Let’s Talk About Curriculum Gail Wilson and Tom Hughes Curriculum Committee Co-Chairs
Want variety? Insist on quality? Seek a broad range of topics from which to choose?
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f you are an OLLI West student, you have come to the right place. Here is a sampling of class subjects from our Fall 2018 Term offerings:
Oscar Movies, Beethoven, Foreign Films, Chinese/Japanese Art History, U.S. & State Capitol Buildings, U.S. Foreign Relations & Current Events, Economics, The Other Side of China, Jewishness of Jesus, The Consolations of Philosophy, Bridge, Colorado Wildlife, Dead Sea Scrolls and The American Southwest, and many, many more... This is typical of our curricula; we are blessed with talented facilitators who offer interesting, educational, entertaining, and unusual (yes, sometimes even exotic) topics. Help Wanted: Future Classes We appreciate new ideas and welcome suggestions. Please bring yours, well-formulated or just an inkling, to a Curriculum Committee member. Members are well-represented in current classes with identifying nametags. Introduce yourself and share your ideas, please! Help Wanted: Facilitators While we welcome suggestions for class topics, we are particularly interested in growing our cadre of facilitators. If you are at all interested in facilitating, talk to current facilitators to get an idea of what is involved or contact us, Tom Hughes or Gail Wilson, Curriculum Committee co-chairs (see contact info on next page). There are myriad ways to become involved in facilitating; of course you can take the plunge and go it alone, but if this is not to your taste, you may choose from among the following options: ∙ Substitute for one class (or more!) ∙ Consider co-facilitating with someone more experienced ∙ Facilitate a single session presentation or a course with a small number of sessions We guarantee that the facilitating experience will be well worth your while; it is highly satisfying and we know you will encourage others who are curious and ready to learn. It is the OLLI West facilitator experience -- try it, we bet you will like it!
Let’s Talk About Curriculum … Continued from previous page
OLLI West Curriculum Committee Co-Chairs: Tom Hughes 303-278-2823 eth5530@cs.com , Gail Wilson 303-882-3692 gtwilson43@gmail.com Sub-Committee
Sub-Committee Chair(s)
Phone
Arts/Literature/Writing
LaVonne Angus Karen Lush
303-279-9522 303-202-3669
vonangus@gmail.com karenklush@msn.com
Current Events/Politics and InterActive Learning
Tom Hughes
303-278-2823
eth5530@cs.com
History/Economics
Hille Dais
303-238-7123
daishl1247@gmail.com
Special Presentations
Sandra Morgan
303-284-7203
skiwithsandra@comcast.net
Philosophy/Religion/Psychology
Wendy Carlson Sue Crichton
303-279-6258 720-328-9556
tallwall@icloud.com crichtonsrg@gmail.com
Science/Technology/Environment/ Engineering/Math (STEM)
Barb Adams
720-431-8495
b.adamsphd@gmail.com
WellAware
Annie McClure
303-875-2662
anniemcclure@comcast.net
Facilitator Dates of Note TERM
Fall 2018
Winter 2019
Spring 2019
Facilitator Proposal Forms Due Term Begins
May 4, ‘18
Aug. 27, ‘18
Dec. 3,‘18
Sep. 17, ‘18
Jan. 14, ‘19
Apr. 1, ‘19
Term Ends
Nov. 9, ‘18
Mar. 11, ‘19
May 24, ‘19
The Spotlight Shines On Mary Meinig Veteran Facilitator
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es, she’s a veteran OLLI West member and facilitator, but before becoming an OLLI West all-around all-star, Mary Meinig declares she never taught ANY thing at ANY level to ANY one ANY where. Change has marked her OLLI West tenure as Mary reckons she is facilitating her 13th course, having taken nearly 100 classes since OLLI West opened its doors in 1997 and Mary walked through them. Mary’s OLLI experience runs long and deep though the OLLI wisdom she shares is spoken in an unassuming manner. This is especially so as she recounts her development from student to teacher. Mary has a welcoming way of casually detailing her journey and suggesting most anyone can do as she has done. With a sly smile she reassures herself that as a facilitator she needs to be only one week ahead of the class she is teaching. Mary has developed an approach to facilitating, her OLLI “M.O.” or modus operandi. Historical fiction provides Mary’s curricular springboard, not just any such, but books offering expandable details -- people, objects, places, and events. Loving to read this genre, Mary returns to a second reading of what seems a likely book, scribing notes of ancillary matters that are apt candidates for further exploration. Brainstorming continues as Mary seeks out community resources and builds a portfolio on the DU site, a tool she has learned to use with facility and supportively offers her students. In this way, over the course of three or four months, Mary develops the topics, resources and syllabus for a class. While she has settled into a personal facilitating groove, Mary knows there is no single way to successfully accomplish this. As a rookie, she began co-facilitating, egged on by a “kind-hearted, well-intentioned bully” who tapped her for a current events class; this is, Mary suggests, “a good way to start.” Co-facilitating, offering one-off or other shorter-than-8- week classes, and using outside experts and resources offer possibilities for softening the facilitator’s entry. Moreover, Mary has enjoyed re-offering a developed class for another round of participants as she revisits and recycles a previous term’s offering. Mary knows there are many ways to go about facilitating as she continues to take classes, observing others at the helm. Ever the learner, Mary is driven by a central question in the stories of the books she reads: Why? Participating in OLLI, whatever her role, Mary investigates answers to this over-arching question, gathering understanding and enjoyment along the way. Thank goodness Mary’s question has yet to be fully answered as she and her curiosity return time and again to OLLI West.
