When you join SLR, you become part of a community of senior adults who challenge each other to continue learning. It’s a wonderful opportunity to make new friends and share your interests with others.
The basis of our programs is peer learning/peer teaching: sharing with others what you know or discover about a subject. There are no competitions, no grades, no exams – just an opportunity to learn together in a friendly environment.
Currently, the SLR program has four major components:
Study Groups
Activity Groups
Social Events
Community Outreach
A Brief History…..
The Society for Learning in Retirement, London began as a kernel of an idea in 1993 and by 1994 offered its first courses.
It has an illustrious pedigree. The idea started at Harvard University and was adopted by a group at McGill University in Montreal. Geoff Wright, one of the founders and former president of the McGill group, moved to London where he began our Society for Learning in Retirement. Another founding member of the McGill group moved to Kelowna B.C. where he began a Society for Learning in Retirement in 1994. Happily, all are still flourishing which attests to the attraction of the concept of peer learning.
In 1993 four people came together to discuss the possibility of creating the Society. They were Geoff Wright, Ray Gladwell, Bob Stinson, and Bertie Watts fondly known as our “founding fathers”. A meeting place was a major problem. This was solved by Ray Gladwell, then the Executive Director of Westminster College. He arranged space for two classrooms and an office in a building belonging to Westminster College. It had originally been the London Hunt Club. This began our long association with Westminster College which continues to this day.
We met in this excellent space from 1994 to 2008. Here we offered ten courses in the fall and ten in the winter on a wide variety of topics. Members could join the group of their choice with a limit of twenty members. Each person was responsible for one hour, a short presentation followed by discussion. This format has always attracted people with lively, curious minds who like active participation.
We could have continued in this comfortable mode forever, but the world is not static and change arrives to challenge us. In 2005 Westminster College sold their property to The University of Western Ontario and became a charitable foundation. In 2008 they moved to The Mount, taking us with them and providing space until 2013. While they will continue to give us support, we need to become independent.
In 2007 we incorporated and in 2009 we received charitable status. These steps were taken to ensure our continuation.
In 2009 we added spring courses to our program and in 2011 we added activity groups. More plans for expansion are underway.
Our history is still being written.
