Lifestyle Change

No Campus This Autumn

Fall is definitely in the air this morning, with the temperature in the mid-40s. Trees in Minnesota are starting to change color, pumpkins are appearing on doorsteps, and geese are gathering for their long flight south.

One thing that is not happening for me this fall is a return to campus. Over the last few years, I have taken a number of classes at one of our local universities. I took a freshman level sociology class, and a number of lifelong learning programs designed for people who are retired.

I have really come to enjoy the annual return to campus – to learn a little bit, and soak up the university vibes on campus. A homecoming, of sorts.

This year, I just didn’t find any classes that were that interesting to me. The university only offers nine lifelong learning classes a semester. Some conflict with other activities I have and many have topics that are too obtuse for my interest.

A couple of the classes offered this term include “Dream of the Red Chamber: A Chinese Opera” and “Powering A Circular Economy With Green Ammonia”. I don’t think I would even read a magazine article on those topics! I sometimes think the class topics are what the professors want to teach, not what many would want to learn.

Our University of MN has a very large lifelong learning center, with dozens of classes. Unfortunately, they have a strange business model. Instead of charging $25-$75 for a 4-6 week class, they charge $325 for a one-year membership fee. They also moved many of their classes to Zoom during the pandemic and still have less than half of their activities in-person. Honestly, if I want to learn something on TV, I’ll just watch NOVA or a Ken Burns Series.

So, I will miss returning to campus this Autumn. Maybe I’ll look for some music, a theater performance, or catch a football game. I do love going back to campus in the fall!

Are you taking any lifelong learning programs?

Image: (c) MrFireStation.com

15 thoughts on “No Campus This Autumn”

  1. Our new community offers Dataw Academy. It is four half-days next month. We are looking forward to learning more about the area.

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    1. That’s a great amenity! I think Celebration FL has something similar, but haven’t looked into it yet.

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  2. Great topic! Big fan of self education.

    I participate in a combination of online, reading and in person classes.

    When learning new skills for working on my house and cars, YouTube is the way to go. Just saw a great video last night on troubleshooting cruise control systems presented by Rock Auto as a YouTube video. My entire family has been participating in an online language course for about the last year and a half. This was a type of learning the I totally avoided at the UW. I am starting to get to where I see Spanish signs or hear it on the radio or TV and can follow along. I try to read a book a week and alternate between education and fiction. Some of the political fiction authors wind current events and risks into their stories.

    Hoping to attend in person engine and transmission rebuilding courses next year at my local Community College. Will be taking the same classes that students who are going for their certifications take.

    We live in what should be the golden age of education in the US, yet one wouldn’t realize it when considering the failings of our public schools. This is by design, because a Communist named John Dewey purposely dumbed down US Education in the 1920s. The dumbing down of society might be a contributor to widespread cognitive decline diseases of retired people. Self-Education is the answer to Use It or Lose It.

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    1. It sounds like you are a multi-channel learner!

      A couple comments …

      I met a guy who realized MN seniors could take free classes at any MN community college or technical school. He bought an old Jeep Commando and completely restored it. He had it trailered to the technical school In Minneapolis and worked on it for 18 months. Got a lot of free help too. They even had a full paint studio.

      Political Fiction … are you reading this Real Raw News? My son sent me a link. It’s a guy who takes current events and spins them into wild (conservative-leaning) fiction. I guess the writer has attracted a huge following and critical acclaim for his writing & plot twists.

      I’ve never tried to learn another language. I often say my goal is to travel the world without learning anyone’s language. So far it’s worked – China, Europe, Middle East, Japan. Good old English has gotten me through!

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      1. I am planning to utilize Community College the same way as you described.

        The political thriller authors I am reading are Kyle Mills who took over writing the Mitch Rapp Series after the original author Vince Flynn passed much too early. He is doing a really good job, Three of his most recent topics covered weaponizing a bat derived virus and using it against the US by simply having infected people walk into the country. This book was released during September 2019! Is that timing or what? He had another book where the attack was a combination cyber and physical attack on the US electric grid and the havoc it would cause. Finally, he had another about using a highly addictive and deadly drug as the attack.

