Learning has no age limit: Partners In Education offers wide range of classes for everyone
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How to enroll
WHAT: Partners In Education classes are aimed primarily at the 50-plus crowd but are open to anyone.
WHEN: Various dates now through November.
COST: Varies from free offerings to those with a nominal cost of $30.
REGISTRATION: 376-9241 or Mill Race Center, 900 Lindsey St.
Columbus’ Howard Pearcy watches his words carefully, especially as he has advanced in his retirement years.
He refuses to use terms such as “senior moment” and “over the hill.” And he remains determined to stay positive about aging.
“I call it Pearcy-verance,” he said with a laugh.
The 81-year-old Columbus resident will serve as a facilitator for the class and webinar, “The Upscale of Aging,” one of 41 offerings in the fall installment of Partners In Education classes. The eight-year-old program, known by the acronym of PIE, is aimed at citizens who are 50 and older but is open to all ages.
The series regularly attracts hundreds of participants and features classes as varied as bad U.S. presidents and great architecture. Spring’s session drew 250 participants for 14 classes.
The latest session — with fees ranging from free to $30 — includes classes in the arts, history and current events, nature, religion and more.
Bob Pitman, executive director of Mill Race Center, is one of the eight partners involved in organizing the program. He said the economical bargain is part of the attraction for many enrollees.
“I think it is that and the fact that they are so varied in what they cover,” Pitman said.
Current possibilities include “Lives of Great Composers,” a study of the John Steinbeck novel “East of Eden,” a look at the War of 1812 and beginning chess.
The idea: Give people a broad range of choices simply to learn and to grow.
Twists for fall includes the aforementioned “Upscale of Aging” webinar, linked to South Bend’s Memorial Hospital, and a class focusing on the presidential debates on the three evenings of the face-offs between President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney.
PIE partners, besides Mill Race Center, are the Bartholomew County Purdue Extension Service, Columbus Area Arts Council, Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, Columbus Parks and Recreation Department, Columbus Regional Health, IUPUC and Ivy Tech Community College-Columbus/Franklin.
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