several times, and it is such a treat! What a great idea.
DeleteI'll have to see if we have OLLI or the equivalent here.
DeleteSpeaking of pickleball, I added the game and some attendant controversy to my latest Cape Cod book - but I am NOT taking it up myself.
ReplyDeleteI studied Japanese while I lived there for a year and a half. in my twenties. Some years after I finished my doctorate, I took a nine-month certificate course in technical writing, which launched my last day job. I've taken Spanish through adult ed, and I've thought of finding a watercolor class but haven't acted on it.
Otherwise I've taken writing workshops, classes (including a great one on suspense from Hallie), and master classes. The Guppies offer lots of great online classes, which I've stopped taking because I never do the homework!
My research for books is a kind of continuing education. It's self-led but always leads to digging deeper, especially with a historical novel. For A Case for the Ladies, I studied Amelia Earhart's younger years, transportation and politics in 1926 Boston, the life of a Pullman porter, how to fly a small plane, the Volstead Act (Prohibition) and how people got around it, 1920's fashions and prices and food, and so much more.
DeleteEdith, that is true for me too. Historical research, for me, is continuing education.
DeleteAh, yes, writing workshops. I'd forgotten those.
DeleteA very long time ago I took a community ed class to learn to crochet.. My husband and ai took a class about buying a house. Then I mostly took my children to classes so they wouldn’t be considered “less-than” because they didn’t go to day care or preschool. I took continuing education courses thru the school district to keep up my teaching license. Most of those focused on reading and technology. I also went to an aerobics exercise class back in the day.
ReplyDeleteMore recently I have taken pickleball skills classes. I go to water aerobics regularly. I have tried an indoor walking class, chair yoga, line dancing, and ballroom dancing (sans partner since my husband refused to go).
We have a lovely program here called Master the Possibilities with all kinds of classes, but I just haven’t taken the time to sign up and go to any of them, except I did do a special water exercises for arthritis class. Right now many of the courses are on history for America’s 250th. I won a tshirt by finding the hidden Liberty bell in an email notice about the classes. I will wear it to pickleball.
I put that series by Ilana Long on my goodreads want to read list last summer, but I haven’t read any of them yet. Real pickleball players panned the Pickleball Christmas movie that was on Lifetime. I didn’t see it because we didn’t have access to Lifetime on our TV.
The pickleball brawl that was in the news didn’t happen here, but we’ve all been talking about it. There are people here that take the game much more seriously than I ever will, but for the most part the people are very friendly and play nice with everyone.
Becky, how fun to take ballroom dancing! My husband is not interested in taking dance lessons, either, but our friends keep inviting us to take tango lessons with them. I am so tempted to go on my own. Can you tell me how that works without your own partner?
DeleteThe Hooligans took everything from cartoon drawing to swimming. I love our park and rec department so much!
DeleteI took watercolors painting classes, took quilting classes, indoor walking classes, line dancing classes, and one pickleball class.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm going to look for line dancing!
DeleteOver the last 10 years my life long learning has cycled back to facing Asia. I have taken year long classes in Buddhist philosophy focusing on two main branches, Zen and teachings from the Tibetan masters. Next week I will begin learning about a form of mind training called LoJong. It is part of the Tibetan tradition that offers insight through mind training focusing on 7 points of awareness and contemplating 59 slogans. Btw, the last sentence was copied from google cuz I all I know at the moment is what the book cover looks like. As I enter my 80th year soon, I am grateful that the love of learning something new keeps me young.
ReplyDeleteWe are, too, Coralee!
DeleteYes, I'm a firm believer that learning keeps you young!
DeleteI of course took Spanish at the local community college for years. I also took a class called Yoga and Meditation for Stress Reduction. I was very depressed at the time and that little introduction to meditation really helped me learn that I'm not my thoughts. More recently I've taken many on-line religion classes. Diana Butler Bass and Tripp Fuller have offered several great classes,--one about saints a coupe of years ago was so interesting! Last Advent they offered "Advent and Empire" which looked at the beginnings of each of the gospels through the lens of the Roman occupation (many tie-ins to our situation today). Last spring through Tripp, I ended up in a liberation theology class led by Joerg Rieger (a professor at Vanderbilt) He interviewed liberation theologians from around the world about what was happening in their context and how they saw the future. That was amazing. I learned so much! So yes, I love to learn. (no fine arts, please)
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing how much is out there to keep learning!
DeleteJenn, first off, I am impressed that you took the Master Gardener course. I would love to do that, but at least in Canada, you are required to donate so much time to public education. I can talk with one person, but not a group. Still, wouldn’t it be wonderful….
