Abstract
I didn' t even know what "an elderhostel" was. I had s tayed in youth hostels in Europe, so when someone asked me if I wanted to be involved with an Elderhostel program hosted by the university where I was teaching, I honestly believed I would be part of a construction team, building fixed-income housing for the senior citizens in our community. Perhaps that work would have been easier! I had no idea what I was get t ing myself into. I t all began when Dot, a physical education instructor at the university and a senior citizen and grandmother herself, dropped by my office to discuss her proposal for an Elderhostel experience on our campus. As I had no knowledge of the program, Dot explained that our guests would come from all over the country, selecting our area primarily for the beauty and historical interests of the location (near Lexington, Kentucky}, and that we had to offer three classes. In most cases, Dot continued, the classes were not related in content, an example being a university offering a) The Dead Sea Scrolls, b) Journal Writing, and c} Computer Software. This was the part that Dot didn' t like. Her proposal was "a multi-disciplinary approach," where the three instructors would work closely together, a t tend each others' classes, and structure our sessions as outgrowths and extensions of our colleagues' classes. Where most teachers in the program were required to teach one class session per day, Dot wanted us, in addition to teaching our specialized class, to a t tend two other sessions per day and to integrate our offerings. She also asked for two more things: complete dedication to the project and lots of energy. I had never met Dot before that meeting, but she had heard that my work in the drama department was always marked by a level of high energy and constant drive, and she wanted those qualities in her partners for this team-teaching project. Our third cohort was Art, a music professor, who had taught many workshops in music " therapy" as well as writing several articles on the subject. Dot's plan was to offer three courses {physical education, music, and drama} under one "umbrella," calling i t "Languages of Creativity." Our ult imate goal for the week would be to incorporate all the week's activities and learning ex-
Published Version
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