Coastal Senior College
Enriching lives through the joy of lifelong
learning
CSC Committee News
#110, JANUARY 2017
PREVIEW OF SPRING
CLASSES
FOCUS ON CLASS
ASSISTANTS
COMMITTEE NEWS
CLASS NEWS
coastalseniorcollege.org
Phone: 1-207-596-6906
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MEMBERS
OTHER EDUCATIONAL
OPPORTUNITIES
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PHOTOS
OTHER EDUCATIONAL
OPPORTUNITIES IN MIDCOAST
MAINE
Preview of Spring Classes
Randolph, Resa, “Easy Bluegrass Jamming”
Pimental, Antoinette, “Tenebrism and Chiaroscuro”
Somoza, Paul, “Where are My Keys? A Journey into the Aging Mind”
Dashiell, Alice, “The Memoir Café”
Shaw, Steve, “When Nomadism Ends: the Fate of Israel’s Bedouin Citizens”
Roos, Jane, “French Impressionism: Mostly Monet”
Lavertu, Carmen, “Ideals of Democracy”
Janover, Carolyn, “How to Cut and Paste Your Writing”
Solomon, William, “Hollywood as Ideology”
Blaisdell, Charmarie, “Allons Enfants! The French Revolution and the People”
Kando, Paul, “After Capitalism”
Nesslage, Ann, “Chaucer’s Pilgrims: Their Lives, Many Sins, and Occasional
Virtues”
More detailed information will be available on our website at
coastalseniorcollege.org and in the Spring CSC catalog in late February.
FOCUS ON CLASS ASSISTANTS
We can’t say enough about how much the class assistants do to make CSC courses
successful. That is why we decided to devote a part of the newsletter to learning
more about them. The first responder to our inquiries is Kathy Dunne.
1.How did you first become involved
with Coastal Senior College?
After retiring in 2012, I read about
Senior College in the Free Press and
joined up shortly thereafter.
2. When we feature you in our enewsletter, what would you like other
CSC members to know about you (for example, interests, hobbies, other
volunteer work, jobs, family, travel, etc.)?
I worked for a major airline for 25 years and then taught French at the
High School Level for six years.
I love to travel, hike, cook and read.
3. Which CSC classes have you most enjoyed?
I thoroughly enjoyed the course on the Islands off the Coast of Maine and
have visited many of them since I took the course.
4. What advice can you offer to someone who might volunteer as a class
assistant?
The assignment is not difficult and everyone is willing to assist if you have any
questions. My only advice is to anticipate the students' needs.
COMMITTEE NEWS
Events Committee
The Events Committee hosted the second in a
series of brown bag luncheon discussions about
important recent films on December 20th at the
Midcoast Friends meeting house. The film under
discussion was MOONLIGHT, directed by Barry
Jenkins and already in receipt of numerous
awards. Further discussions on films will be
held.
For events related to the Winter CSC class “The Soviet Collapse” see the section
under Other Educational Opportunities.
Curriculum Committee
Curriculum Committee Welcomes New Members
Over the past several months, the CSC curriculum committee has added 5
new members to its roster:
Nancy Morith lives in Union. Her willingness to share her expertise
with long-term care financing, caregiving, and wellness for retirees
will be obvious in the coming months as she develops courses to
educate Knox and Lincoln county seniors about all aspects of
health care. One of Nancy’s many accomplishments is that she
served as a consultant to America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP)
and National Council on the Aging (NCOA), both in Washington,
D.C. You may also encounter Nancy as an enthusiastic fellow
student in CSC classes
Ann Nesslage lives in Bremen. Her background in British literature has
already delighted students in her first class as an instructor for CSC:
Old English Poetry: Heroes, Monsters, and the Ice Cold Sea. This
spring she will teach a course on Chaucer and his Canterbury
Pilgrims. Ann previously taught British literature, British Studies, early
Irish and Welsh literature, and mythology at Choate Rosemary Hall in
Connecticut. Ann is likely to be sharing insights as a fellow classmate,
as she also enjoys taking CSC classes.