ReplyDeleteRhys, we are learning about art from Auction – BBC Select. Each item up for auction is so beautifully explained as to provenance, art work, time in history and of course value. We each often comment on “I would prefer to have that one in the dining room, rather than Item 2”.
In my lifetime – I took a writing database course – friend wanted someone to go with her. Very interesting, learned how to do it and it ended up with me working in Database for many years for 4-H Ontario- with pay!
Wanted to take a forestry course – still do. Didn’t want to take a fish resource course, but again with 4-H I did, and maybe I didn’t learn a lot, but I know much more about fish, fishing and conservation than I did before. It was fresh water fish as I was in Ontario at the time, and now I live on the Atlantic, but some knowledge is transferable.
Took a random course from the local university – available on line when that was new. It was about food (which I love), nutrition (ditto) and traditions. It was an international course both with the kids in the classroom, and those on line. So interesting! Would love to do another like that.
Would love to do one about birds, birding, and more importantly bird behaviour. We love watching the birds interact (new sparrow this morning – it won’t stay still to pose…) Have learned a lot about Monarchs (self-read) and other butterflies – just because they are here. Thus follows that we are learning a lot about insects – not just identified as bugs – as they are friends and foes, and who likes what, and which to encourage, and those really cute ones actually suck the guts out of monarch larva. Ok for you little bug, a gift of a squish…
Every day is something new.
Now I have a rabbit hole to jump into. I am looking for a book or two about plants, planting and nature. Not sure what I want but I will find it. We asked for donations in my sister’s name to the local library, and since she loved to garden, I think a gardening book especially one set locally (maritime Canada Zone 5-6) would be appropriate. Ideas are always welcome.
Thank you, Margo. I was the librarian at the botanical garden at the time, so it was super helpful and I volunteered at my job so it worked out.
DeleteJust because it is a part of my life right now, the local united church minister and I (we had the service in her church - one of many weird things in the funeral which involved Anglican, United and Non-believer) were debating the philosophy of death, and both decided it is worthy of a group discussion. I don't know how to invite Socrates, but wouldn't that be an interesting debate?
ReplyDeleteThat would be fascinating.
DeleteI spent six years commuting to evening classes at Kent State to earn an MBA while simultaneously raising three kids. Since then, I've taken many on-line writing classes, gradually narrowing my focus to topics that would help my writing.
ReplyDeleteFabulous, Margaret!
DeleteFirst let me say, Rhys, that if that painting is one of yours, I am truly impressed!
ReplyDeleteI think of myself as a lifelong learner, but not necessarily through formal courses. After earning my bachelor's and master's degrees, I haven't done much additional formal classroom learning. I more often choose a subject of interest and deep-dive into reading about it. I have taken various physical classes over the years, from Jazzercise to tap dancing to yoga, and I have taken quite a few church-based adult education courses where we have studied specific books of the Bible or theological tenets. Interesting that you mentioned Tai Chi, Jenn and Hank, because I am very seriously considering starting it.
It is Rhys's! Isn't she amazing? I recommend Tai Chi (after my 6 classes with five to go)!
DeleteWas truly disappointed in tai chi instructor and dropped out after two classes. He emphasized the self defense moves much to my discomfort. I was looking for stretching and “Zen” that friends told me was the heart of tai chi. And for many reasons never got back to it. Elisabeth
DeleteWonderful to learn that many of us are lifelong learners. I read somewhere that one of the ways to prevent Alzheimer's is to learn something new. I do think I am a lifelong learner like my family. A friend and I went to a Thai cooking class at a local high school that offered Adult education classes after we graduated from Uni. I've taken many different classes over the years.
ReplyDeleteLearning is so fun! I am currently taking writing classes through Ellie's Author Academy, learning how to write a cozy mystery, though my debut novel is a Cozy mystery set in 1920s Britain. I am sketching my main character, who is British, and part of my work involves learning British Sign Language. The 1920s was a time when Deaf people had equal access to films BEFORE the advent of the talkies!
Does Duolingo count? I'm deep into duolingo because learning languages is fun for me. Currently learning Danish, German, Icelandic, Norwegian, Scottish Gaelic, and Swedish languages. I am also learning Austrian Sign Language for fun. Both sign languages are offered through Lingvano app. Someone told me that learning languages is very hard for them and I recall saying that my strengths are in languages, Not math nor science.
Jenn, your classes sound like fun! Debs, that creative writing teacher was WRONG! We love your Gemma and Duncan books.
