Continuing Education Center launches fall class schedule

By Elizabeth Marie Himchak

Educational classes are resuming in Rancho Bernardo, not just for youngsters but the senior-set as well.

A lecture on Tuesday, Sept. 9 about the Ukraine and Crimea, covering their history from 900 A.D. to present will kick off the 2014-15 lecture schedule for the Continuing Education Center at Rancho Bernardo.

CEC — dubbed “a fitness center for the mind” — is a nonprofit organization that provides a wide spectrum of academic-based topics geared toward the region’s retirees. Three two-hour sessions are offered each week from September to May, with locals able to attend as often as they wish.

Dr. Carol Saunders, a retired pediatrician who lives in Rancho Bernardo and a CEC member for about nine years, is the new CEC president. She said the most popular classes are those that focus on history, philosophy or are presented by entertainers. However, this does not stop the group from also delving into more timely topics that revolve around politics and world events.

This month includes lectures on the life and art of Paul Cezanne; language and laughter as presented by Richard Lederer; a discussion on South Korea that includes its culture, religion and social structure from the 1950s to present; the connection between the Panama Canal and San Diego; the Euro crisis due to a likely default by Greece, Portugal and Ireland; the rise and fall of the American Century; and a talk about the oceans, their tides and mysteries, including why oceans are blue.

“It is good for the aging brain to be involved in learning something new,” Saunders said, adding many lectures also fill in gaps in her education.

Lectures are often presented by professors from San Diego State University, the University of San Diego, University of California San Diego and California State University San Marcos.

They are 10 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays in the Remington Club II’s multi-purpose room, 16916 Hierba Drive in Rancho Bernardo. Free parking is available nearby in the Vons Town Center.

Each class is $5 for CEC members and $7 for non-members. Remington Club residents and CEC sustaining members are admitted for free.

The annual CEC membership is $50 per person or $80 per couple, which qualifies members to attend classes at the discounted rate. Sustaining members pay $200 per year, which allows up to two people in a household to attend an unlimited number of classes for free.

Saunders said most members live in Rancho Bernardo, but some come from Poway, 4S Ranch, Scripps Ranch and as far away as Oceanside.

For the organization to continue, Saunders said the group needs more volunteers to step forward for tasks such as setting up the audio/visual equipment, running the registration table and helping with newsletter distribution. To recruit more participants, she said CEC leadership recently decided to deliver the monthly newsletter to every home in Rancho Bernardo’s Seven Oaks and Oaks North neighborhoods.

It has about 200 members and lecture attendance is typically half members and half non-members. The more popular lecture topics can draw crowds of 30 or more, but she wants to see this number increase since the room can hold many more.

“People don’t like to talk to a small group, so we need to increase attendance since it was a little low last year,” she said.

Saunders attributed the drop in attendance to more retirees staying at home and using their computers to learn about topics that interest them.

“They can learn online, but they don’t get involved with the questions and interaction, which is just as important,” Saunders said.

For more information and complete lecture schedule, go to

www.cecrb.org

or call 858-487-0464.