Where Learning Never Stops
We continue to learn new things at Paradise Valley Estates and we continue to stay involved in what is happening in our country. We just completed our 2017 Great Decisions topic — learning and discussing U.S. foreign policy.
Great Decisions, a program of the Foreign Policy Association, is America’s largest discussion program on world affairs. The class leader/instructor was Dr. Fred Barthmus, an experienced OLLI master teacher with 20 years of experience, who was joined by 36 residents for the wide-ranging discussion.
The program model involves reading the Briefing Book, watching the DVD and meeting as a group to discuss the most critical global issues facing America today. Fred says that PVE residents are a most interesting, experienced and challenging student body, as the community includes diplomats, professors, teachers, senior military officers from all branches, and business leaders. “Whatever country we are discussing in class, someone has been there, worked there, or currently has children or grandkids working there,” Fred said.
Great Decisions is just one of the interesting learning experiences you’ll find at PVE.
Liz Wildberger has been teaching memoir writing classes for many years. She has a way to get residents excited to write the most fascinating stories, to tell about their life and experiences, and to write for our in-house literary publications: the monthly Elysian Fields resident newsletter and quarterly literary magazine, The Write Place.
Residents have said that the memoir writing classes and our twice-monthly Writers Workshop are two of the best bonding experiences at PVE. Even better, they have helped to heal the psychological wounds of participants struggling with the death of a spouse or adult child through writing and sharing their pain with other members of the group.
Another learning opportunity at PVE is lifelong learning classes. The weekly classes include video presentations by famous teachers and profile topics such as American history, and U.S. national parks and the Supreme Court. We also have successful computer classes and workshops for PC and Apple computers, as well as iPads led by Wolf Schaechter (PC), and Judy Mulenburg and Bill Fernow (Mac and iPad).
Finally, for those who enjoy learning about other countries and cultures, we have a monthly series called Armchair Traveler. Coordinated by Karel Hedrick, the class provides an opportunity to learn about other fascinating countries and people from residents who have traveled or lived there.
The learning never stops at Paradise Valley Estates!