Diana, the fact talkies gave equal access to hearing-impaired audience members is something I've never considered. So interesting to think we were forward, and then went backwards for nearly a century before re-inventing captions!
DeleteI'm very excited for your cozy, Diana!
DeleteYes, your cozy sounds fascinating, Diana! We are cheering you on!
DeleteJulia, my apologies. It was the silent films, NOT talkies that gave Deaf people equal access. The joker from Batman, Cesar Romero, had a deaf uncle and deaf aunt who were in silent movies in Cuba.
DeleteThat was me! I am excited for my book too. Thank you.
DeleteArt classes are very expensive. I once had a bad experience with this art teacher from hell in middle school then I tried art classes at Uni. The materials for art was financially prohibitive! My grandfather and other relatives love to illustrate and paint. I have dabbled in doodling. Perhaps one of these days I will try painting classes again. True that when you are focusing on painting, it is easy to forget about world's problems. I remember learning how to sew a headdress for my Costume Design class, which was fun, and I forgot about my problems. Focusing on a task helped me forget about problems.
ReplyDeleteDo you have community education classes where you are? That’s where I’ve taken art clssses, also they give them at senior centers
DeleteAnnon, Maybe check out your local library for classes and they may know of programs around your area. My mother took art classes later in life from a wonderful instructor at our local community college for free. We have her art work and it's really beautiful.
DeleteUni is prohibitively expensive. I take most adult classes thru the city which is $67/12 week class. Maybe there is adult ed in your area?
DeleteIn California we are lucky that 2 yr colleges or community colleges are free. You can take classes for credit or non credit.
DeleteThe art supplies are still expensive even if there is free tuition. Thank you everyone
DeleteJenn, based on my experience, learning Tai Chi is tougher than it looks! Our teacher was an Deaf actor (Shanny Mow) with the National Theater of the Deaf in Chester, Connecticut. The actor's cousin is the author Maxine Hong Kingston. I remember meeting her once and being surprised she know sign language. Later I found out she and the Deaf actor are cousins!
ReplyDeleteTai chi… My favorite tai chi story is how much I tried to be “good” at it, which is kind of antithetical to the point. I asked my teacher once if I was good at it, and he just looked at me like I was not really understanding the program…:-) but I kept trying, that is to say, not trying. I kind of think Alysia Lu Is the proof of how a peace mindset can make a difference.
DeleteYes, Alyssa Liu is amazing!!! And we should enjoy what we do otherwise...why?
DeleteYes, we should all approach life like Alyssa! I managed to stay off any news or social media yesterday after the competition started, so had the absolute delight of watching it unfold last night. What a joy!
DeleteDebs, I'm just stuck on your instructor who discouraged what would have been your obvious talent by smarter instructors!
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of J.K.Rowling who had at least 12 rejections. Imagine their surprise when it was published!
I can't believe the audacity of Deb's instructor. Sheesh!
DeleteI have no idea now what I wrote that he disliked so much. Definitely not his cup of tea! But I still can't imagine that it justified such meanness.
DeleteSomething all teachers of all grade levels should remember and that is to never discourage students for any reason.
DeleteI had a student who came to my special Ed program at age 12. She was a US citizen but had lived in El Salvador until age 8. She was a Spanish speaker, had an auditory learning disability, was pregnant ("consensual" ha) at 13 and that was just the beginning of her challenges. She kept her baby, was told by her probation officer she would never graduate. She and I loved the challenge. She now has a master degree in social work, and her two boys are successful college students as well.
DeleteI cannot believe the audacity of Deb’s instructor.
DeleteI like that --lifetime learner. I took what felt like a lifetime to graduate from college. I started at UCONN after high school, quit in my sophomore year--I couldn't see the value of botany and all the other required courses and was exempt from the fun ones like English. I spent the next 27 years raising three kids, taking college courses (because my sis said I was a deadbeat being the only one of four who hadn't graduated); went to three colleges as we moved around, travelled and finally ended up back at UCONN with enough credits to graduate twice! I still take courses at our library on things like scams and next up--3D printing. Sometimes those courses are springboards for book ideas. I envy the gardeners, but alas, I have a black thumb.
ReplyDeleteGerri, I had a friend with a similar story - her money ran out after her junior year, so she and her fiance made a plan - she'd work to get him through grad school, then he'd finance her final year. Of course, the best laid plans... one baby came along, then another, and they were moving regularly for her husband's job, so she started working for colleges and universities for the tuition benefits. She amassed enough credits to get her diploma and wound up making a career in higher ed administration!
