On the advice of two friends of mine, I have joined the Renaissance Society on the campus of Sacramento State University. This Society's purpose is for the continuing education of people over the age of 55, primarily those of us who have retired but want to continue to share our thoughts, experience, and curiosity. We had an orientation program this morning for the 50 to 60 persons who are interested in joining for the Spring Semester and a registration session this afternoon for the close to 900 current members of the Society to select the on- and off-campus seminars that they find interesting. And a wide range of topics there are. Everything from Ancient Greek Civilization to Contract Bridge, from Watercolor to Consumerism, from Great Decisions to Finding Spirituality Today. In addition to the seminars that carry the same topic through the semester, one class per week, there are also forums (fora??) and mini-seminars that cover a different topic each week and bring in special speakers or discussion leaders for just one class and topic. There are also special excursions and walks that are more or less one of a kind throughout the semester.
Although designed as continuing education, it was obvious from the interaction between the participants at the registration that there is a significant social function. People greeted old friends that they had taken previous classes with and were attempting to update each other. With no tests and much more class participation, this will definitely be different from the city college classes I was taking but should be a very positive experience.
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