Amy Diamond, Executive Director: ... Where Lifelong Learning and The Community Come Together

...
where lifelong learning and the community come together
Amy Diamond, Executive Director

WI NTER 2 0 13 Inthis,ourinaugural newsletter, you will find first hand ac counts from our Ex ecutive Director, our Board Chair, a class teacher, and a class participant. They best tell the story of DavidsonLearns. We dedicate this newsletter and the work of our organi zation to Bill Tie mann.Heistheper son who was deter mined that Davidson and the region wouldhave,atlast,a lifelong learning or ganization to bring people who wish to learn together with peoplewhoarewell equippedtoteach! Without Bills vision and determination, D a v i d s o n L e a r n s wouldnotexist. We hope you will find a class that piques your curiosity and join our lifelong learningcommunity! Please look on our website for lots more information aboutclasses. It is an honor to serve as the Executive Director of DavidsonLearns and to wel come you to our first news letter. My participation with DavidsonLearnsisthecoming togetherofmanypartsofmy life and many interests. For me , it really is the intersec tion of lifelong learning and thecommunity. I have been involved with educationsinceIreceivedmy graduate degree from Bank StreetCollegeofEducation.I moved from preschool to elementary to middle and nowtoadults! Our area is rich in re sources but one of the most obvious is our intellectual capital. We have citizens who are curious and willing to push themselves to learn new things. We also have many residents who are will ing to share their areas of interest. When the enthusi asmoftheparticipantsmeets the expertise of the instruc tors, wonderful things hap pen! It is the learning in a community that provides additionalrichnessanddepth totheexperience. We launched David sonLearns with three classes. The response was enthusias ticandpositive,withover50 participants. They spanned many generations and came from several towns in the North Mecklenburg/Iredell area. I have my vision for what a l i f e l o n g l e a r n i n g i n s t i t u t e s h o u l d looklike.I can imag ine partnerships with local organizations and arts groups.ButI want to know yourvisionandyourdreams. What classes would you like to take? Where would you like to see us grow? How canwebestmeetyourneeds for lifelong learning? I want to hear from you to help us planforthefuture. Pleasejoinusinthisexcit ingjourney!
Joey Schnople, Board Chair

Welcometo David sonLearns! Thankyoufor yourinterest, andforyour participation,inlifelong learninginyourcommu nity.Itmatters. ToparaphraseOliver WendellHolmes,"One's mind,oncestretchedbya newidea,neverregainsits originaldimensions."This notioniswhatdrivesmypas sionforlearning,andIam honoredtobepartofanor ganizationthatvaluesitso deeply. Ineverceasetobeamazed bythevarietyanddepthof experiencerepresentedby ourfriendsandneighbors. Justlookatasampleofour earlycourseofferings:Litera ture.Writing.ArtHistory.The Organ.PoliticalSci ence.Archeology.Andthis doesn'tevenbegintoscratch thesurface.Inadditiontothe wealthofexpertisethat comesfrombeingthehome ofaworldclasscollege,we haveamongusjournalists, entrepreneurs,musicians, architects,teachers,design ers,anawardwinningtheatre andradiostation.Our churchesofferextraordi naryspiritualandmusical programming.Wearecivic minded.Thelistgoeson.Itis ablessingtoliveinacommu nitywithsuchtalent. So,whattodowithallof this?Shareit,ofcourse! ThisiswhatDavidsonLearns isallaboutourneighbors (writlarge)sharingwhatthey doinacontextthatisintel lectuallystimulatingandac cessible,whileremaining comfortableforthoseofus whowouldrathernothaveto takeafinalexamandfor thoseofuswholiketosea sonourAristotlewithalittle fun. Allyouneedtobeiscuri ous!Wewelcomeyou!
www.davidsonlearns.org
WINTER 2013
PAGE 2
Tony Abbott, Professor Emeritus, Davidson College

