Last Class for Now

Tuesday will be the last of a series of classes I have been teaching for the Institute of Continuing Learning at Young Harris College, Young Harris, Georgia.

I hope to teach again in the fall and I hope to teach online. This has been a very good experience for me and for my students, some who live long distances from here. It is very satisfying to see my students grow in their writing and enjoy it as well. This group has been the most dedicated class of the three I taught this year. 

I saw a conversation between Dr. Fauci who is 80 years old and Jane Brody, a woman his age who works in public health. They both said they have no plans to retire and enjoy what they do. Dr. Fauci said he takes long walks every day and eats properly to stay in shape. He said at one point last year he was only getting about four hours of sleep at night, but his wife reminded him that this pandemic was like a marathon and will be going on a while, so he had to take care of himself.

Many men and women who are way past retirement age still go to work every day and do a great job. I wish the media would concentrate on their stories. 

We should not write off a person once he is past retirement age because most of the older generation I know are leading active lives. Dr. Fauci said when he does retire, he plans to write a memoir and also articles. I look forward to his memoir where he can tell what really happened during 2020.

So many people are writing their stories now. Memoirs are the top sellers after romance novels. 

I'd better get busy with my own book. And I hope my students will continue to write all summer and join me again in class next fall.

Write Your Memories into Family Stories

Write Your Memories into Family Stories

with Glenda Beall

Online with Zoom 

To register, contact the Institute of Continuing Learning

 

See the calendar for the winter session Here.

Tuesdays    1:30 pm – 3:30 pm      January 26 – March 2

 (6 Sessions - $20)

Remember: You must be registered for a class 5 days prior to the class starting in order for the ICL office to process your registration and invite you to the meeting

ENTERTAIN AND ENLIGHTEN YOUR READERS WITH YOUR LIFE STORIES

I was supposed to meet at Young Harris College for a preview of classes coming up soon. But I could not be there Saturday morning.

I am excited to be teaching on Wednesday afternoons, beginning July 12, 3:15 - 5:15 p.m. through July 26 at YHC for the Institute of Continuing Learning. This is an organization formed to give opportunities for furthering education in many subjects to adults in our area.

Over the years I have taken beneficial classes at ICL. One of the best was with Kay Lake who taught several courses in computers. Kay taught without making one feel ignorant or dumb. She carefully explained everything and made books for us to bring home.

Some years ago, I taught memoir writing there to a large class of adults. I will be teaching the same subject again. With three classes of two hours each, we will only be able to hit the most important subjects: what to write, where to begin, what to leave out, and how to organize.

We can write about our lives in short true pieces. We can tell the important stories that entertain our readers. We are not writing an autobiography. We can write about a certain time in our lives and not try to include the entire span.

We can tell our readers about what was important to us and what we want them to know about us. If we are writing for our families and not for the public in general, we don't have to be a professional writer. But we do want to entertain and enlighten our readers. We don't want to spend hours and hours of time writing a book that no one reads. We want our writing to be the best it can be so we share our work in class and get feedback from classmates.

My students tell me they enjoy my classes, and I see how much they learn. You can visit ICL by going here to see the bulletin and list of classes and instructors.