Lifelong Learning

I recently read an article about Modern Monetary Theory, which I thought I understood but knew I could never explain. Shortly after that I got the spring catalog for OLLI at BCC (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Berkshire Community College) and there among a diverse offering of 27 classes was Macroeconmics. I usually take courses in poetry and art, sometimes history or social sciences, and last semester a fabulous class, “Freight,” that covered shipping, trucking, railroads and air, with insights into the technological “disruptors” in each industry and the changing nature of work. The joy of lifelong learning is the ability to choose subjects out of my experience and comfort zone. With the freedom of no required assignments (lots of reading, but how much is up to me) or exams, it is truly learning for the sake of learning. I remember one of the founding members of the Institute, a civil engineer, finding joy in his music and art classes. Each of us gets to fill in the gaps.

The second course I am taking, Moby Dick, is a little more in line with my background. However, in spite of being an English major as an undergraduate and Masters Degree student, and even writing a dissertation on contemporary fiction for my Ed.D., I have never actually read the entire novel. Since Melville wrote Moby Dick in Pittsfield, a few miles from where I live, now seems like the prefect time to plunge in. I also plan to visit his home, Arrowhead, now a museum.

In one of my poetry classes we read excerpts from Moby Dick to better understand transcendentalists and anti-transcendentalists. It piqued my interest, although not enough to read the novel on my own. The class will be the perfect opportunity, with enough structure to keep me on track.

I supported the organization of the Lifelong Learning Institute 26 years ago and i am so happy to now reap the benefits.