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The continuing education market is a wonderful thing. For under a hundred dollars, one can take non-credit courses ranging from day-long seminars on how to start a business franchise to eight week courses on Oriental watercolors. As I leafed through a pamphlet from my local community college, a couple classes particularly piqued my interest:
20 Ways to Earn Residual Income
This $40 two hour seminar is held online by James Farnham, the author of the self-published e-book Make Money Without Going to Work. Sounds legit.
Taste of England
“Inspired by a recent trip abroad, your instructor is eager to bring back a taste of the UK as she experienced in Northern Ireland.” The class will cover Cornish pasties and shortbread cookies made with Irish butter. I’d like to point out that Northern Ireland is not England, and Cornwall also has a distinct cultural identity. I humbly suggest that this course be be renamed “Taste of the British Isles.” Or, “Taste of the various cultural and political areas of the UK.”
Introduction to Home Brewing
This course is actually taught by the local brewer who currently runs a nanobrewery and is working on opening a brewpub in downtown Beaver Falls this year. While the course sounds interesting, it seems to be one of several that are simply local business people teaching courses in their own shops, and using the community college for advertising. I’m not sure how I feel about this, though in some ways I like it – it puts people who want to expand their horizons in touch with the local experts through a trusted intermediary.
Belly Dancing – Intro
Although it is advertised for “all ages,” what I’m really curious to know is the ratio of men to women attending, and if there are any just there to “audit.”
The Ancient Art of Candle Burning or Your Local Public College Sponsors Questionable Spiritual Practices
“Vigil Lights (from the Latin vigilia meaning ‘waiting’ or ‘watching’) are traditionally accompanied by prayers of attention or waiting. Such an offering is indicative of seeking some favor from the Lord or the saint before which the votive is placed. Students will watch and wait for divinatory signs that will help reveal the outcome of their prayer.” (Emphasis mine.) This one is the standout listing. First, it is held at Natural Scents Aromatherapy, a business in a second floor suite in Beaver. I presume they sell candles and New Age paraphernalia, and the course is just as much marketing as “education.” Second, I’m very curious about their use of vigil lights, their claims about the candles’ traditional uses, and the real history of vigil lights. Finally, reading “divinatory signs” seems firmly in the realm of pseudoscience, and obviously this class is not taught from a critical perspective. (Though I suppose the practitioners of such traditions would argue for their legitimacy.) Along with the residual income course mentioned above, and classes on developing psychic ability, exploring one’s “inner goddess,” and reading tarot cards, it seems that my local community college sponsors some fairly sketchy “education.”
Image may be NSFW.
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Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
