Teaching Himself by Teaching Others
By Lori Van Ingen, Staff Writer
Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era
Retired Millersville University professor Charles Scharnberger believes learning throughout your adult life is important, and it's never too late to start.
Scharnberger said he believes that, in part, because of his father.
His father never graduated from high school, but when he retired at 65, he got a GED and then went on to get a college degree when he was in his 70s.
"That has particularly inspired me that it is never too late to learn," Scharnberger said. To that end, he teaches science classes for seniors.
Scharnberger finds that people who take lifelong-learner classes are interested and engaged in the subjects and bring their own life experiences to them.
"It makes it fun to teach these classes," he said.
He said there are several differences between lifelong learners and the average college-age student.
The senior lifelong learners are more relaxed than the college-age student, he said. They are not obsessed with grades; they are there because they really want to learn.
The participants in these lifelong learning classes are more or less the same age as the 66-year-old Scharnberger, so they share a common perception of things and come from the same point of reference, he said.
A native of St. Louis, Scharnberger earned his undergraduate degree in geology from Amherst College and his doctorate in geology from Washington University in St. Louis.
"My area really is geophysics -- or physics applied to the earth. However, I taught a course in astrophysics," Scharnberger said.
While teaching "Origin and Evolution of the Earth," he said he had to look at the big picture and the processes of what was going on. "I learned a lot about cosmology to teach that course," Scharnberger said.
When he retired as professor of earth sciences in 2003, Scharnberger began getting more involved with lifelong learning, working with such programs as Heritage & Horizons, Quest, the former Beacon and, since spring, Pathways Institute For Lifelong Learning. He also has given talks on earth science and cosmology at Rotary Clubs and schools.
Scharnberger is on the program committee for Heritage & Horizons and has lined up speakers for classes in forensic science, he said.
Scharnberger also will be teaching a class called "What's New in the Universe?" with Pathways Institute at Landis Homes Retirement Community on Sept. 9, 16 and 23.
During the first session, Scharnberger will be discussing new discoveries in our solar system, particularly trans-Neptunian objects --planet-like bodies that lie beyond Neptune.
"For 70-plus years, Pluto was always considered the ninth planet, but the discovery of other objects like Pluto cause it to lose its planetary status," Scharnberger said.
During the media frenzy about Pluto's demotion, the other planet-like bodies that had been discovered were ignored, he said. So Scharnberger plans to cover these bodies, which were discovered in the late '90s or early 2000s.
The second session will focus on planets outside our solar system.
"There are dozens of planets that orbit other stars. The first was found in 1995," he said. "How many planets might be similar to Earth, with oxygen-rich atmospheres, oceans and have life? We don't know at this point, but we're getting increasingly closer" to that answer.
The final session will discuss the "really big picture, the universe as a whole," Scharnberger said. "How the universe began. The big bang theory. What will happen in the future? Will the universe continue to expand forever? Or stop, reverse and collapse?"
Due to discoveries made during the last 10 years, Scharnberger said, astronomers are beginning to think that, rather than slowing down, expansion is accelerating, and eventually all the stars will burn out -- the heat death of the universe.
To register for this class, go to www.landishomes.org or call Pathways director Susan Stauffer at 381-3577.
E-mail: lvaningen@lnpnews.com
© 2009 Lancaster Newspapers
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