Robert Stephan also lives in Bremen. In addition to his experience
as a lawyer, a judge advocate, and a state’s assistant attorney
general, Robert has been and continues to be active in many
community-based organizations. In Connecticut he was a police
commissioner, a member of the Southwestern Connecticut
Regional Planning Agency, and active in both Habitat for Humanity
and the New Canaan Senior Men’s Club. Robert’s energy,
enthusiasm, and ability to collaborate with others to achieve goals
is contagious. Perhaps you will see him in a CSC class.
Maryann Ward lives in Pittsfield. She has offered many
popular classes for CSC, both on her own and also with her
husband John. Maryann’s area of special interest is 19th
century British literature. She has published on the
relationship between literature, landscape and
painting. Bleak House, Middlemarch. and Making Monsters,
Breaking Rules are three courses Maryann and John have
co-taught. This popular instructor will see you in class.
John Ward also lives in Pittsfield. He too has offered a wealth
of stimulating classes both on his own and with his wife. John
has published on 18th and 19th century British works as well
as those of Vachel Lindsay and Robert Lowell. This winter he
is offering Robert Lowell’s Poetry: Troubled, Troubling and
Troublesome but Still Great.
As committee members discuss ideas for upcoming courses, the Wards, who are
the newest members of the Curriculum Committee, can offer collective wisdom not
only on engaging topics but also on teaching that makes students delighted to be in
class.
.
Curriculum Committee Seeks New Instructors and Courses.
In our continuing effort to provide Knox and Lincoln county members with
interesting and exciting courses, your curriculum committee spent the better
part of December 5 in a retreat brainstorming new ideas on recruiting
instructors and designing new courses. One idea is to offer "cluster courses"
that would be taught by a team of instructors, each teaching one or two
classes. This approach would not replace the very popular current model
where single instructors teach six to eight week courses. By offering cluster
courses, we believe we can attract new instructors who can offer different
kinds of courses. We plan on asking our members, volunteers, and faculty for
their ideas on new course material and to recommend new instructors. Watch
this newsletter and our website for more news on these developments.
Meantime, feel free to weigh in with your comments and suggestions to
[email protected].
Marketing & Publicity Committee
New Members
Kitty Norton
“I’ve always been curious - how does this work, why does that
happen, what makes a person write that way, where does this
go and how can I solve this problem. Graduating from
University of Washington in 1959 was the beginning of my
quest for learning more, not the end of it. I’ve lived a life rich in
experiences of rearing six children - all full of curiosity, teaching
English and yoga, working in the sailing industry, all the while
engaging in meaningful, happy family and social life. Coastal
Senior College is now providing many opportunities to continue
a full and rewarding life. “
Judith Mitchell
Judith has been a delighted CSC student for a number of years
and the artist who has created the pen and ink owl drawings for
CSC publications. She has a BFA in painting, and studied
Archaeology and Paleoanthropology as well as ancient Art
History, at Columbia University (NYC). Now living in
Waldoboro, Judith paints, writes, creates masks, plants too
many perennial flowers to tend to properly, makes necklaces
from her collection of ethnic and ancient beads, and attends as
many CSC classes as she has the time for. Never enough!
Are you a CSC enthusiast? Do you enjoy writing, meeting people? Are you artistic?
Do you love taking photographs? Would you like to moderate CSC’s Facebook
presence? Do you enjoy a challenge? If your answer is “Yes” to any of the above
questions, consider becoming a member of the Marketing & Publicity Committee.
Contact either of the committee co-chairs, Cathy Jewitt
([email protected]) or Shelly Swazey ([email protected]) for
more information.
Have you seen our pages in the CLC Adult Education & RSU 40
Adult Education Winter/Spring 2017 Catalog of Courses and
Programs? We hope you found them informative and attractive.
Send us class photos
We are interested in having photos of our instructors and students to publish in our
eNewsletter and CSC web site. Please ask your instructor if he or she would be
comfortable with photos being taken, and if "yes", under what conditions. That is, will
he or she allow photos while the class is in session or only when he or she is not
teaching. If the instructor will allow photos, tell the class that CSC wants photos of
students and instructors and encourage those with cameras to take photos within
the conditions expressed by the instructor. Photos of students should include the
instructor or at least show the students engaged in some activity.
