Classes resume at Institute for Learning in Retirement
SLIPPERY ROCK — When the calendar flips to March, it will herald the annual return of Lent, blooming crocuses and the spring session of the Institute for Learning in Retirement which will again offer classes for lifelong learners in subjects such as local history, health and financial planning.
The catalog of upcoming courses, trips and tours went online at the Slippery Rock-based institute’s site, www.ILRetirement.org, on Monday. Regular and Zoom-only registration begins Feb. 21. The first day of classes, both in-person and through Zoom, will be March 7, as will second-chance registration for classes left unfilled during the first round of registration.
Tom Call, an institute instructor, said the institute hopes to return to offering indoor tours and trips, such as a library tour at Slippery Rock Univesity. Indoor tours and class trips had been curtailed last year because of COVID restrictions.
“We had to cancel a lot of trips, and teaching classes by Zoom brought it’s own learning curve,” Call said.
Institute president Verna Call said, “We are almost in the swing of things right now. We will start officially in March.”
Some of the course offerings this spring, such as Estate Planning and Planning a Pollinator Garden, will be Zoom offerings only. Other classes, such as the perennially popular Film: International Gems and Book Club, will meet in-person in the Fowler Building, 165 Elm St. Some classes are offered in both formats.
Call said the advantages of Zoom classes were attendees weren’t discouraged by the distance from their homes to the Fowler Building and the Zoom classes could be recorded for repeated viewings.
The Fowler Building is a reminder of when the institute started 21 years ago by Connie Smith, wife of late former Slippery Rock University president, G. Warren Smith. The approach for teaching and learning was based on a 19th century Scandinavian concept called “Folk Schools.” These schools were created for the poor and middle classes who were excluded from educational opportunities reserved for the ruling elite.
Instructors taught what they were interested about, students took classes they were excited about, and their goal was a simple one — enrichment in a relaxed atmosphere.
The SRU connection is almost gone, said Tom Call, but the spirit behind the institute’s creation — “great instructors lined up at convenient dates” — remains.
Verna Call said the institute is a place where classes are taught by enthusiastic hobbyists, as well as retired academics.
She herself, she said, has a doctorate in parish ministry but is also a dedicated photographer who has developed enough expertise to teach a photography course.
There are no books, tests, grades or attendance required for any of the institute’s classes.
Kathy Flood, who will be teaching several medical classes on concussions and pandemic evolution, as well as conducting a Dinosaur Tour at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, said, “I’m mostly inspired to fight disinformation. For instance, my husband has a cabinet full of supplements, or somebody says ‘I have celiac disease.’ No, you don’t.”
“I used to teach residents at Pitt,” she said. “My classes aren’t sensationalism, they are things that start from knowledge, research, facts.”
The institute’s executive cirector Christine Francis said, “We have instructors whose enthusiasm excites and challenges our students. Their enthusiasm is the glue that binds us as a learning community.”
Verna Call said a student don’t have to be retired to sign up for a class, and there are no age or education requirements to take a class.
The students usually come from Butler, Lawrence and Mercer counties.
Membership levels begin at $15 to take one class or trip and rise up to $100 to become a sustaining member which entitles students to register for up to 12 classes or trips.
For more information, call 724-738-1604 or by email info@ilretirement.org