The Spotlight Shines On Larry Tannenbaum Rookie Facilitator
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acking up his teaching materials at the end of Thursday afternoon’s class, Larry Tannenbaum’s grin spreads wide across his face and animatedly endures beneath sparkling eyes and the fedora perched atop his brow. His words match his demeanor as he reflects on what a “great time” he is having teaching The Blues during the winter term at OLLI West. Enthusiasm radiates and the word “fun” repeatedly punctuates the conversation as Larry describes his experience as an OLLI West facilitator. Larry’s work life was as a trial attorney, a world he is determined to leave to the rearview mirror in retirement. Law is perhaps the sole subject he is adamant about NOT teaching. Larry came to OLLI West at a friend’s urging and as what he prefers to call a “participant,” taking two classes per term. Three years in, he has added the role of facilitator. Bets are on that Larry will return time and again; ideas and excitement about the future flood reflections of the past and present for this most enthusiastic OLLI participant. Engagement describes Larry’s style whether his place is at the head of a class or sitting in the midst of fellow students. Initial thoughts of facilitating came at the request of another facilitator to share in leading a class. Giving this positive consideration, Larry moved on to thinking about the variety of classes he might develop solo. A historian at heart, possibilities erupted - the Civil War had been suggested, but the Industrial Revolution also came to mind. Ultimately, Larry settled into his love of music as he saw exploring the Blues as a window into history and culture. It would take Larry a year of exploring these Blues, learning, prepping, expanding, refining, and ever enjoying before he was ready to go live. Were Larry to advise others about facilitating, he would encourage choosing a subject of interest, focusing on it and enjoying exploring and learning to bring it to the classroom. While there is no need to come as an expert, for Larry facilitating is about being curious, being a learner in a world offering sundry possibilities. Week by week, Larry continues to learn and hone his class preparation. So, while Larry Tannenbaum may be teaching The Blues, he is far from singing them; rather he is reveling in the historical influences the Blues musically illuminate.
Back to the Future Reuniting at OLLI West
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e come to OLLI West for a variety of reasons, many expressing our shared appreciation of learning, learning, learning. Coming together in a broad range of classes, we discover more than we bargained for: new friends, inspiring stories, wellhoned wisdom, good information and even a new sense of ourselves - to name just a few of the sometimes unexpected benefits. OLLI provides an environment rich with the experiences of engaged and engaging fellow OLLI travelers. It seems an “ah ha moment” is never far away. While we hope you have found many a happy and unexpected OLLI experience, we have a most serendipitous, small-world OLLI West story to share. On a November afternoon as OLLI ramps up to online registration, veteran OLLI superstar Sherma Erholm (student, greeter, facilitator, committee member) volunteers, as she often does, this time to help other OLLI members by providing hands-on registration assistance.
The OLLI West reunion of Zoe Milne and Sherma Erholm
In walks Zoe Milne seeking just such assistance; Sherma aids Zoe with enrollment as Zoe informs Sherma that her name is pronounced “Zoh,” not in the usual two-syllable way.
With registration complete, Sherma reflects to the new enrollee that the only other Zoe she has known who pronounced her name “Zoh” was a college sorority sister. Ba-da-bing! Zoe was Sherma’s “big sister” in a sorority well more than half a century ago when both matriculated at the University of Central Missouri, then Central Missouri State College. They have not seen one another in the intervening years, but reconnected through OLLI West, a world at once very big and quite small.
