While Anne and Terry Kennedy graduated from university nearly five decades ago, they never stopped learning and have no plans to do so anytime soon.
“Our daughter Meg and her husband completed Concurrent Education at Queen’s, and they were the ones who introduced us to Ever Scholar,” recalls Anne.
The Ever Scholar program is a series of free interactive courses offered by the Faculty of Education in collaboration with subject-matter experts. They are designed to engage lifelong learners by providing enriching and accessible learning experiences across topics in art, science, and the humanities.
Since Spring 2020, Anne and Terry have completed five courses online, learning about climate change, electric vehicles, health, happiness, and Indigenous culture. Courses include homework or research assignments, along with break-out discussions with other learners.
The climate change course inspired the Kennedys to upgrade from a hot water tank to an on-demand water heater to conserve energy, and to research high-efficiency furnaces and heat pumps in anticipation of needing to eventually replace their furnace.
The Indigenous culture course provided important background and context missing from their own primary school education, an area they are continuing to learn about from their two daughters and son-in-law who work in the education field.
“We didn't really have access to education to develop awareness of residential schools in the 1950s, 60s and 70s,” says Terry. “I worked for the national parole board for the better part of my career, and it’s known that there's a higher percentage of Indigenous people incarcerated compared to the general population. The course helped to provide some context on why that is the case.”
Terry and Anne say the Ever Scholar courses help them stay aware of what is happening in current affairs and technology while helping them keep their brains active and plan for the future.
Facilitating life-long learning
Brandon Ruck is the Business Development Manager with the Faculty of Education at Queen’s, and oversees all administrative aspects of bringing the Ever Scholar program to life.
The program started as an idea put forward by a group (including Jessica Della-Latta, Executive Director of Continuing Teacher Education, Professional Studies, and School of English) completing the university’s Foundational Leadership Program, a leadership development initiative for employees and managers at Queen’s.
Each Ever Scholar course hosts as many as 60 learners and, because delivery is online, attendees can be located anywhere in the world. Some have joined from as far away as Latin America.
While most attendees are retirees, later-in-life learners, or Queen’s alumni, Brandon says, “anyone who would like to learn is welcome to attend the program.”
The program has run about a dozen sessions so far during the last five years, with a growing alumni group of more than 400 members. Upcoming sessions include courses on neurobiology, old Hollywood films and the genesis of classic movies, and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
“We really want people who are engaging with the program to tell us what they’d like to learn about next because, within this program, we can leverage just about any area of expertise at the university.”
Each course is designed to total about eight hours of content over several weeks, delivered by subject matter experts who are part of the Queen’s community, including grad students and alumni. Brandon says the program is a great way for participants to get involved with the university from the comforts of their own home at no cost to them and with a relatively low time commitment.
Brandon adds he has been surprised by the ease with which most of the participants have navigated learning online.
“The majority of people jump right into the features. Many of the participants talk to family members and friends on Zoom or Microsoft Teams or FaceTime, so the familiarity there is largely pretty good. We haven't had any major technical issues with people being able to access the program.”
While people are often initially embarrassed by what they don’t know, Brandon says the courses create a no-judgment environment where entrenched beliefs and even conspiracy theories can be challenged. As well, the courses help fill gaps in knowledge and create space for learners to be vulnerable.
“One of the most exciting things I have seen in my career at Queen’s was in our First Nations, Métis, and Inuit culture course. It was a group of people who demographically skewed just a little bit older, and the majority of them were there because they didn't get an education around Indigenous culture while they were going through public school and they really just wanted to learn,” says Brandon.
Brandon says younger generations are afforded more opportunities to learn about topics such as mental health, for example, and Ever Scholar is helping to fill that gap by providing opportunities for learners to enhance their knowledge and understanding on a variety of topics.
“It’s really cool to witness the participants’ willingness to learn and grow and to know (Ever Scholar) is having an impact on the way people are going about their lives and interacting with our community,” says Brandon. “That's what we're supposed to be doing in Education: making an impact on the community and doing things that matter.”
Information about upcoming Ever Scholar sessions is posted when available on the Faculty of Education’s website. Two sessions are offered in the spring with two more in the fall.
While courses are free to attend, donations to the Ever Scholar Fund are welcomed to help ensure programming remains accessible and available at no cost to all learners.
Interested in taking an Ever Scholar course? There are three sessions coming up in Spring 2023:
1. Urban Agriculture 101 - Tuesdays, April 3-25 from 3-5 pm
2. The Golden Age of Hollywood - Tuesdays, May 9-30, 3-5 pm
3. Wellness through Mindfulness - Thursdays, May 11- June 1, 4:15-6:15 pm