Yesterday, Monday, August 30 we began Fall 2021 semester enrollment and we had nearly 900 registrations before noon. We are offering 34 courses this Fall including 20 new courses and 10 new instructors. We plan to have eight courses meet in-person. Course registration is open and there is a spot for you in most courses. Here's a little more info about some courses for which you can be sure to get a spot:

Legal Hot Spots is a member favorite here at Encore Learning. A former student "found the whole course outstanding in educating myself on a wide variety of legal topics." This semester will focus on five different topics, including Virginia election hot spots, abolition of Virginia's death penalty, the Supreme Court; your right to carry a gun in public, dismantling the "invisible wall" in the age of COVID, and the public defender system: fixes that need to be made. This course will be taught by five different instructors including, Richard Sullivan, Dale Brumfield, Mark Sherman, Jeffrey Gorsky, and Stephen Hanlon. This Thursday afternoon class is not to be missed. If you are interested check out this courses preview video.

Listening to Movies is taught by one of the most popular instructors, Dan Sherman. The course will focus on discussing the development and variety of film music from the great symphonic scores of the 1930s through today's rich mix of sounds and styles. The course highlight the work of many of the great masters of movie music, including Max Steiner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Bernard Herrmann, Danny Elfman and John Williams. If you want to learn more about this course, check out the course preview video.

Aging and the Brain is being taught by Michael Stutts. It will focus on the brain as it is the most complex organ of the human body. Participants will learn the functions of the parts of the brain and develop a better understanding of the brain’s normal aging process, with particular attention to memory. You'll learn about cognitive changes that are normal with aging versus cognitive decline due to disease and that dementia is not inevitable with increasing age. Finally, we will examine behavioral and lifestyle practices that are likely to help preserve or enhance brain functioning. Overall, past students loved "the informed, well-prepared, and clear presentations!" If you are interested in this course check out our course preview video. This course is planned to be taught in-person, but will revert to being virtual if necessary.

Socialism vs. Capitalism in U.S. Public Policymaking is being taught by Jeremiah Mitoko. This course will examine conceptual definitions, the history and fundamental flaws of socialism and capitalism, and the tensions between these economic philosophies in recent US institutional developments. We will consider the implications of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), proposed minimum wage legislation, and financial regulations. Relying on the perspective that coexistence of the two philosophies is challenging. Learn more about this course from Jeremiah Mitoko at his course preview video.

Register for classes today. Check our Courses page for up-to-date information about virtual and in-person offerings, as well as any requirements we have in place for in-person classes. If you are interested in a class that is filled, you can join the waitlist. If a space becomes available our office will contact you. You don’t have to pay to be placed on the waitlist for a course.

If you are having trouble registering check out Marty Suydam's newest Registration Tutorial on our YouTube channel.

The recordings of the Fall 2021 course preview are now on our Encore Learning YouTube channel. Watch your instructors talk about their courses and what they will cover over the weeks of class.

We are still in need of Fall 2021 Virtual Class Aides (VCAs) for this semester! Pictured above are many volunteers in their training, one of them may be your class aide. If you are interested in being a VCA and earning a complimentary course credit, please contact us at info@encorelearning.net.

It’s here! Encore Learnings new and improved website launched in early August with the help of our friends at Design TLC. We hope you all have enjoyed exploring our new site! The site features a new tour of Encore Learning's history as well as new accessibility help options.

In the Monuments Men Tour, sponsored by the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, Encore Learning members explored the extensive art theft masterminded by the Nazis during WWII as well as discussing the lengthy, complicated repatriation of the art to its rightful owners. Getty docent, Lee Rubenstein, led another Getty tour entitled “Herstory” which focused on the women artists whose works are part of the Getty Museum collection.

The third tour of the summer introduced members to lesser know American Artists identified as Southern artists, enjoying a docent led tour at New Orleans‘ Ogden Museum of Southern Art.

