WEBVTT 00:01.567 --> 00:03.901 - Welcome to WEDU Quest, I'm Dr. Shannon McQuaig. 00:04.968 --> 00:06.834 Oh, what to do when we grow old? 00:06.834 --> 00:09.200 Some pursue sports like golf and tennis, 00:09.200 --> 00:10.701 others seek the sun at the beach 00:10.701 --> 00:13.501 or meet friends for cocktails or afternoon teas. 00:13.501 --> 00:16.067 And the TV beckons many others to become couch potatoes. 00:17.400 --> 00:18.834 But there is more. 00:18.834 --> 00:21.000 Meet a group that challenges us to pursue knowledge 00:21.000 --> 00:22.801 and keep our brain in good working order. 00:23.901 --> 00:24.701 (mellow guitar music) 00:26.033 --> 00:28.667 This is the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute 00:28.667 --> 00:31.300 of Ringling College in Sarasota, Florida. 00:31.300 --> 00:33.767 It is a place where retirees come to pursue knowledge. 00:35.200 --> 00:37.767 - The organization began 20 years ago. 00:37.767 --> 00:40.200 A few retirees said there has to be more to retirement 00:41.634 --> 00:43.934 than just golf and the beaches. 00:43.934 --> 00:47.000 They were bright individuals and they met each other 00:47.000 --> 00:48.567 and decided, hey you know what? 00:48.567 --> 00:51.467 I'd like to learn more about what you know and vice versa 00:51.467 --> 00:52.834 and so they started this program, 00:54.667 --> 00:56.400 and the first year, they had 75 students. 00:58.534 --> 01:00.167 This past year, we had about 2,700. 01:01.601 --> 01:03.000 - [Shannon] According to executive director 01:03.000 --> 01:04.501 Janna Overstreet, life-long learning 01:05.634 --> 01:07.968 is best done in a group. 01:07.968 --> 01:10.434 - You are growing new challenges to your own thinking 01:14.300 --> 01:17.000 by listening to others in class and so our students respond 01:17.000 --> 01:19.234 really well to that because they feel like 01:19.234 --> 01:20.868 they're not just getting information, 01:22.334 --> 01:24.467 they're getting a learning experience 01:24.467 --> 01:26.567 and they're meeting new people, 01:26.567 --> 01:28.934 they're developing social networks. 01:28.934 --> 01:31.434 - [Shannon] She finds the lifeblood of this program 01:31.434 --> 01:32.100 is its teachers. 01:32.767 --> 01:32.901 Ooh 01:34.167 --> 01:35.834 - Tony Moon, the man is something else. 01:37.300 --> 01:39.467 So, he was a songwriter, he's a music producer, 01:41.167 --> 01:43.334 he worked with Patsy Cline, he was in Nashville, 01:44.534 --> 01:46.501 and his students love him. 01:46.501 --> 01:48.467 They will follow him to the ends of the earth 01:48.467 --> 01:49.968 to take one more Tony Moon class. 01:50.734 --> 01:51.267 Without you 01:53.868 --> 01:55.868 - I'd never heard anything like that before. 01:55.868 --> 01:57.734 I research a lot for these classes, 01:57.734 --> 01:59.033 I just don't come in here 01:59.033 --> 02:00.467 and try to fly by the seat of my pants, 02:00.467 --> 02:02.801 I try to really have it together and ready for them 02:04.067 --> 02:06.567 because these students that at are this school, 02:06.567 --> 02:08.834 they have got it together. 02:08.834 --> 02:11.167 That whole class I'm teaching this quarter is called 02:11.167 --> 02:14.234 In Harmony: A History of Vocal Groups, United States. 02:14.234 --> 02:16.901 We're doing, yeah Motown groups, doo-wop, 02:16.901 --> 02:19.000 groups like Pentatonix doing a capella stuffs. 02:20.267 --> 02:22.367 - [Shannon] Tony loves to discuss influences 02:22.367 --> 02:24.601 artists have on each other. 