T e a c h i n g has always been a cen tral part of my life, and one of my special joys, since my re t i r e m e n t from Davidson College, has been teaching adults. I have taughtintheLifelongLearning ProgramatQueensUniversity foraboutfifteenyears,andin oneofmyclassesvirtuallythe same students have come back year after yearso I have to change the course contenteachyearandthose studentshavebecomefriends
towhomInowoftenturnfor critiquesofmyownpoetry. So when the David sonLearns program was started,Ivolunteeredtoteach an Introduction to Poetry class, and those students be came so engaged in the coursethattheyhavebecome a writing group that meets together once a month to share poems with one an other.Fiveofthetenstudents in that class will continue in my Intermediate Poetry class, to be offered in Februaryand March.Allofthisistosaythat therearealotofgoodwriters out there who want instruc tionandstimulation,andIam gladtoworkwiththem. I will offer another begin ning class either in the spring ornextfallifthereissufficient interest. Teaching adults is a special joy. They are there because they want to be there, they are there because theyhaveaparticularpassion that can be nurtured in a class. In my DavidsonLearns class, most of the students werewomenwhohadmoved toDavidsonrecentlyandwere looking for others with whom they could share their work. This class helped make that happen, and I am grateful for the opportunity to stimulate thatkindofinteraction.Ilook forward to continuing that process.
Student
comments on Tonys class:
Wonderful in every way. Amazing
have this
professor.
It Cannot Get Much Better Than This! By Jean Berg, Class Participant
During the first cycle of DavidsonLearns, I enrolled in theclassonpolitics.Iknowa bit about the topic and thought I would emerge knowing a bit more. And it was election season 2012, so the topics were timely. For example,onesessionfocused on economics. Another on the Supreme Court. Another onpollingandpersuasion. All that and more was taught by scholar/teachers who brought intensity and intelligence to the issues of theday.Ilearnedalot. During the second cycle of DavidsonLearns I enrolled in theclassontheArtofRomare Bearden. I know absolutely nothingabouttheartistorhis art. It's a sure bet I will emerge knowing something, which is more than I know now! The opening lecture was dazzling in content and the context of this renowned artist. We in the Charlotte area have a special claim on him and it's pleasing to learn Beardenreceivedanhonorary degree from Davidson Col lege. Along with my two class experiences there are dozens more who are also finding that Davidson's new and stimulating programs are in tellectuallychallenging.Keep themcoming!
TwoWinterCourseswillstartinFebruaryand youstillhavetimetoregisterforthem!
ChristianScriptureandtheJews:CriticalIssues forJewishChristianRelationsToday
Instructor:RabbiMichaelShieldshasservedtheLake NormanareaforfiveyearsattheTempleKolTikvah. HewasordainedbytheReformMovementin2008 andisdedicatedtothoseideals.
IntermediatePoetry(opentothosewhotookBe
ginningPoetryandotherswhohavehadsomeex perienceinthewritingandpublicationofpoetry.) Instructor:Dr.TonyAbbott,theCharlesA.DanaPro fessorofEnglishEmeritusatDavidsonCollege.Heisa novelistandPulitzernominatedpoet.
PlannedSpringCourseOfferings(morewillbe announcedsoon):
TheEvolutionoftheU.S.IntelligenceCommu nity:anHistoricalOverview
Instructor:ThomasM.Rhyne,aretiredIntelligence OfficerfromtheDefenseIntelligenceAgency,with24 yearsofservice.Hewasasenioranalystandmanager.
AHistoryoftheWorldinSixGlasses
Instructor:JoeySchnople,MBA,usingthebookby TomStandagethattheorizesthatsixdrinksinparticu larbeer,wine,spirits,coffee,teaandcolachartthe flowofworldhistory.
Thrilling to

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where lifelong learning and the community come together

Amy Diamond, Executive Director

Joey Schnople, Board Chair

Tony Abbott, Professor Emeritus, Davidson College

comments on Tonys class:

Wonderful in every way. Amazing

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