All Life is Learning - September 2022

Director's Note

We made it through the opening days of registration for fall courses, despite:

Glitches in the registration system
Disappearing courses
Member/No-member charges

Yikes! Yet through it all, we survived!! Thank you all so much for your grace, understanding, flexibility, and kindness. Our registration system can be quite an "adventure" to navigate sometimes! These conversations are not new; however, we are actively thinking about how we can provide more information before registration opens to improve the user experience. We will keep you posted, but in the meantime, we hope you enjoy our fall semester course offerings!

Toni Woolfork-Barnes, Ed.D.
Director, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at WMU

In this Issue:

Curriculum

Fall 2022 Registration is Open

The fall course schedule is available for viewing on the website now! Registering online is the quickest way to secure your spot for the courses you want to take. If you need assistance when registering online, email us at wmu-olli@wmich.edu or call (269) 387-4157. Please leave a voicemail if we cannot answer – we will see it in our email. There is still time to register for September courses! Visit our website for dates and times of these September courses below.

We’ve Come A Long Way Baby – Hearing Aids for Babies
Technicians of the Sacred: The Secret History of the Manhattan Project
Organization, Management and Communication
Understanding U.S. – Iran Relations
The Many Phases of Personal Finance
Why is Michigan So Square?
KSO Plays Music Expressing Fate, Feelings, and Folktales
Forman Brown: The Michigan Years and Beyond
The Rules of Football
Air Zoo: Preserving Family Artifacts
Air Zoo: Stories in the Stars
Putin’s Russia: How We Got to Now
The Sense of Aging – Empathy Dining Experience, Section 1
Women’s Military Organizations, 1870-1900

Note: if you tried to register for a course and it was closed, you will be added to a waitlist. If a space becomes available, you will be notified so you can register if you are still interested. If you registered for a class, and for some reason will not be able to attend, please drop the course to open up a seat for someone else. Thank you!

Membership and Marketing

Did you know that your OLLI membership not only helps exercise your brain, which we know is helpful to the aging process, but it will also help your pocketbook?

The OLLI staff are currently updating the information for our membership cards. Once you receive your membership card, you can use it to access multiple discounts at different places. Be sure to carry the card with you and enjoy the savings!

Travel

MARK YOUR CALENDARS OLLI TRAVELERS!

Calling All Auto and Art Enthusiasts – This is Your Day!

Have you ever wondered how the very first Model T was assembled and made available to the public? Well, wonder no more! OLLI Travel will whisk you away to Midtown Detroit and Dearborn for a full day of admiration and awe.

Our first stop will be a visit to the historic Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, known as the “Birthplace of the Model T.” Experience the original Ford Factory with its worn wood floors and original brick walls, see Henry Ford’s office, and tour his famous Experimental Room, where the automotive revolution was launched.

November 11, 2022

Following the Model T guided tour, our next stop is the Detroit Institute of Arts, where you can explore the cafés on your own for lunch and get ready to take in the long-awaited Van Gogh in America exhibit. This stunning exhibit features around 65 of Van Gogh’s paintings and works from collections around the world. Initially scheduled for 2020 but delayed due to Covid, this exhibit celebrates the status of the DIA as the first public museum in the US to purchase a painting by the Dutch artist – Self Portrait (1887). This is NOT a virtual exhibit – we will see actual paintings by this Modernist artist with our own eyes!

It will be a long day but well worth it. Watch for an e-blast and explore the OLLI Website for complete registration and pricing details available early September.

Events

OLLI Readers Theater is a fledgling program that is quickly growing wings. We are fortunate that Linda LaRocque, an award-winning playwright and author whose works have been produced in civic and professional theaters throughout the U.S., has graciously donated her scripts to OLLI for this program. She has been published by Playscripts, Smith and Kraus, Art Age, Christian Publishers, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Signs of the Times, Guideposts, and other publications.

OLLI Readers Theater uses a series of her short plays that deal specifically with issues facing Seniors. Using minimal props and costumes, our scripts are read and not memorized, with an emphasis on the story. If you attended the Readers Theater breakout session at Taste of OLLI, you saw an example of the program. OLLI actors perform for various fields of medical students to help the students get inside the mindset of the aging process so they can better understand the unique issues Seniors face. This will help them be more effective in their own careers when dealing with older patients.

Amanda Rhodes, Associate Director, National Resource Center for Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes, spoke at Taste of OLLI and attended the OLLI Readers Theater breakout session. Afterward, she spoke with Linda LaRocque, Toni Woolfork-Barnes, and some of the players. She let us know that we are exactly what OLLI is about, what the organization is trying to promote, and will be featuring us in the NRC newsletter! Amanda told us that she has not seen anything like what we're doing in the entire OLLI organization. To quote her directly, "You are onto something.” The intergenerational aspect of the program is something OLLI wants but seldom gets. So, stand by because we have only scratched the surface!

