What is Lifelong Learning?
Lifelong learning is an attitude embraced by people who find life continually interesting and engaging and who welcome opportunities to learn whether they are 7 years old or 70. In later life, perhaps in retirement, lifelong learners are people who have developed such a penchant for learning that they simply can’t stop; the habit has served them too well. They search their communities for comrades and ways to satisfy their desire to know, to understand, to appreciate. They enroll in classes, take up new hobbies, attend lectures, travel, read and discuss. Sometimes they band together to start a lifelong learning program in their city. There are currently hundreds of successful lifelong learning programs throughout the United States and Europe, many associated with colleges and universities. The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks is one, and it is there that the inspiration for OLE! was born.
What is OLE!
Opportunities for Lifelong Education (OLE!) is a new nonprofit corporation created to give Anchorage adults a place to continue learning together. Classes will be open to any adult but courses will be specifically designed for people over the age of 50. Participation is by yearly membership which allows enrollment in any or all courses. While classes may ultimately be held at several venues around the city; most of the first courses will meet once a week at UAA's Eugene Short Hall on Fridays during daytime hours. [Parking regulations are 'unenforced' on Fridays.] There will be three eight-week terms per year, the first in the fall between late-September and Thanksgiving, the second in January and February, and the third in the spring. Some classes may meet for four weeks rather than the full eight. Projected start date is September 2007.
The curriculum for OLE! will be developed by members based on their interests and the pool of willing and available teachers. Courses will eventually be offered in a variety of subject areas including history, economics, current affairs, philosophy, religion, science, mathematics, literature, languages and world culture. Teachers will come from the community and will include emeritus university professors, retired high school teachers, scholars, researchers, local authors and amateur enthusiasts. Emphasis will be on excellent teaching and the collaborative exchange of ideas and experiences among facilitators and students. No tests, no papers, no credit.
How Can You Help?
• Join the OLE! organizing committee
• Elect to teach a class
• Recruit teachers
• Suggest topics of interest
• Identify potential funding sources
• Spread the word among fellow lifelong learners!
An outline of Ole! (as a pdf file)