24 | AUGUST 13 - 19, 2021 | WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM
CONNELL SANDERS
Worcester’s seniors get WISE to virtual learning Sarah Connell Sanders Special to Worcester Magazine USA TODAY NETWORK
The Worcester Institute for Senior Education (WISE) hosted by Assumption University relies on the curiosity and drive of our community’s lifelong learners. Monica Gow is the current director of WISE, which began offering programming nearly 30 years ago. She accepted the position in June of 2020, a precarious time on many college campuses. Gow’s mother had previously enrolled in WISE courses and she Monica herself had atGow is the tended Assumpdirector of tion for her unWorcester dergraduate deInstitute gree, so the opfor Senior portunity felt Education fitting from the (WISE). start. There was one catch. While previous WISE members had enjoyed participating in guest lectures, band performances and theater productions of the university, virtual learning brought change. Gow was determined to foster a welcoming online environment for seniors, but she knew it would be a challenge. Zoom classes turned out to have their perks. Self-defined seniors could work remotely from wherever they might be quarantining across the country and beyond. She was pleased to see that enrollment didn’t suffer. Moving forward, Gow even hopes to maintain a hybrid option in order to make classes more accessible to everyone.
WISE members show off their original “Six-Word Memoir.” SUBMITTED PHOTO
Benjamin Railton can relate. Railton is a professor of English and American Studies at Fitchburg State University and the author of six books. He has taught adult learning courses for close to a decade, but the prospect of adding another Zoom to his busy schedule dur-
ing the pandemic made him weary. To his surprise, the online environment renewed and reinvigorated his love of teaching. “Suffice to say that everything great about WISE translated to that setting,” remarked Railton, “It felt even more inspiring and vital during such
times.” This semester, Railton will teach a popular class titled “Echos of the 1920s.” Fellow instructor Martha Gach has also taught WISE courses for many years. Gach is the education manager and conservation coordinator for Mass Audubon at Broad Mead-
ow Brook. She shares Railton’s sentiments about the adult learning environment, stating, “It’s an easy lift because everyone in the class wants to be there, all of them bring experiences, and some have a great deal of expertise to contribute.” Gach misses the field trips and walks of the “before times.” She recalls one class on New England wildlife that paid particular attention to opossums. “As it happened, one student had been a wildlife rehabilitator and lived with an opossum for quite some time,” remembers Gach. “I learned, among other things, that opossums can be quite affectionate — it was evident she’d been quite attached!” Gach will lead a class on climate change this fall. The new semester begins Sept. 9, with 32 offerings ranging from classes like “How Magazines Shaped a Young Nation” to “Competitiveness in the International Business Arena.” Each course meets once a week for 90 minutes over five weeks. Best of all, there are no tests or homework assignments, and registration is already open (https://assump tionwise.org/). The $150 membership fee allows participants to take as many classes as they wish over the course of 10 weeks during the fall semester. The same is true of the spring semester in 2022. Visit the Fall Course Catalog at https://assumptionwise.org to see if there’s a class that piques your interest. Remember, the term “senior” is selfidentifying and non-discriminatory. Lifelong learners take every shape and form.