Evaluation

OLLI’s summer session classes are finished! As always, OLLI offered a range of course topics, including 20 classes with a total of 228 registrations. Enrollment numbers ranged from 2 to 40 students per class. We don’t usually offer classes to as few as two, but two instructors were still willing to work with a very small group of OLLI students.

The most popular classes with the highest enrollments were about the local history of the Kalamazoo area, including:

Asylum Lake Preserve Colony for the Insane
Crane Park – The Historic Gem on Westnedge Hill
Downtown Kalamazoo This and That

Some classes took advantage of the pleasant summer weather, meeting outdoors to see local sites, learn the French game Petanque, or tour the Fort St. Joseph archaeological dig.

A special program begun this summer led to a set of courses taught by WMU graduate students, giving them the opportunity to share their career interests while providing expert instruction to OLLI participants. Those classes included the “Wild World of Prairies,” in which each participant received a packet of seeds of native plants, and “Wet and Wild – Habitat for Herpetofauna” (reptiles & amphibians), in which live snakes were brought to class!

Other summer classes this year included literature, technology use, religion, and social issues. OLLI at WMU’s curriculum committee works hard to provide a broad assortment of classes on topics of interest to our members. If you have an idea for a course, or would like to volunteer to become an instructor, don’t hesitate to email us at wmu-olli@wmich.edu!

Wellness Moment

Tyler Norman, Ph.D.
Manager of Corporate Outreach
ACSM Exercise Physiologist
NCFI Corporate Fitness Specialist
West Hills Athletic Club, WMU

Sleep and Exercise

I have noticed a change in my sleeping habits over the last 5 years or so. I once would have no trouble going to bed at midnight and getting up at five. If I try that now, in my mid-fifties, I will need to take a nap sometime in the afternoon. I have heard my clients showing up for workouts happy that they only had to get up once during the night to use the bathroom, when it is normally at least twice. My older clients tend to go to bed earlier and get up earlier, even if they do not have to. All this is to say, sleep quality tends to diminish as we get older.

Why should we care? Without getting into the nitty gritty of rapid eye movement and non-rapid eye movement sleep cycles, not getting enough sleep can adversely affect our health and trigger a cascading effect. A lack of adequate sleep can have a negative impact on concentration, stress management, alertness, memory, decision-making, communication skills, relationships, your immune system, and the list goes on. Additionally, poor sleep quality can increase the risk of clinical depression, headaches, blurred vision, memory loss, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, and a variety of mental health disorders. I will add that it speeds the progression of sarcopenia – age-related muscle disintegration. Conversely, adequate quality sleep can have a positive impact on all the aforementioned effects of poor sleep.

Countless studies associate regular physical activity with improved sleeping habits and countless more associate improved sleeping habits with longevity. A 16-week study conducted by Stanford University found that subjects who walked 30-40 minutes for 4 days per week experienced improved sleep quality, longer intervals of sleep, and shorter time to fall asleep than a non-exercising control group.

How much sleep is recommended? In a joint position of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, the magic number is…drumroll…7 hours per night for optimal health for adults 18-60. I know many OLLI members and newsletter subscribers are over the age of 65, so that magic number is 7-8 hours. You have earned an extra hour of sleep in retirement!

The takeaway – like almost every aspect of health, regular physical exercise will have a positive effect on sleep, which in turn will have a positive effect on our overall health, disease prevention, and longevity. Finally, if you are having trouble with sleep quality in spite of regular exercise, the National Sleep Foundation offers the top ten tips for a better night’s sleep here.

Thanks OLLI!

The Kalamazoo Literacy Council would like to thank the members of OLLI at WMU for their recent donations as part of Taste of OLLI. Your consistent contributions help us provide materials and supplies to adult learners as they strive to reach their academic goals. Thank you!

Tutoring as Lifelong Learning

The KLC is seeking reading and writing tutors to serve native English speakers and English Language Learners. If you're passionate about literacy and have a few hours a week available, you can help change the life of an adult in Kalamazoo County.

No experience is necessary; we provide free training and curriculum. The next session of online tutor training is September 8-22. Visit www.kalamazooliteracy.org/volunteer to sign up or contact Kito Jumanne-Marshall at (269) 382-0490 ext. 211 with questions.

What is the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute?

The program was initiated under the auspices of the WMU Emeriti Council and WMUx. OLLI offers intellectually lively and culturally appealing learning experiences. We accomplish this by focusing on intellectual stimulation, personal growth, social engagement and enrichment. Read more

What do we do?

We offer short courses for one to four weeks. Sessions are usually two hours long. Travel programs are also a part of our offerings. There are no tests and no required homework, just exploring lots of interesting topics.

In the near future we will offer courses in different formats -- noon hour discussions, several sessions in one week, and more evening courses. OLLI courses and activities are developed and produced by its members with the support of the staff of WMUx.

We need your ideas for course topics and instructors. Let us know your suggestions. Call the OLLI office at (269) 387-4157 or send an email. The curriculum committee will review all suggestions.