 |
|
Back in college for a day
One Day University featuring favorite Ivy League professors rejuvenates lifelong learners.
from the June 20, 2007 edition
Page 4 of 4
Then, her voice brimming with enthusiasm, she says, "You know what's great about this audience? I can make a reference and you'll understand." The group laughs.
That shared knowledge represents one of the benefits for professors here.
"I enjoy the different audiences," says Walter Sinnott-Armstrong, a philosophy professor at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., and the final speaker of the day. "I learn from their perspectives, their life experiences, their feedback."
More like peers than students
Mr. Galvin, cofounder of One Day University, adds, "It's stimulating for them to interact with their peers. The political science professors can talk about Ronald Reagan and have people know what they're talking about. They've devoted their whole career to researching, studying, and sharing this knowledge. It's to a large extent bottled up with a lot of 18-year-olds with their baseball cap on backwards. To talk to 150 interested adults who are there only for the reason of learning, it's exhilarating."
For many here, One Day University represents only the latest in a succession of continuing education ventures.
Calling his learning "not structured," Luddecke notes that one of his educational pursuits involves languages. "I bought a learn-Spanish tape to listen to in my car," he says.
Ms. Lofblad, who winters in Florida, enjoys attending lectures on foreign policy. And last month, Ms. Taustin completed a for-credit course on environmental issues at a university in Florida, an experience she calls "exhilarating."
That attitude runs in her family. "Our kids are all exploring things they want to do, and they're passionate about," she says. "My husband is exploring new businesses. He also took a week and went to culinary school. My challenge is learning and seeing new parts of the world."
Luddecke, reveling in the chance this Saturday classroom offers him to "get the mind going again," says of the professors, "They're giving me trails to follow, books to read, names to Google – all sorts of things."
Voicing her own determination to keep abreast of new ideas, Lofblad says, "People who are learning stay younger. Our kids are learning so much these days. We have to be able to speak their language. I'm not going to be left behind."
RSS feed