Recently we returned to one of our favorite venues, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, where docent, Melissa Clark, led us on a travel-focused tour. We viewed several works of American art illustrating travel for pleasure, work, adventure or escape from harm. Several different styles of art and periods in American history became the topic of a lively discussion between the docent and Encore Learning members. - submitted by Special Events Volunteer Michelle Trahan

On July 15 a small group of board members had the pleasure of meeting Nicole Torrico on Zoom. Nicole is the 2021 recipient of the Arthur W. Gosling Memorial Scholarship. The daughter of a Spanish Filipina mother, Nicole graduated from Yorktown High School and will be attending George Mason this fall where she is planning to major in criminology and minor in social justice and human rights. After four years of undergraduate study, Nicole hopes to obtain a law degree in order to work as a victim’s advocate. She is a fluent speaker of Spanish and American Sign Language. Those who met Nicole (pictured above) came away impressed by her drive, her focus on her education and her congenial personality. Art Gosling would have liked Nicole too. He would have been proud that such an outstanding student is benefitting from the scholarship named for him. - submitted by Encore Learning Vice President Mildred Patterson

Cinema Club Watches Respect

Eight Encore Learning members met up to see their first Cinema Club meeting in-person since the pandemic struck. They saw Respect, the powerful biopic of Aretha Franklin, starring Jennifer Hudson as Aretha and Forest Whittaker as her overbearing father. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the movie and the in-person get together. For the eight members, five gave the highest rating of 5, three gave it a 4.5 and 1 gave it a 4. One of their favorite sequences was Aretha's development of "Respect," an Otis Redding song, into the version we all know and love. Aretha personally chose Jennifer Hudson to portray her in the movie. - submitted by Cinema Club Co-Chair Lee Cooper

If you haven't joined the Cinema Club, know that you can and watching films may happen in-person or virtually. If you wish to receive their monthly emails of what they are watching and contribute to the ratings, send an email to info@encorelearning.net and say "I want to join the Cinema Club".

Information for members enrolled in the seven courses planned for GMU or thinking about it. Currently, all visitors to Mason's campus are required to complete a Health Safety Check. Encore Learning members will need to use the Non-Mason Login, which requires you to create an account. This will ensure the safety of you and those around you. Members will have to complete the Health Survey every time they visit the campus.

Additionally, Mason has mask guidelines when you are on campus. Everyone must wear a mask while indoors. We did learn that Au Bon Pain has re-opened after a long closure - before the pandemic it was shut down due to a disastrous flood in their restaurant.

Requirements are subject to change depending on the university's decisions. So please stay up to date on our website for any in-person course updates. Members registered for an in-person course will receive an email two weeks before the first class date with any requirements.

Mary and a few others do indeed take five classes. The average member, although none are average, takes two classes a semester. We are so grateful for our amazing members and volunteers! Remember none of this could be done without you.

Checkout what is coming up by looking at our calendar or upcoming events.

We have been fortunate to have so many volunteers serve with us over the summer to refresh our website, edit the course catalog, update our messages, plan and host special events, coordinate club meetings, and present our Course Preview. Each of the instructors you watched present at the Preview is a volunteer. As you join a class this semester, be sure to thank them for their time as well.

While our fall semester is accepting registrations and launches soon, with a special early semester course starting on September 22, we are already excited about the spring with hopes of more classes being offered in-person. If you have a course idea or recommendation, please share them with us at info@encorelearning.net.

I am so grateful to our fabulous Encore Learning staff who have worked especially hard over the summer to implement a new website and prepare for an exciting fall - kudos to Donna, Francesca, Patty and Vivian.

THANK YOU to Laurie McManus and all of you who kindly refer friends. We have many new members who have joined us in August and we'll tell you about them in our next newsletter.

Remember that many of our virtual Encore Learning Presents events are recorded and may be found on our YouTube channel. 

Encore Learning is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Any donation is a charitable contribution deductible from income tax to the full extent permitted by law. Members, friends and organizations wishing to support Encore Learning may direct contributions to our General Fund to support our sustainability or to the Arthur W. Gosling Youth Scholarship Fund.