Washington College Academy of Lifelong Learning’s next Learn at Lunch will be on Tuesday, February 19, when Thomas G. West will present “Seeing What Others Cannot See…” West will discuss visual thinking, visual technologies, and the distinctive capabilities often seen among dyslexics and other different thinkers. The author of 3 books, his latest in 2017 is Seeing What Others Cannot See: The Hidden Advantages of Visual Thinkers and Differently Wired Brains. In it, West explores how different ways of thinking can help make discoveries and solve problems in innovative and unexpected ways. In his presentation, West will briefly profile some of the different thinkers he has encountered, including a prize-winning dyslexic paleontologist, a group of dyslexic master code-breakers in a British electronic intelligence organization, an expert livestock handler who has become a forceful advocate for those with autism, and a family of visual thinkers and dyslexics which includes 4 winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics.

West has personal connections to Washington College and the Eastern Shore, and his research, writing, and speaking engagements have taken him all over the US and to 19 foreign countries where he has engaged with scientific, medical, art, design, computer, and business groups. Besides his most recent book, West is also the author of Thinking Like Einstein: Returning to Our Visual Roots with the Emerging Revolution in Computer Information Visualization and In the Mind’s Eye: Creative Thinkers, Gifted Dyslexics and the Rise of Visual Technologies. In the Mind’s Eye… was selected as one of the “best of the best” for the year by the American Library Association. The second edition (2009) includes a foreword by the late Oliver Sacks, MD, who wrote, “In the Mind’s Eye… stands alongside Howard Gardner’s Frames of Mind as a testament to the range of human talent and possibility.”

The 12 noon Learn at Lunch program will be held in Hynson Lounge of Hodson Hall at Washington College. Shuttle service will run from the North Student Parking Lot which can be accessed from Rt. 291 (Speer Rd.). The last shuttle leaves at 11:55 a.m. The cost is $20 for members and $25 for all others, with reservations due by Thursday, February 14. Please send a check with name, phone, and email of those attending to WC-ALL at 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD 21620. Contact WC-ALL at 410-778-7221 with questions.

WC-ALL’s first Learn at Lunch of the Spring 2019 semester will feature Sherwin Markman on Wednesday, January 23. Back by popular demand, and always an engaging speaker, Markman’s topic will be “The Resiliency of Our American Democracy”. The buffet luncheon will begin at noon in Hynson Lounge of Hodson Hall on the Washington College Campus. A question and answer period will follow the presentation.

Sherwin Markman believes that there is a tendency nowadays to view America through a dark and cloudy lens, thinking that what we are currently experiencing is uniquely destructive. His message is that we should never lose our perspective, and remember that our nation has undergone, and survived, worse times. Markman will illuminate some of those events that have occurred during his 90-year lifetime of observation and participation in our democracy, demonstrating that we as a nation and people have always been resilient, and will continue to be so.

Born and raised in Iowa, Markman graduated from the University of Iowa and Yale University Law School. He went to Washington, DC, as an Assistant to President Lyndon Johnson and stayed on as a senior trial lawyer at a major DC law firm, representing such diverse clients as Howard Hughes and Cornell University. He has so far published 3 books. Markman and his wife Peggy lived on a sailboat for seven years, crossing the North Atlantic by themselves. They now make their home on five and a half acres between Rock Hall and Tolchester.

Reservations for the Learn at Lunch are due by Thursday, January 17. The cost is $20 for WC-ALL members and $25 for all others. Shuttle service will run from the North Student Parking Lot, which can be accessed from Rt. 291, with the last shuttle departing for the event at 11:55. Please send a check made out to WC-ALL to WC-ALL, 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD 21620 with name, phone, and email of those attending. Contact the WC-ALL office at 410-778-7221 for more information.

Come in from the cold and join a WC-ALL class this winter as the Spring 2019 semester gets underway. Classes begin on January 27 with two 6-week sessions running from January 27-March 8 and March 17-April 26. WC-ALL is open to adults of any age who are looking for intellectual stimulation without the requirements of academic credit. For one all-inclusive membership fee, participants can sign up for as many courses as they want. With 31 classes to choose from this coming semester, everyone is sure to find something to stretch the mind, ward off cabin fever, and inspire learning for the joy of it!

Several new courses are being offered in both sessions. A few highlights of the first session include Prisoners of Geography taught by Warren Beaven. Based on Tim Marshall’s book of the same name, participants will explore the principles of geo-politics around the world – past, present, and future. Mythbusting GMOs will be taught by agronomist Joe Maloney, who will guide his students in separating  fact from fiction about GMOs and other new technologies in agriculture and help them become well-informed consumers as they make decisions in the marketplace. Bob Moores will bring to the classroom his 45-year hobby of studying the construction of the Egyptian Pyramids. The architectural achievements of the builders and how those deeds may have been accomplished will be explored. Bob’s photos and line drawings will be used in Building the Pyramids. In Moral Issues from “The Stone”, Colleen Sundstrom will moderate discussions based on readings from “The Stone”, a New York Times philosophy series addressing modern philosophical issues in an accessible manner.

