GUELPH – In a world that is constantly changing, there is one thing that remains timeless: it’s never too late to learn. Whether it’s picking up a new hobby, diving into a subject you’ve always been curious about, or developing a new skill, learning and education has no age limit. Third Age Learning Guelph (TALG), is one of many not for profit organizations of its kind, offering educational lectures to community members 55 plus.
“There’s a network of organizations similar to ours throughout the world,” said Third Age Learning Guelph chair, Cathy Farr. “The purpose is to provide lectures to anybody, but it’s really geared to senior citizens and so people, you know, 55 and up, shall we say.”
TALG hosts two lecture series a year, one in the fall and one in the winter. Lectures are offered every Wednesday at the Harcourt United Church in Guelph , both in person and online.
“We try to do a mix of what I would call more science-based things, plus more sort of humanities or arts-based things,” said Farr. “Right now, we’re running a series in the morning about the Canadian arctic and one in the afternoon on energy.”
Farr told the Advertiser that the sessions are well attended, with approximately half of those watching doing so from home.
“For this winter session, we have 279 people registered [for the Canadian arctic lectures], and about half watch from home, and half come,” said Farr. “And for the afternoon series, we have 178 registrants [for the lectures on energy].”
Lectures are given from 15 minutes to an hour, followed by a 10-minute break during which those attending are invited to write down any questions for the speaker. Following the break the speaker will answer all of the questions asked, which can take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes.
“It’s not just kind of a couple of questions and they’re done. There are a lot of questions, typically and sometimes the questions are kind of the best part,” said Farr.
Lectures are mostly given by academics; however other professionals are also invited to speak.
“What we try to do is find somebody who’s within, say, an hour’s drive, said Farr. “There are five universities within this area, and we may go a little farther afield into the city of Toronto.”
Farr said the purpose of the lectures is to “keep the brain cells active”.
“This isn’t for everybody. You know, some people just aren’t the slightest bit interested in this sort of thing,” said Farr. “But the people who sign up, I would say, typically have inquiring minds, they just love learning things about any subject whatsoever. They want to find out more.”
“I would say that although our clientele, you know, they’re senior citizens, but they’re not. Their brains aren’t old, let’s put it that way, they are very much engaged in the community and the quality of the questions that are asked of the speaker, I think speak to that, and our speakers have often commented on the fact that they would much rather speak to a crowd of senior citizens than speak to somebody who’s 19 and on his phone,” Farr continued.
However, the lectures stand to offer more than just a chance for knowledge, they are also an opportunity to see friends, meet new people, and socialize.
“For those who come out to the church, it’s also an opportunity for them to, you know, see their friends, or just say hello to people they know,” said Farr. “During the pandemic, we continued with the lectures online only, and when the pandemic sort of receded, we had to figure out what to do and decided that we would try what I call this hybrid model, where people can either come to the church or watch from home.”
“At first, I thought that I would prefer to watch from home, but I found that that’s not the case. And of course, you know, I live five minutes from the church, so it’s not that I have to drive a long distance anyway, but I found that I really enjoyed seeing other people, seeing people whom I hadn’t seen in, you know, quite a while in person, at least because of the pandemic. And so, I quite enjoy going over there on Wednesday.”
Farr said that it is too late in the series to register, as there are only two lectures left, however, those wishing to register for the next series, which will begin in the fall, are more than welcome too.
The upcoming fall series will feature lectures on the brain and the Nordic nations.
Each series costs $55, which includes eight lectures, or $10 at the door.
To register or to learn more visit talg.ca/lectures.
