Yesterday I spent two hours giving a presentation on political parties to middle school civics teachers in the Newport News Public School system, where I taught for 14 years after we moved to Williamsburg. Today, I’ll spend two hours giving the same presentation to high school government teachers in the system.
This came about through a conversation I had with a former teaching colleague who is now the social studies coordinator for the school system. I have kept up with Jessica off and on since I retired, and last year she asked me if I would be able to help her out with an in-service training session that teachers are required to attend during the week before the students come back to school. Last year, my presentation was on local history resources that teachers could access and recommend to their students. This year, Jessica asked me if I could present something to her civics and government teachers. After some discussion, we decided that I would do a presentation on political parties.
This was not hard to put together. A few years ago, I taught a 6-hour class on political parties for the Osher program. Teaching this material for Jessica and her teachers meant simply recycling – extracting slides from the larger presentation to use in my smaller presentation this week, and then doing a little editing and updating to make it all work together. Teaching a variety of courses for the Osher program has allowed me to create a stable of courses that I can offer in other venues with very little additional effort.
I’ve done things like this a few times since I started teaching for Osher. I have presented some variant of my political parties course to several community groups, and in September I am adapting a class I taught on the Pinckney family of South Carolina to give a presentation to the local chapter of the Colonial Dames (of all things!).
Next spring, I’m scheduled to teach my Osher class on Benjamin Franklin in another lifelong learning program, this one at Christopher Newport University in Newport News. Doing this will require minimal editing and updating. And next summer, I’m hoping to take my Osher genealogy class on the road – to Chautauqua in upstate New York. Again, this will require some updating but not much significant work.
I like doing this because it keeps me focused on doing interesting things. In retirement, it’s easy to just sit back and vegetate. Most of the time, I schedule my days pretty much however I please, leaving time for my daily walk, lunch dates with friends, and the occasional doctor’s appointment. Having these presentations on my schedule makes me spend some time every day thinking about things outside of myself. This is always good. Studies show that the most serious problem facing aging adults is isolation. When they leave behind their work world, they find that retirement brings its own set of challenges – primarily, the challenge of shaping their days so that they have some meaning. It’s probably my Type A personality (ya think?), but I feel better about myself if I’m productive. I sleep better because I’m tired at the end of a productive day.
I also enjoy doing this because I always see friends at these presentations. Yesterday, I was able to talk briefly with a couple of teachers I had known while I was teaching in Newport News. Today, I expect to see a couple more. When I do community presentations, I also usually see people that I know. Neighbors, other people associated with the Osher program, people I’ve known from various churches or other organizations I’ve been part of – they show up at these presentations as well. Not because I’m presenting, but because the group is something they care about.
These community groups can’t usually pay their presenters, although I am sometimes offered lunch, dinner, or a swag bag of goodies. That’s okay. Tim and I aren’t getting rich in retirement, but we can pay our bills, have a reasonable hedge against disaster, and indulge in the luxuries that matter to us. Doing this sort of thing isn’t work — it’s fun.
Still wish I could take your class. Too bad it's not all Zoom.
Fun! Exactly right!!