Tuesday Courses   

This course is designed for students who have taken the Absolute Beginners Pickleball course or who have a rudimentary knowledge of the game. It will be taught by seasoned instructors who have taught before. Expect to build on the basic game to include advanced strategy in play. We will meet at Lithia Park pickleball courts every day for five consecutive days for 1½ hours. There will be an emphasis on safety and sportsmanship. This skills-building class will focus on different types of serves; lobs; third-shot drops or “drop shots” drives; partner communication; stacking; types of scoring; and identifying Bert, Ernie and Nasty Nelson! The last day will be a fun round-robin in which players will rotate play with all other players. There will be an instructor/Ashland Oregon Pickleball Club member at each court who will be ensuring no faults and providing feedback. A waiver must be signed prior to the first class. 

NOTE: Students are expected to have their own paddle and know the basic game, such as rules/usapickleball.org, court position, basic serve, return of serve, NVZ, calling “out” balls, safety and sportsmanship. Players will need court shoes, a hat or visor, snacks and a hydrating drink. Eye protection is recommended. 

This course is designed to provide an opportunity to speak and listen to Spanish in a comfortable nonjudgmental atmosphere. It is meant for those who already speak Spanish with some fluency but who don’t have all the opportunities to converse that they would like. Each week, students will be provided with materials to stimulate conversation on a particular theme, including poems, readings, song lyrics and discussion questions. During each class, we’ll talk in a whole group and in breakout rooms. Themes include education, music, science and more, but it will be all right to stray from the theme. Grammar and vocabulary questions that arise will be answered, but the class is about enjoying conversation in Spanish. Any learning that occurs arises from that. It will enhance our conversation if students spend some time with the materials posted on LearnerNotes before each class. Translations are provided for readings and song lyrics. 
 
NOTE: This is not a Spanish course per se, and it won’t work for beginners. Rather, it is a chance for those who already comprehend and speak Spanish with some fluency to listen to others, converse freely and encounter readings and songs that reflect Hispanic culture. Those who have been in previous Conversaciones courses will find new themes, readings and music.

Using research-backed strategies, the AARP Smart Driver course has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of accidents, help you become more proficient in the current rules of the road, improve your defensive driving techniques and help with safe vehicle operation amid today’s more demanding driving environment. This course, crafted for drivers age 50 and older, will focus on the vital relationship between the driver, vehicle and road and look at how factors such as aging, medications or alcohol can impact driving. You’ll gain insights into safe driving practices while sharing the road and learn about the latest vehicle safety features and technological advancements. Maybe most important, you’ll identify when it’s no longer safe to drive and how to find alternative travel options. This course may qualify you for a multiyear discount on your auto insurance while helping you confidently maintain your independence and safety on the road.

NOTE: A required materials fee of $20 to $25 (discount for AARP members) includes a comprehensive 120-page participant guide to bolster learning and reinforce key concepts.

Playing the harmonica can bring joy to you, to other musicians with whom you play and to those who enjoy listening to music. In class, we’ll listen to recordings to become familiar with the typical chord progressions one hears when listening to the blues. Then we’ll improvise harmonica “riffs” (strings of notes that sound good) that complement them. We will let our ears guide us, playing the notes that our hearts and gut-sense tell us sound right. We will not be reading music or expecting to play a given song in exactly the same way twice. As with any skill, it takes practice to be a good harmonica player, so you will be expected to practice on your own between classes. The instructor will direct you to recordings and online resources that provide background music with which to practice. Having access to a CD player, the internet and a computer with speakers will be essential.  

NOTED: A $15 fee is due at the first class meeting for materials. The instructor will provide each student with two Blues Band harmonicas in different keys, printed materials and audio recordings (on CD). Each class session builds on the one before, so it is important that students attend all sessions. Students who know they will miss a class are asked to take the class during another term.  

This is the perfect course for those who might enjoy a deep dive into some of the finest short stories published last year. Some of the authors contributing this year include Molly Dektar, Alexandra Chang and Jim Shepard. Before each session, students will read three designated submissions from the anthology “The Best American Short Stories 2024,” which will then be discussed in comfortable, inclusive classroom surroundings. This collection explores a wide variety of settings, characters, styles and intentions — all stunningly contemporary. Please look forward to this new term with confidence that students and teacher alike will enjoy and learn from this text and from one another. Class participation is expected and encouraged. 

NOTE: A copy of “The Best American Short Stories 2024” edited by Lauren Groff is required. The current paperback version of this book is available online at Thriftbooks, Amazon or anywhere else books are sold, and is priced at about $16.

What tickled the theatrical fancies of our early American ancestors? Stories about George Washington and his soldiers, Pocahontas, the Salem witches, Indian chiefs, poor but honest yeoman farmers and social climbers aping the latest fashions from London and Paris were all grist for our playwrights in the early days of our republic. The two best-known plays of the era, “The Contrast” and “Fashion,” will be presented, along with others I’m sure you have never heard of. As part of the tale, you will learn how show business moved from London to the Colonies and how one of the bloodiest riots in our history was started by a performance of “Macbeth.” No text is required. No prior knowledge is assumed.

NOTE: Be aware that some of these plays would not be considered “politically correct.” They reflect the attitudes and language of the late-18th and early-19th centuries.

Microsoft Word is a powerful word processing program, but most beginning users are either not familiar with or reluctant to use Word’s wide range of features. This is a hands-on class. The instructor will provide pre-typed documents, and students will provide their own laptops, curiosity and questions. Students will learn basic tips for inputting, formatting and editing Word documents. Some of the topics covered include shortcut keys, navigating the ribbons and dialog boxes, formatting paragraphs and adjusting layouts, creating and manipulating tables and using the quick access toolbar and features for editing and tracking changes. The pace of the class will be determined by the students. Students should know how to download, open and save their documents. They should be familiar with their own laptops and aware of where their documents are located/saved. Review exercises will be emailed after each class to practice what was learned in class. 

NOTE: This class is based on Microsoft Word for PCs. Students will need to bring in their laptops preloaded with the documents they have downloaded from my emails and saved in a familiar location for easy retrieval. 

This course will be an introduction to astronomy, specifically observational astronomy. Students will learn how to look in the night sky without a telescope to see constellations, identify planets and discern lunar phases. This class will specifically focus on our Southern Oregon skies in spring. Students will get a chance to practice their knowledge by observing in the North Medford High School Planetarium. Our planetarium features a Digistar 7 system, a fully digital system capable of manipulating space and time with real-time data and stellar computer graphics. The course will be half online lecture, half lab-based in the planetarium, and will offer optional night sky practice at our Southern Oregon Sky Watchers viewing location high in the hills of Ashland. There is no background knowledge necessary; all levels of learners are welcome.

NOTE: The course will alternate between online instruction using Zoom one week followed by lab-based practice of concepts at the North Medford High School Planetarium the next week. Weeks 1, 3 and 5 will be online and weeks 2, 4 and 6 will be at the planetarium. Students participating in optional field trips will need to sign a liability waiver.

We often take plants for granted. The goal of this course is to foster an appreciation for the importance of plants in our daily lives. We will examine how plants contribute to our lives and well-being, including such basics as oxygen to breathe, food, shelter and clothing. We will also discuss the role of plant compounds as medicines and psychoactive/stimulating agents. Using coffee as an example, we will answer such questions as: What species of coffee are grown? Where did they originate? How does caffeine work in the body? The course will introduce scientific concepts and terminology relating to plant structures and functions and economic and historical aspects of plant use. The format will be interactive lectures. Plant material will be brought in periodically to demonstrate particular concepts.