Source: The Orlando Sentinel, Orland, FL
With the new school year under way, children and young adults are once again in study mode. But education is not just for children and young adults. Men and women of all ages can learn new skills through Lake County, Florida Schools’ Community Education program.
Last year, Esther Catino, the circulation supervisor at a local library, who also is the county’s literacy liaison, took beginning and intermediate Spanish classes through community education. “Because of my work as a literacy liaison, I am in contact with many Spanish-speaking people. The community education classes made it a little easier for me to ask basic questions like ‘What is your name?’ and ‘Where do you live?’ I feel like I can communicate better now.”
Catino’s teacher, Felix Ramirez, will teach a beginning Spanish class again this fall. For two hours every Tuesday evening for seven weeks, Ramirez will help people gain the skills to comfortably communicate with Spanish-speaking members of the community. But learning another language is only one of the skills being offered by the low-cost program.
Courses offered include intermediate and beginning golf classes, investments ABCs, a course about boating skills, one that covers the basics of setting up wills and trusts, a calligraphy class, a digital-photography course, drivers education and a class that teaches how to buy and sell on eBay.
“The eBay class has been extremely popular in the past,” said Jeanette Ravenscraft of the community education staff. “This year, to meet demand, we are offering the class two times during the fall term.” At each two-hour session of the three-week eBay class, students will learn something new. The first class includes a history and overview of the online auction company. During the second class, students will register and walk through a sale. In the final class, instructors will guide students as they practice selling items online.