Photos should be attached to an email ([email protected]) together with
the title of the course, and the names of the instructor, all students who are in the
photo, and the photographer so that all can be acknowledged. The photographer
should be encouraged to include in the email information explaining what the photo
is "saying", the nature of the activity in the photo, where the photo was taken if
outside, and other descriptive information the eNewsletter editor can use with the
photo.
PERKS OF MEMBERSHIP
Skidompha, Thomaston and Bremen libraries offer free library cards to our
members. Special events, forums, lectures, and field trips are also offered to CSC
members throughout the year, often noted in one of our e-newsletters. Additional
benefits of CSC membership include the opportunity to join the governing board, the
operating committees, and volunteer opportunities such as planning special events,
assisting instructors, and helping with office tasks.
CLASS NEWS
Photos are from Jack Farlow’s class
Geology and Me
These photos were taken at Pemaquid
Point Lighthouse on a field trip,
November 7, 2016. Jack is in red, amid
the rock formations he had described
in class.
Thanks to Kathleen Bachus for
submitting these photos.
FEEDBACK FROM CSC MEMBERS
AND NOW FOR SOME MORE COMMENTS:
“Senior College is a wonderful way to be alive and stimulated
intellectually.”
“Impressed - first time attending a CSC course - can’t wait for the next
catalog.”
“Thank you for the time and effort that went into this fabulous class!”
“The caliber of instruction and the variety of courses are impressive.”
“Makes life richer for seniors.”
OTHER EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
Washington to Moscow: US Soviet relations and the
collapse of the USSR.
Book launch for Louis Sell
February 24th, 2017 at 5:30 at Sheepscot General,
Whitefield Maine
An instructor at Coastal Senior College, Louis Sell, has
had a twenty-eight year career in the US Foreign Service,
dealing in various aspects of US-Soviet relations, including
six years at the US Embassy in Moscow. He was present
and witnessed the collapse of the USSR and its
aftermath. His book on the subject, From Washington to
Moscow: US-Soviet Relations and the Collapse of the
USSR, was published this August by Duke University
Press. He has also written Slobodan Milosevic and the Destruction of
Yugoslavia. He is one of the founders of the American University in Kosovo and
teaches at U. Maine at Farmington. Louis speaks Russian and Serbo-Croatian.
He will be teaching a CSC class this winter entitled The Soviet Collapse: How it
Happened and its Meaning Today – the View of a Participant, which will begin on
Wednesday February 8th and run through March 15th from 10:00 until noon.
Winter Wisdom Lecture Series
The Midcoast Senior College is sponsoring the Winter Wisdom Lecture Series 2017
with weekly presentations at the Morrell Room of the Curtis Memorial Library in
Brunswick. The events are free and open
to the public. For more detailed information on the classes, the speakers and their
topics please go to https://midcoastseniorcollege.org/winter-wisdom-lecture-series.
Maine Senior College Network
Comprised of 17 senior colleges throughout Maine (including Coastal Senior
College) whose goal is to provide exciting, intellectually stimulating non-credit
courses (taught by volunteers) and learning opportunities for adults over the age of
50. Your CSC membership allows you to enroll in classes at any other senior
college when there are openings. http://www.maineseniorcollege.org/
Spectrum Generations
Talks and presentations like the 2016 Aging in Place Symposium, exercise and
yoga classes, help with your taxes and safe driving tips.
http://www.spectrumgenerations.or/coastal-center
Adult Education classes in Knox and Lincoln counties
CLC/RSU40 http://clc.maineadulted.org http://msad40.maineadulted.org
Five Town http://fivetowns.maineadulted.org
Boothbay
http://boothbayae.org
Boothbay Community Center
Activities and classes primarily for seniors.
http://boothbaywellness.org/events/category/community-center
Cecile Horowitz