DeleteI have a friend who went to five colleges over 20 and graduated as a nurse at 40. Late bloomers are the prettiest :)
DeleteI am the Compleat Autodidact. I think I've taken a single 1-day course, in cheesemaking, to keep a friend company, many years ago. Though I've since learned to make cheese, I didn't learn anything useful at the course -- I think I was overwhelmed by the social aspect. I'm something of a loner and a person with tunnel vision. When I need to understand something I know nothing about, I focus on it intensely, almost fanatically. I've done it with construction. I've done it with wildlife rescue in my teens and as an adult raising livestock. I've done it with perennial gardening and baking with whole grains. This past summer it was lawn mower engine repair. I didn't want to learn it; I was forced to because the small engine repair guy went out of business and I have a fleet of four beater lawn tractors that were constantly breaking down. I think that focus is what makes me a good historical researcher. I NEVER give up. I am ALWAYS curious. And I love reading other people's mail, even if it was sent 250 years ago. (Selden)
ReplyDeleteI’m with Julia. I love learning while I’m living life. So books, podcasts, conversations, travel are all opportunities for me to learn.
ReplyDelete100%
DeleteRecently when I visited my daughter in Washington, DC, she introduced me to "Nerd Night." Nerd Nights are regular events, usually in a bar or pub, in which experts are invited to give short (15-20 minute) pitches on their areas of expertise. The night we went, I was the oldest person there (the crowd was mostly millennials) and we heard talks on seasonal cheesemaking; Jack the Ripper, fact or fiction; and how AI was used to free a wrongly incarcerated man in Indiana. Great way to learn about something new from people who are passionate about their fields. Super fun! Nerd Nights were started in the UK and are now nationwide in the US. Strongly recommend checking one out!
ReplyDeleteOh! I'm going to look for that!
DeleteRobin, the release of the wrongly incarcerated man lifted my spirits. AI can be used for good. Elisabeth
DeleteGenealogy!! My husband and I began to research our family histories back in the 90s. We have attended 7-8 of the national conferences (3-4 days of classes), as well as many local workshops. At present we help to run our local club, so I'm teaching as well as continuing to learn. Annette
ReplyDeleteOh, that would be really really fun! And what a rabbit hole. A good one, but still… Eager to hear all about it!
DeleteOh, that's fabulous. My mom would love that.
DeleteGenealogy is interesting. I learned that one great grandmother was descended from Huguenots who arrived in new Amsterdam the year before it became New York! Her grandfather was involved in the Underground Railroad, helping slaves escape to freedom through my ancestor’s house in Ryker ridge (KY? Indiana?)? On their way to Canada! I also learned that Princess Diana and my dad are 11th cousins. So is Princess Grace through her mother’s Dutch ancestors and so is Audrey Hepburn! To my surprise, I had ancestors in the American colonies. My Scottish ancestors owned a bookstore outside Glasgow. Sadly, his grandfather did own slaves on his plantation in Jamaica, which is where the family fortunes came from. By the time my 2x great grandmother was born, there was no money.
DeleteIn no particular order, I have taken Spanish, photography,Intro to Journalism, birdwatching, astronomy, calligraphy, making beaded jewelry, basic computer skills(way back when), some classes related to banking, ballet, figure skating(I flunked the lesson on falling and getting up again), a really great exercise class for women at the Y in a city where I used to live until the developer of the course decided to no longer offer the class in “cities” (?), theology, scripture, and some others. Currently, I take private crochet lessons once a week, tai chi at the senior center, and I hope to get back to chi gong. A weekly meeting that I attend keeps getting rescheduled to the day and time of the senior center’s chi gong class. I’m also one of those people who loves to come up with research projects to do. I watch/listen to podcasts on various topics ranging from humor to spirituality.
ReplyDeleteDebRo
I cannot imagine anyone not being a life-long learner. Not necessarily in taking courses but being curious and find out stuff. I like to learn something new every day. Not long ago I watched a movie I had seen twice before. In the movie, which was set in 1969, there was a conversation about the moon landing that the characters had just watched. I remember the moon landing; I watched it on TV along with everyone else. So in the movie the kid said something that I did not know. Something I should have known. That was unbelievable to me, that I didn't know. It made me think about all the other things that happened in my own time and that I was totally unaware.
ReplyDeleteTo say nothing of history, which in school was pretty bad. When he was in eight grade, my son had a teacher that the kids loved to "get off track." they would get him talking and he told them things in a way that led them to feel like he was actually there at the event. Even now, 40 years later, my sone will mention something about that teacher, something the teacher said in his "off track" talking.
