Free seminars return for second season including a new class
By Mark Abromaitis
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
Riding a wave of excitement from the first round of free continuing education seminars, the Center for Continuous Learning at Tallgrass Creek expanded it’s offerings for the next semester.
The adult education program will offer classes on severe weather, financial advising, wine tasting, travel, and due to a great number of requests, a class on genealogy.
“They were just so very well done,” participant Dorcas Doering of Overland Park said of the seminars. Doering spent years organizing similar adult-education programs for a local nonprofit organization. She and her husband Paul attended three of the four events last semester and are looking forward to the next ones. “You learn a lot. And after all, an active mind is a growing mind.”
“The response for the first series was great,” Mark Meisenheimer, community relations associate at Tallgrass Creek said. “We want to make sure we are meeting the continuing education needs of Kansas City’s adults.”
Growing involvement
The Doering’s attitude is a popular one. Participation in adult education has steadily increased over the past three decades according to the surveys conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics of the U.S. Department of Education. The U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent study estimated that over 13 million Americans participate in some sort of adult education program.
“It’s a good day. The classes are both educational and fun.” Meisenheimer, said. “There’s always something new to learn. So what type of student is participating? “These are students of life who need to quench their thirst for knowledge,” Meisenheimer said.