Yucatan Peninsula Trip - An OLLI Excursion! by OLLI West member, Kim Fry
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any things can motivate someone to experience a particular place. The knowledge and enthusiasm of an experienced OLLI facilitator is most influential. And when most of the trip participants have spent 8 weeks in Abe Grinberg’s class, “History of the Maya Civilization and the Yucatan Peninsula,” it has to be a bit daunting to find a guide who can meet the needs of this knowledgeable and curious group. Enter Arturo Romero Resendiz, our guide and trip leader. Arturo has lead such notables as Jose Lopez Portillo, former President of Mexico, and now, the trip participants from OLLI at the University of Denver. Our adventures began with a day trip to the Mayan pre-classical ruins of Tulum. These coastal ruins were built with low-walled structures situated well above the beaches. Dangerous reefs made the shoreline nearly impenetrable. However, Arturo pointed out to us the one small gap in the reef---nearly invisible to the human eye--that was marked by the simultaneous alignment of daylight, or torchlight at night, through two separately placed windows as viewed from the sea. At the moment this alignment occurred, the Mayan vessel would be precisely placed to safely navigate through the tiny gap in the reef. Ek Balam, the next Mayan ruins we visited, are more remote and quiet than Tulum. Nonetheless, they are archeological wonders whose less explored status gave us the feel of being the earliest explorers to venture into their midst. In fact, Ek Balam’s pyramid structures are still accessible to intrepid visitors who care to scale their heights---and many of our OLLI group did exactly that! Our Ek Balam adventure was followed by a lovely lunch at hacienda Selva Maya and, for those adventurous enough, a swim in the adjoining cenote, the first of two cenotes we would visit. This particular cenote was exposed to sunlight with waterfalls, ferns, and rainbow mists adorning its limestone walls. Staying in the inviting old city of Valladolid, we departed from our exploration of ruins. Setting out on foot from our charming hotel, we visited Casa de los Venados (House of the Deer), a remodeled home from the 17th century---an architectural wonder. The owner, a retired businessman from Chicago, is an enthusiastic collector of Mexican folk art who shared his stories of obtaining folk art from quaint marketplaces as well as artists’ studios. Based on comments of OLLI members, this visit was an unanticipated, absolute delight! We boarded our bus with Arturo leading us to the town of Tihosuco and the Caste War Museum. A Mayan priest greeted us with a traditional Mayan blessing. We witnessed demonstrations of cotton spinning and herbal
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medicine-making as done for centuries. We then toured the museum where Arturo translated the museum guide’s Mayan language to English. The museum graciously provided an authentic Mayan lunch while costumed warriors danced, chanted, and performed games of skill, soliciting our participation. It was a content and peaceful bus ride back to Valladolid. The day to visit the famous ruins of Chichen-Itsa arrived. These incredible ruins lived up to their billing as breathtaking. Arturo wisely had us depart Valladolid early to see the most critical features of that archeological site before they became crowded. We then had time to see the beautiful little city of Izamal, a cheery enclave of beautiful old buildings painted almost entirely in various shades of brilliant yellow. There we enjoyed a lovely lunch and toured the Abbey at Izamal, once the second largest abbey in the world. Merida is now our final destination. Our hotel, Casa del Balam (House of the Jaguar), is convenient to the magnificent sights of this ancient city. Our first morning there, we left this lovely old city to visit Hacienda Henequeera Sotuta de Peon which typified the haciendas that for centuries made the rope vital to the way of life prior to synthetics. Our colorful hacienda guide provided us with an unforgettable experience including demonstrations of the noisy but fascinating machinery of that era which was used to make all sizes of rope. With a refreshing swim in the Hacienda’s underground cenote to culminate our visit, no one was disappointed. The ruins of Uxmal, breathtaking in scope and structure, were a fabulous way to end our explorations. Intricate with detail, yet huge in scope, these magnificent structures provided one last opportunity to scale the steps of the ancient pyramids on foot. Our final day in Merida gave us the opportunity to explore the Great Museum of the Maya World. One of my personal favorites, the Great Museum is a stunning juxtaposition of contemporary architecture housing ancient and priceless pieces of Mayan art. Our museum guide provided his expertise and answers to probing questions. Lastly, we celebrated a wonderful trip with the entire group walking to nearby Restaurant Pancho’s. With stars overhead and a delightful cooling breeze, we toasted on Abe’s behalf, as well as Arturo, and our successful adventure to the Yucatan Peninsula and love for the Mayan culture which still enhances Mexico.