If anyone is interested in learning about the history of our country I highly recommend watching the PBS show THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. It was produced by Ken Burns and is excellent. I learned so much. Even things that happened almost in my own backyard and I had no idea.
I consider going back to get my Masters in Library Science in my late 40s a part of lifelong learning. It was something I'd wanted to do for a long time, but I didn't want to try and juggle it with raising the kids. Finally, when Kevin reached high school, I decided to go for it. I would love to take a writing class, but I don't have a novel started. I'd like to just take the writing course and absorb all the lessons and not have to share something I might write. I really should try to take some of the non-fiction subject courses available, from history to learning about different areas of the world to learning more about the fascinating animals that inhabit our planet. The book Eight Bears by Gloria Dickie is one I really want to get back to, as there only being eight species of bears left on earth fascinates me. All the talk about Duolingo makes me want to give it a try.
ReplyDeleteBallet and Law School in my 30s and 40s. Took ballet as 8 or 9 year old…loved the dancing and the music but I was awkward and laughed at. Amazing how being 30 in a class with 30 to 50 year olds, takes away awkward and clumsy feeling and the laughing at. Gave up ballet for law school…so never achieved prima ballerina status but loved barre exercises, and walking “like a ballerina” as a law school classmate described it. Elisabeth
ReplyDeleteI took an investment course which didn’t really offer me much information. I think iI learned more from the books and magazines that I read which explained what I needed to know as a novice investor. I spent about a year reading about different types of investments before I felt comfortable in actually doing it. The books are still around but a lot of the investment magazines aren’t.
ReplyDeleteA pastels course was interesting but didn’t lead to my pursuing it once the course was over.
Other classes included Russian which I signed up for during a period of time that there was a big influx of Russians coming here and I thought I would learn a little so I could communicate better with the ones I met. I didn’t realize what a complicated language it is and didn’t know it is considered to be one of the most difficult to learn.
I stayed with it through the two courses that were offered through the adult education program.
After that, in addition to buying some books on grammar and easy to translate stories, several other people from the class and I persuaded the teacher to join us in a private class of more general conversation and writing. This continued for a while, the original teacher left to go back to school and we found someone else who was Russian but not actually a teacher. We stayed with him for a while and then it just ended since we all were going in other directions.
I still use the language occasionally but there isn’t as much of a need for it since most of the Russian people I meet now are better English speakers.
I did take a couple of photography course,, one sponsored by Nikon. I also learned how to develop my own black and white film. I continued reading and doing a lot of photography around the area and on trips and have shown some of my pictures locally.
I have also taken violin lessons which I had originally started taking in the third grade. Although I had always had the interest in the music, I didn’t have the discipline to study it when I was growing uo.
As an adult, I started with a teacher through a formal adult education course. Even though I hadn’t studied much earlier, he felt I was more advanced than a beginner so I started taking lessons with him privately until he left the country. I would have stayed with him since he was a very good teacher and encouraged me to play pieces that I thought would be too difficult.
I also took a mini-med course offered by one of the local medical schools. This featured lectures in different specialties by professors from the school. To some extent, it followed some of the courses actually taken by the medical students. I would have continued with that if they had offered anything more advanced. There were also opportunities to interact with the doctors afterwards. I found out that this was a very popular program for the doctors to want to participate in teaching.
I took a conversational Spanish for beginners when I lived in Minnesota. Not too successful. I kept getting paired up with a guy who wasn't conversational. Then I signed up for a yoga class, but it was the wrong kind of yoga. Constant movement. I'd still be trying to duplicate the first movement when the third or fourth was happening. Dropped out. Signed up for a bootcamp exercise group and it was way too much. Those women were not new recruits like me. Two sessions and I was done. I don't seem to have much luck with adult ed.
ReplyDeleteAfter spending the last two weeks watching skating at the Olympics, I'm inspired to brush up on my geography. I had to look up Kazakhstan!
ReplyDeleteI've taken many writing class, obviously. I did take taekwondo for a number of years. Got my second-degree black belt and took a few mid-terms before it became clear that while the spirit was willing, the flesh was weak. My body just wasn't up to the moves. I wonder how I'd fare now that I've been working out regularly for a couple of years. I don't count that as continuing ed - or should I?
ReplyDeleteI want to learn ASL. There was a class offered through my company online learning portal and I was all set to jump in when my boss told me I could take anything that interested me - right up until the clarification was made that it had to be related to work. Bah. Anybody know any good apps for learning ASL?
By the way, Rhys - that is a gorgeous painting.
Delete