Class Selections

Submitted.  My request for seven classes for the upcoming OLLI Semester.  I had seriously considered letting the next semester lie fallow.  The last couple terms had imposed a few strains.  I especially liked one course.  The others left me unenthused.  To be fair, I got closed out of one, the instructor took ill in another, and was judged inadequately qualified to enter another at mid-year.  

The fall catalog arrived online first, then as a printed brochure, which I did not use. While the University offered 435 courses total, this time it offered electronic screening by time, location, and subject.  I created a paper grid of fifteen squares, putting the five days horizontal and the three class times vertically.  I generally do not enroll in courses that begin at 2:30 PM and try to keep Friday afternoons free to prepare shabbos dinner when standard time returns.  I asked the program to list all courses each day at the local center.  I've mostly found the live experiences superior to watching on a screen, though some of the selections simulcast by experts who live in another part of the state have been excellent.  For each day, I placed the classes to consider further in their appropriate grid box.  

How do I cull classes?  Partly by topic, partly by prerequisite skills, partly by my willingness to sit through 75 minutes.  The professor matters more each year.  Experience has generated automatic exclusions.  I also do not particularly take well to classes where we watch a video for the majority of the class and engage in a discussion afterwards.  Despite these restrictions, I had ample options Monday through Thursday.  Friday morning contained a class that I could not take the previous semester.  And they offered violin lessons late Tuesday afternoons, which made the exclusion of late classes less than absolute.  Finally, I went to the Online options, selecting only ones with known top teachers.

With the grid filled, I next focused on how I want to spend my week.  I insist on one day off, usually two.  Having a late morning course followed by a break for lunch, then an afternoon class mostly has not gone well.  Certainly not more than one day weekly, and then to accommodate the weekly violin lesson.  

Finally, what do I like to learn?  Most of my educational experience and professional continuing education has involved lecture formats.  That has changed somewhat as on-demand videos expand options and much Medical Continuing Education for license renewal can be obtained from written text followed by questions that confirm the person read the material.  Indeed, I read quite a lot.  Three subscriptions, four Torah commentaries online each week, a quota of books each half-year.  I watch instructional YouTubes, several daily, so adding a DVD in class often feels like excess.  

What I do not do enough is engage in conversation, challenge ideas, perform with an audience, or get feedback on my work.  As I looked at each grid, I rationed the lectures which would have me absorbing presented material but expanded classes that would force me to create.

I came up with seven;

Lectures:

1. History of Advertising, conducted by a neighbor
2. The Federalist Papers, led by my favorite prof.
3. Delaware Landmarks, led by a committee familiar to me.

Doing:

1. Non-fiction Writing
2. Acting on Stage
3. Folk Guitar
4. Violin

I do not expect any to be over-subscribed.  It will require me to declare Tuesday as a work on-site day, due to a gap between my late morning class and mid-afternoon violin session.  I've done this successfully before.  Pack lunch, bring laptop and leather portfolio, then find a quiet room with a tabletop.  It helps immensely to know in advance what I will pursue over two hours of unstructured time.

The University recognizes that some students will regret their choices and assignments.  Within limits, corrections are possible.  I look forward to a few months of mostly daily structure.