During the second session, nature and environmental enthusiasts will find several courses of interest. In Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge: Yesterday and Today, Simon Kenyon and guest speakers will introduce the class to Eastern Neck’s history, birdlife, its place in the National Wildlife Refuge system, and its environmental and wildlife management plans. Let’s Get to Know Some of Maryland’s Native Trees will be taught by Agnes Kedmenecz and include a few half-hour walks to practice tree identification. Global Warming is Speeding Up with Ben Orrick will analyze the latest findings on this timely subject.Those looking for courses in the arts will find Examining “Hamilton: An American Musical” by Maria Wood, Art in Series by Beverly Smith, and Enjoying the Poetry of John Keats by Jim Campbell worth looking into.

For a complete listing and description of all courses offered, please visit http://www.washcoll.edu/offices/wc-all/what-were-studying.php/. You can hear the instructors describe their courses at Spring 2019 Showcase on January 15 at 4:00 in Hotchkiss Recital Hall on the Washington College Campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Registration for both sessions of spring semester is now open and runs through January 18. Registration takes place on-line, by mail, or in person at Showcase. Please call the WC-ALL office at 410-778-7221 for more information.

WC-ALL has planned a holiday tour of Historic Odessa, DE, for Thursday, December 13. Once a busy Delaware River port town for the shipment of grain and other agricultural products, Odessa has some of the finest examples of 18^th and 19^th century architecture in the state. WC-ALL has made arrangements with the Odessa Historic Foundation for a 90-minute guided tour of three historic houses which will be festively decorated for the holidays. The houses contain a remarkable collection of antiques and Americana in period room settings and quaint exhibits. Houses on the tour include the Collins-Sharp House (1700), one of Delaware’s  oldest structures, the Corbit-Sharp House (1774), a National Historic Landmark, and the Wilson-Warren House (1769), constructed in the Delaware-Georgian style.

Wilson-Warner House, 1769

Following the tour, the group will enjoy a buffet luncheon at Cantwell’s Tavern, located on the original site of The Brick Hotel (1822). After lunch, participants are free to enjoy the area at their leisure until the 2:30 p.m. departure for Chestertown.

The restroom-equipped bus will leave Redners’ parking lot at 8:45 a.m. Please note that the tour has limited accessibility due to entry steps and multiple staircases within the historic buildings.

The cost of the trip is $65 for WC-ALL members as well as non-members, and includes the bus ride, guided tour of 3 historic houses, lunch, and driver tip.  The deadline for registration is Thursday, December 6. Please send a check made payable to WC-ALL to WC-ALL, 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD 21620 and include name, phone, and email for each person attending. For more information, please call the WC-ALL office at 410-778-7221.

During the first week of September, fall semester at Washington College Academy of Lifelong Learning got underway with close to 400 members enrolled in 25 filled-to-capacity classes. And, although it’s early in the fall, WC-ALL is already planning the spring 2019 semester. The curriculum committee, headed by Ed Minch, currently seeks course proposals from WC-ALL members as well as members of the greater community. Spring semester will run two sessions, from January 27-March 8 and March 17-April 26. Classes generally meet once a week on campus (or in a nearby location for larger classes), in late afternoon for 60-75 minutes, for 4 to 6 times during a session. Class structures range from lectures to moderated discussions to off-campus excursions.

WC-ALL instructors are volunteers who take pleasure in sharing their knowledge and insights with others. Some are retired or current professors and teachers while others have had interesting or unusual careers and life experiences outside the academic world. Lifelong hobbies and avocations also make great backgrounds for developing courses that will appeal to WC-ALL members who are committed to experiencing the joys of lifelong learning. There are endless possibilities and the curriculum committee looks forward to hearing new course ideas from the community. Ed Minch is happy to answer questions and discuss ideas. He can be contacted at ruby1638@atlanticbb.net or 410-778-0990.

Proposals for WC-ALL’s spring semester courses should be received by the curriculum committee no later than Monday, October 15. They may be submitted on-line at http://www.washcoll.edu/offices/wc-ll/propose-a-course.php or sent by email to wc_all@washcoll.edu or regular mail to WC-ALL at 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD 21620. For more information or to receive a hard copy of the course proposal form, please contact WC-ALL administrator, Sue Calloway, at 410-778-7221 during business hours (M,T, Th, 9 to 12).