{"id":11555,"date":"2021-08-30T16:51:49","date_gmt":"2021-08-30T23:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=11555"},"modified":"2021-08-30T18:15:34","modified_gmt":"2021-08-31T01:15:34","slug":"connect-discuss-and-explore-at-vistas-lifelong-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lesliedinaberg.com\/wordpress\/?p=11555","title":{"rendered":"Connect, Discuss, and Explore at Vistas Lifelong Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Learning new things and maintaining a vibrant\u00a0social life are two of the key pillars that experts\u00a0say will keep our brains sharp and healthy. This is\u00a0exactly what the nonprofit Vistas Lifelong Learning\u00a0(vistaslifelonglearning.org<\/a>) offers to the community.<\/p>\n

This volunteer-run organization, which started in 1999,\u00a0is dedicated to keeping aging brains nimble with ongoing\u00a0educational programs on a wide variety of topics. Recent
\ncourses included Foods That Changed the World (exploring\u00a0foods that have changed the world in profound and\u00a0delicious social, political, and economic ways); Unpacking
\nthe Dementia Epidemic (current thinking about the\u00a0causes of dementias, dementia management, and how\u00a0to stay on top of new developments); and Politics and
\nReligion in Verdi\u2019s Operas (with audio and video extracts\u00a0from modern performances of the operas).<\/p>\n

The depth and variety of the programming is impressive,\u00a0but the social component of Vistas is equally important\u00a0to its success. \u201cI think of all the connections that\u00a0people find through Vistas,\u201d said President Jim Hemmer<\/a>.\u00a0\u201cThere are two book clubs; there\u2019s a short story class; there\u00a0are memoir writing classes. And in our in-person programs\u00a0\u2014 which moved to Zoom during the pandemic\u00a0and will resume in the fall \u2014 there\u2019s always\u00a0a 20-minute coffee break in the middle so people\u00a0can socialize and see old friends and meet other\u00a0similarly situated people.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Hemmer, who retired from a career as an\u00a0attorney in Chicago and moved to Santa Barbara\u00a0with his wife, Francine, in January 2017, becoming\u00a0part of Vistas has been a great way to engage\u00a0his brain and find a community. Though it\u2019s not\u00a0a requirement, many of the Vistas presenters are\u00a0members as well.<\/p>\n

A longtime history buff, Hemmer found his\u00a0way to the organization through a presentation on\u00a0the Silk Road that he made to a luncheon group\u00a0called The Cosmopolitan Club (sbcosmo.com).\u00a0A Vistas member suggested he present to that group,\u00a0and the response was so positive that Hemmer ended\u00a0up teaching three different courses on the journey of the\u00a0historical Silk Roads through China\u2019s current efforts to\u00a0reinvigorate them today.<\/p>\n

\u201cVistas really attempts to satisfy this desire to learn\u00a0things, and being a presenter is a wonderful way of doing\u00a0that,\u201d said Hemmer. \u201cTaking other people\u2019s classes is also\u00a0great. I find that because I\u2019m busy preparing presentations,\u00a0I don\u2019t have time to take all the classes I\u2019d like to. I\u2019ve\u00a0been very busy during the pandemic, and it\u2019s just great.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vistas is a small group, explained Hemmer, fluctuating\u00a0between 300 and 400 members, and is not affiliated with any college or other institution.\u00a0Programs are open to the public for\u00a0a small fee, and the fees are less for\u00a0members. (Annual membership fees\u00a0are $40 per person for email-only\u00a0communications and $50 for snail\u00a0mail, with individual classes averaging\u00a0$9 per session for members and\u00a0$14 for nonmembers.)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really varied and interesting\u00a0group of people,\u201d Hemmer says.\u00a0The mostly retired members come\u00a0from very diverse careers, ranging\u00a0from former judges, teachers, and
\ndocents to social workers, librarians,\u00a0and secretaries, just to name a few.<\/p>\n

Upcoming programs in the fall\u00a0include a reprise of the Silk Road\u00a0series; the short history of cryptography;\u00a0the writer James Baldwin; climate\u00a0change and the impact on the\u00a0Great American Waterways; criminal\u00a0procedure; economic issues; and\u00a0the social safety net in the U.S., with\u00a0additional courses and details still\u00a0being finalized.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a very, very wide palette.\u00a0There\u2019s somebody for everybody,\u201d\u00a0said Hemmer. \u201cIt\u2019s a wide\u00a0variety of programs on science, history,\u00a0current events, music and fine\u00a0arts, and so on.\u201d\u00a0Research suggests that humans\u00a0learn better in social environments.\u00a0\u201cThe brain is triggered more\u00a0through discussion and questions\u00a0than from solitary activities such as
\nindependent reading,\u201d said Hemmer.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it turns out that Vistas\u2019\u00a0cooperative spirit that we\u2019re all in it\u00a0together and we get our ideas from\u00a0other members is particularly beneficial\u00a0in the case of seniors.\u201d<\/p>\n

See vistaslifelonglearning.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> Originally published in The Santa Barbara Independent<\/a> on August 12, 2021. Cover photo by Erick Madrid. To read this special section as it originally appeared in print, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Share this:<\/h3>