        Brad Thor is another author who is doing the same in his Scott Harvath Series. Had a book come out a couple years ago about the Artic and current warming trend allowed it to be used as a shortened trade route and rich resource for minerals, oil and gas. Russia and China were the protagonists and the US is behind the game. Just read a news article last week that the US is starting to realize they should be working in this area.

        Good fiction writers have been doing this forever. Jules Vernes’ “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” is about a submarine using a ‘mysterious’ power source (nuclear) to power it and was released in 1869. Arthur C. Clarke wrote about communications satellites in a stable geosynchronous orbit in 1945. This geosynchronous belt is called The Clarke Belt. Tom Clancy wrote in his book “Debt of Honor” about using commercial aircraft as a weapon. This book came out in 1994.

        I checked out Real Raw News for the first time and it seems to have a Babylon Bee vibe.

        Your description of language describes my relationship with Liberal Arts classes when I went to the UW and got a waiver from them. This is something entirely new for me, and it seems to be firing neurons that were never fired before and hopefully helps inoculate myself against cognitive decline. Work on your weakest area and see some large gains. Kind of like starting weightlifting for the first time and increase your strength by 50% in the first three months.

        My wife and I went to Matt Walsh’s “Am I a Racist” movie over the weekend. The movie handled the topic of DEI and all the shysters who are pushing DEI to earn outsized fees to corporations. I walked out of the movie feeling absolutely wonderful about being retired and not having to take stupid corporate DEI and other compliance courses ever again.

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      2. Vince Flynn was from the Twin Cities here in MN and very well known. He passed away much too early.

        Sadly, I haven’t read any of the Mitch Rapp books. I was just talking to a friend about the newest one recently. I really need to as I’ve heard they are outstanding.

        I’ve heard the Matt Walsh movie was pretty funny. After paying for Reagan at the theater 10 days ago, now I see it’s already on Amazon for free. I liked the movie, but should have waited, I guess!

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  3. I have not participated in any active in person classes but I have attended a few online classes. I believe that any educational institution should allow anyone to audit/attend a class if space is available at no charge, especially true for publicly funded colleges and universities. My father worked overseas in the early 50’s and in order to avoid income taxes, he drove to Montreal in the off season and audited classes at McGill which he couldn’t fit in the hurry up war time engineering program at Northeastern the professors loved his questions. He always said that he was trained at Northeastern (science), but educated at McGill (humanities).

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    1. Taxing American ex-pats has been on the books since Lincoln enacted it to prevent wealthy Americans to avoid taxes to pay for the Civil War. This law pretty much was forgotten about until Jimmy Carter got into office.

      Curious about how taking a course at McGill helped avoid US taxes, which would have been very high at the time?

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    2. That sounds like it worked out well for your Dad! Minnesota allows seniors (62+) to audit classes for free if space is available at any public college. It’s only for 62+ residents- and I’m not old enough!

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  4. My favorite of the Vince Flynn authored books in the series was “Term Limits”. Check out the synopsis in Amazon. Kyle Mills has done a great job keeping the Mitch Rapp character alive and he has a real touch for weaving real currents events into his stories. I typically get new books in this series as soon as they come out.

    Interesting that you are hearing that Matt Walsh movie is funny. That is the same my son’s are reporting from their gang. I found it similar to “The Office”, but for real.

    Going to the movies is a part of a date night with my wife and the cost of the movie is chump change compared to what we spend for dinner and a cocktail afterwards. Amazon Prime seems to air movies that play to Conservative Audiences. They also carried “Sound of Freedom” as a Prime included movie. If you haven’t already, check out the “Bosch” series and then “Bosch Legacy” available as a part of your prime subscription. The series is based on a series of books written by the prolific author Michael Connelly.

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  6. Hi Chief,

    Thought you would like this. Here is link of Vince Flynn appearing on The O’Reilly Factor as a guest invited to answer questions about terrorist threats. Note he was not invited to pitch his book but to share the expertise he gained through the extensive research that went into his books. Minneapolis Skyline appears in the background.

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      2. Probably someplace in the Riverplace / St Anthony Main developments. It was pretty lux then. Very few restaurants left now. Mostly empty.

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