02:24.601 --> 02:26.367 - I've got examples of The Four Freshmen 02:26.367 --> 02:29.634 doing Beach Boys songs better than the Beach Boys, okay. 02:29.634 --> 02:32.534 What I was trying to show them was the correlation 02:32.534 --> 02:35.701 between The Four Freshmen, who were a big vocal group, 02:35.701 --> 02:38.133 mostly a jazz very modern harmony, and the Beach Boys. 02:39.734 --> 02:42.367 And everybody knows who the Beach Boys are obviously. 02:42.367 --> 02:45.934 And I wanted to show how Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys 02:45.934 --> 02:48.067 were incredibly influenced by The Four Freshmen. 02:49.968 --> 02:53.234 - It's amazing to learn about all these different groups. 02:53.234 --> 02:55.400 Tony has a wealth of information on these groups 02:57.167 --> 02:58.601 and he worked with many of them 02:58.601 --> 03:00.100 and it's just exciting to be here. 03:01.033 --> 03:02.467 - And then we have Monroe Brett. 03:03.367 --> 03:03.834 (upbeat music) 03:05.734 --> 03:07.300 He is a fantastic history instructor. 03:09.200 --> 03:12.167 I do not understand how he knows and keeps 03:12.167 --> 03:15.300 all of that information in his mind at one time. 03:15.300 --> 03:17.801 - And in August of 1914, all hell is gonna break out. 03:19.534 --> 03:21.801 The two things which are the outstanding feature 03:25.367 --> 03:26.934 of being an instructor here, 03:26.934 --> 03:30.167 number one is the students, they are all inquisitive, 03:30.167 --> 03:32.367 they all wanna be here, they are all well read, 03:32.367 --> 03:34.033 they're all well traveled. 03:34.033 --> 03:36.367 But number two, is the administration of the academy 03:39.601 --> 03:41.868 makes it so easy to be involved with this program. 03:46.367 --> 03:49.067 In economics, we have something called opportunity cost, 03:50.334 --> 03:52.968 what you give up to get something else, 03:52.968 --> 03:54.734 and these people have an opportunity cost. 03:54.734 --> 03:55.968 They could be doing something else 03:55.968 --> 03:57.200 but they're here, they wanna be here 03:57.200 --> 03:59.801 and it's just terrific working with them. 03:59.801 --> 04:02.601 - Monroe Brett is a premier instructor in our organization. 04:06.133 --> 04:08.968 He has done classes here for about five or six years 04:08.968 --> 04:11.801 and they're always very interesting, very informative 04:11.801 --> 04:12.701 and very entertaining. 04:14.434 --> 04:15.734 - Then you have Ted Russell. 04:15.734 --> 04:17.367 (gentle music) 04:17.367 --> 04:19.467 Our students walk in with a lot of information, 04:20.634 --> 04:22.834 so you have to be ready to be challenged 04:22.834 --> 04:24.234 on what you're sharing 04:24.234 --> 04:26.934 and to delve deeper into the subject matter 04:26.934 --> 04:28.834 than what you maybe had prepared for 04:28.834 --> 04:30.868 and Ted is great at doing that. 04:30.868 --> 04:32.701 - So far, I've taught probably 15 courses. 04:35.400 --> 04:36.868 US Constitution, Second Amendment, 04:38.634 --> 04:42.467 Amendments to the Constitution, Women in American History, 04:42.467 --> 04:45.701 History of the Presidency, History of the Vice Presidency. 04:45.701 --> 04:47.667 - [Shannon] His class on the vice presidents 04:47.667 --> 04:50.567 covers both the famous and the obscure. 04:50.567 --> 04:54.534 - There's no doubt that Teddy Roosevelt and Harry Truman 04:54.534 --> 04:57.667 are the two vice presidents that came into the presidency 04:57.667 --> 04:59.067 and really did a fantastic job. 05:00.400 --> 05:02.334 We get into Charles Curtis, who by the time 05:03.734 --> 05:06.567 he was eight years old, he never spoke English, 05:06.567 --> 05:09.067 he could only speak his Kaw Indian language and French. 