The Washington College Academy of Lifelong Learning, a continuing education program for adult learners, has announced its schedule of courses for the fall semester, which runs from September 3^rd to December 6^th, 2019.

Each semester, approximately 400 people join WC-ALL and register for as many classes as they wish for one inclusive membership fee. Courses are taught by community members with interesting life experiences and expertise in a wide variety of fields. There are no educational requirements for membership and no papers or exams.

Ed Minch, WC-ALL’s curriculum chairperson, has put together a team of new and returning instructors and stimulating topics for both six-week sessions. With a few exceptions, classes begin at 4:15 pm and are held on the Washington College campus.

Courses in Session One, which begins on September 3rd, range from the “History of the Digital Computer” (taught by Chris Gordon) to “Dragonflies of the Delmarva Peninsula” (taught by John Gillespie) to popular short-story writer, “Alice Munro” (taught by Jean Austen). Movie buffs will be happy to know that, in both session, “Sunday at the Movies” continues with Nancy Hartman, Maria Wood returns with more insight into “Hamilton,” and Raymond Vergne presents “Don Quijote de La Mancha.”

Highlights in Session two also include the perennial favorite, “Supreme Court,” in which John Christies leads the discussion of several key cases heard during the 2018 term; Lucia Rather looks at “Political Cartoons;” and Beverley Hall Smith discusses “Art NOW”. There is also “Observations on the Vietnam War” (taught by Bill Valentino), “Digital SLR Basics” (with Bob Miller), and an introduction to “Smartphone Photography” (with Dick Lance).

In addition to sponsoring fall and spring classes, WC-ALL hosts a series of Learn at Lunch lectures, open to the community, as well as special event trips.

To learn more about all these activities, visit WC-ALL’s table at the Chestertown Farmers’ Market on August 3^rd and 10th, or at Legacy Day on August 17th. Also, look out for us at First Friday on August 2nd, and plan on attending Fall Showcase. This will be held on Thursday, August 15 at 4:00 pm at the Hotchkiss Recital Hall on the Washington College Campus. Come and learn about all the courses for the Fall and meet the instructors. Registration may also be done then.

The full course catalog and registration information are available at www.washcoll.edu/offices/wc-all/what-were-studying.php/ or call 410.778.7221.

Registration for both fall sessions, by web or mail-in, runs from July 30 to August 20. Please note that classes are filled as reservations are received.

WC-ALL is always seeking community members who have a special interest to share and would like to explore teaching a class in future sessions. Proposals for Spring 2020 can be submitted between September 1^st and October 15.

The Washington College Academy of Lifelong Learning, a continuing education program for adult learners, has announced its schedule of courses for the fall semester, which runs from September 3rd to December 6^th, 2019.

Each semester, approximately 400 people join WC-ALL and register for as many classes as they wish for one inclusive membership fee.  Courses are taught by community members with interesting life experiences and expertise in a wide variety of fields. There are no educational requirements for membership and no papers or exams.

Ed Minch, WC-ALL’s curriculum chairperson, has put together a team of new and returning instructors and stimulating topics for both six-week sessions.  With a few exceptions, classes begin at 4:15pm and are held on the Washington College campus.

Courses in Session One, which begins on September 3^rd, range from the “History of the Digital Computer” (taught by Chris Gordon) to “Dragonflies of the Delmarva Peninsula” (taught by John Gillespie) to popular short-story writer, “Alice Munro” (taught by Jean Austen).  Movie buffs will be happy to know that, in both sessions, “Sunday at the Movies” continues with Nancy Hartman, Maria Wood returns with more insight into “Hamilton,” and Raymond Vergne presents “Don Quijote de La Mancha.”

Highlights in Session two also include the perennial favorite, “Supreme Court,” in which John Christie leads discussion of several key cases heard during the 2018 term; Lucia Rather looks at “Political Cartoons;” and Beverley Hall Smith discusses “Art NOW”.  There is also “Observations on the Vietnam War” (taught by Bill Valentino), “Digital SLR Basics” (with Bob Miller) and an introduction to “Smartphone Photography” (with Dick Lance).

In addition to sponsoring fall and spring classes, WC-ALL hosts a series of Learn at Lunch lectures, open to the community, as well as special event trips.

To learn more about all these activities, visit WC-ALL’s table at the Chestertown Farmers’ Market on August 3^rd and 10^th, or at Legacy Day on August 17^th.  Also look out for us at First Friday on August 2^nd, and plan on attending Fall Showcase.  This will be held on Thursday, August 15^th at 4:00pm at the Hotchkiss Recital Hall on the Washington College Campus. Come and learn about all the courses for the Fall and meet the instructors. Registration may also be done then.

The full course catalog and registration information are available at www.washcoll.edu/offices/wc-all/what-were-studying.php/  or call 410.778.7221.

Registration for both fall sessions, by web or mail-in, runs from July 30^th to August 20^th. Please note that classes are filled as reservations are received.

WC-ALL is always seeking community members who have a special interest to share and would like to explore teaching a class in future sessions. Proposals for Spring 2020 can be submitted between September 1^st and October 15^th.

Spring is here in all its glory, but Washington College Academy of Lifelong Learning is already planning the fall 2019 semester. The curriculum committee, headed by Ed Minch, is currently seeking course proposals from members of the community as well as WC-ALL members. The fall semester will have 2 sessions, from Tuesday, September 3-Friday, October 11, and Sunday, October 20-Friday, December 6. There are no classes during fall break from October 13-18 or during the week of Thanksgiving, November 24-29. Classes generally meet once a week on campus in the late afternoon for 60-75 minutes for 4-6 times during a session. Larger classes sometimes meet at off-campus sites, and all locations are handicapped accessible.

If you or someone you know has an area of expertise, an interesting or unusual career or life experience, or a lifelong hobby or avocation, it could be the seed for developing a WC-ALL course. Instructors may also choose to plan a series of classes which bring in experts to speak about different aspects of a common topic. Excursions are possible as well as the potential to meet at times other than the usual weekday afternoon slot. The curriculum committee is always ready to consider new ideas from the community and looks forward to welcoming instructors who want to share in the exciting venture of lifelong learning for the joy of it.

Course proposals are due by Wednesday, May 15, and may be submitted in various ways. For on-line submissions, go to http://www.washcoll.edu/propose-a-course.php. To email a proposal, go to wc_all@washcoll.edu, and for regular mail, send submissions to WC-ALL, 300 Washington Ave., Chestertown, MD 21620. Ed Minch can be reached at edminch3@gmail.com or 410-778-0990 with questions or ideas. More information is also available by calling the WC-ALL office at 410-778-7221.

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.