Left to right: Riley Jackson, Louise Grabell, Ken Lund
Ken Marich
The Institute for Learning in Retirement (ILR) was founded in 2005, and the first session offered 12 courses. Today, the ILR offers approximately 30 courses for SaddleBrooke residents per year taught by more than 50 qualified instructors, including courses in history, geology, political science, art, medicine, literature, music, science, astronomy, religion, mythology, magic, dinosaurs, water quality, and many more topics. The ILR education program has now grown to over 1,850 subscribers (members).
On Jan. 21 the ILR held its annual reception for the instructors to personally thank them for their contributions to our successful program. The highlight of this year’s reception was to honor three individuals who have been with the ILR program since the beginning in 2005. The honorees are Louise Grabell, Ken Lund, and Riley Jackson. In 2005 Louise taught bioethics, Ken taught astronomy, and Riley was on the founding board of directors. Congratulations to all three. They have contributed much to the program. All reception attendees enjoyed food, drink, and socialization with other instructors and their spouses. Magical entertainment was provided by Magic Ken (aka Ken Marich).
The ILR is always looking for new instructors to join our faculty. The ILR has two sessions of courses each year; one in the fall and one in the winter/spring. Courses are usually three to six weeks in length, depending on the topic. The classes meet for two hours a week. Class size varies between 20 and 50 students, depending on the instructor’s request. No tests, no grades, no papers—just a group of SaddleBrooke residents getting together to learn something new and participate in lively discussion and interaction on topics of interest. Instructors’ knowledge and expertise might be derived from a job, a vocation, or lifelong passion and could be the basis for a course.
If you are interested in teaching an ILR course, go to the ILR website at sbilr.org. You don’t need a background in teaching, just the desire to share your knowledge with others. We welcome any SaddleBrooke resident to attend or teach an ILR course. To get started, contact Mel Durchslag, Curriculum Development Committee, at mel.durchslag@gmail.com or Ken Marich, Instructor Recruitment Committee, at kenwm77@gmail.com.