05:10.400 --> 05:12.234 And people go whoa we had a vice president 05:13.167 --> 05:14.367 who grew up on a reservation? 05:15.934 --> 05:16.734 (mellow guitar music) 05:18.334 --> 05:20.934 - [Shannon] Sometimes, the OLLI goes on the road. 05:20.934 --> 05:24.701 These students are taking a day trip to Ybor City in Tampa. 05:24.701 --> 05:26.467 - One of the reasons the tours are so important 05:26.467 --> 05:29.534 is because we provide a liberal arts program which is 05:29.534 --> 05:33.434 history and some science and current events and music. 05:33.434 --> 05:36.434 So, this sorts of tours, these are an extension of history, 05:36.434 --> 05:39.200 you know, we're taking history outside the classroom. 05:39.200 --> 05:41.467 - [Shannon] Their tour guide is Max Herman. 05:41.467 --> 05:43.667 - It gets know worldwide as one of the top three cigars 05:43.667 --> 05:45.434 that you can purchase in the entire world. 05:45.434 --> 05:47.701 - [Shannon] He has a treasure trove of knowledge 05:47.701 --> 05:49.601 on the history of Ybor. 05:49.601 --> 05:52.234 - The importance of Ybor City mainly is it was almost like 05:52.234 --> 05:54.234 a safe haven for all these immigrants that came this way 05:54.234 --> 05:56.100 to find an industry to work in. 05:56.100 --> 05:58.400 The cigar industry was something that could be easily taught 05:58.400 --> 06:00.267 and this was a place where all these people thrived 06:00.267 --> 06:03.734 and built a place where they could live in America. 06:03.734 --> 06:05.901 This is a place that had southern influence, 06:05.901 --> 06:08.801 Italian influence, Cuban influence, all kinds of influences 06:08.801 --> 06:10.601 that came together to make such a unique city 06:10.601 --> 06:12.567 that most people say they woulda just drove right through 06:12.567 --> 06:14.634 if they didn't hear the stories. 06:14.634 --> 06:17.200 - [Shannon] These students from the OLLI at Ringling College 06:17.200 --> 06:19.601 are here out of a desire to understand local history. 06:21.267 --> 06:23.200 - They come down here because they wanna experience 06:23.200 --> 06:24.567 such a unique place that they probably read 06:24.567 --> 06:26.501 a couple little articles or books about 06:26.501 --> 06:28.400 but to really hear it from the horse's mouth 06:28.400 --> 06:30.501 of somebody who's born and raised in this area, 06:30.501 --> 06:33.767 it gives them a really in-depth touch to this place. 06:33.767 --> 06:35.200 - [Shannon] For the people of OLLI, 06:35.200 --> 06:36.701 life-long learning feeds the soul. 06:38.501 --> 06:41.367 - We see ourselves as one ingredient in the soup 06:41.367 --> 06:43.868 that makes Sarasota and Manatee Counties 06:43.868 --> 06:46.234 such a rich experience for people who are retirees. 06:47.467 --> 06:49.767 - This is so fulfilling to be in the classroom 06:49.767 --> 06:51.601 with the students and it is such a feeling 06:52.801 --> 06:54.901 of accomplishment on my part. 06:54.901 --> 06:57.467 - This has been a wonderful experience for me to be here 06:59.534 --> 07:02.167 doing something that I've been doing actively in my life 07:05.667 --> 07:07.634 and then taken that knowledge and giving it to people 07:07.634 --> 07:09.834 that don't happen to have that knowledge 07:09.834 --> 07:12.367 and that's what teaching's all about. 07:12.367 --> 07:15.434 - I never wanna stop learning, there's so much new. 07:15.434 --> 07:17.968 Every door you open, this leads to two more, 07:17.968 --> 07:19.400 which leads to two more. 07:19.400 --> 07:21.267 If you stop learning, then you stop living. 07:22.868 --> 07:23.367 (gentle music) 07:26.300 --> 07:28.934 - Quest for Lifelong Learning, visit at ollitampabay.com.