Try our new Techpalooza: eduphoria!

Oct 7, 2011 - Kerrville ISD Chief Technology Officer Joel Adkins is breaking new ground in making technology understandable. He has joined with Club Ed to offer new state-wide training, starting with the eduphoria! Suite.

Photo: Techpalooza godfather Joel Adkins prepares breakout sessions for his innovative training concept.

This year, many districts have started implementing the eduphoria! Suite due to packaging with the Region 20 Service Center. There is a specific application for every major department that runs the backend of workflow and school support in our schools today.

Facilities & Events is a building and inventory management part of the Suite. Help Desk is the ticket system for technology as well as a reporting tool for total cost on investment your district can use. PDAS is the evaluation tool most districts use for teacher evaluations. Formspace allows you to create online forms and track the workflow behind the path of where the form goes for approval. And the curriculum tools available in Aware & Forethought make it easier for instructors to track student progress through assessment data and lesson TEKs online. 

These are great tools together for overhauling workflow in a district, but what about training? How will you train your Maintenance office to implement an online Facilities calendar and inventory? How will you train department and campus secretaries to move from paper-forms to paper-less? What are you doing to get your staff plugged-in to develop and share best practices statewide? 

What if there was training offered to share the best practices of what districts are doing to implement and change district-wide workflow for the age of mobility?

Kerrville ISD is offering a one-day workshop to engage the people who will be using eduphoria! Suite. This workshop promises to train the people who will be managing the tools on the backend in order to make the experience as easy as possible for those who interact with it on the front-end. This isn’t a “techie-training.” This is THE training you want to send your HR support staff to, your curriculum people to, your Maintenance people to, and anyone who is ready to take the step to move their district into the 21st century using eduphoria!

Location:

Our training will take place at the Y.O. Ranch Hotel & Conference Center in Kerrville, Texas (http://www.yoresort.com/) which is only 45-minutes from the San Antonio International Airport.

Fee:

Cost per participant is $65.

To sign up with credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Discover):

Online at www.clubed.net

Go to Courses>Professional>Techpalooza

Or call 830-257-2218

Or email club.ed@kerrvilleisd.net

To sign up with check:

Mail to Club Ed, 1121 Second Street, Kerrville TX 78028

Payable to KISD

To sign up with Purchase Order:

Contact Linda Kneese, 830-257-4883

FAX 830-257-3797

Accommodations:

The Y.O. Ranch Hotel is offering a special room package for this training event - it includes the full breakfast buffet in the Branding Iron Restaurant!

Single room with full breakfast buffet - $89

Double room with full breakfast buffet - $99

To reserve a room:

Y.O. Ranch Hotel & Conference Center

2033 Sidney Baker St.

Kerrville, TX 78028

Phone: 830-257-4440 X 30

Fax: 830-896-8189

Toll Free: 1-877-967-3767

Use the code “techpalooza” to access the discounted room rate.

For all other information:

Joel Adkins

Chief Technology Officer

Kerrville ISD

TCEA TEC-SIG President

(830) 257-4883

joel.adkins@kerrvilleisd.net

Picking from 0 to 60: Acoustic Music Workshop

by Phil Houseal, 1/19/2011


He’s played at Merle Fest and the Kerrville Folk Festival, written guitar instruction books and magazine articles, played folk, bluegrass, jazz, and blues, and toured with artists such as Joan Baez.

And on Saturday, January 29, you can sit in the same room with David Hamburger while he teaches everything from music theory to fingerpicking styles to hot blues riffs.

It is one strand of the new one-day January Acoustic Music Workshop sponsored by Kerrville ISD’s Club Ed and Bob Miller’s Hill Country Acoustic Music Camp.

Hamburger is a renown guitarist who has performed with the great string players, and whose guitar, slide guitar and dobro playing can be heard on many albums. For the Kerrville workshop, he will teach Guitar Workshop - Theory; 6 degrees of Travis Picking; and Fingerpicking Blues.

If you attend, be ready for a ride.

“I designed this class as a ‘blitz,’” he explained. “We will go from zero to 60. The first 15 minutes might bore the experienced guitar player, and the last 15 minutes will terrify the beginner, but everything in the middle will be just right for everyone.”

He will take students from the simplest fingerpicking style to the most complicated, based on his own Acoustic Guitar Fingerstyle Method instruction booklet. He promises that students will leave class with handouts and enough to work on for months.

The workshop will also feature world-class banjo player Alan Munde and ukulele expert Pops Bayless.

This is the first time Club Ed has offered such a workshop and enrollments have been brisk.

One innovation is offering the added “house-style” concert on Saturday evening at the Union Church on the Schreiner University campus. It features all three artists playing “unplugged” joined by local bassist Gary Hatch. It is open to the public, even if not attending the classes.

While teaching his workshops across the country, Hamburger sees a neverending stream of people who continue to be fascinated with the stringed instruments.

“A lot of Baby Boomers want to finally learn to play the way they were never able to do,” he said. “At the same time the younger players are discovering that playing country, blues, and traditional guitar is just as interesting to them as it was to boomers 30 years ago.”

While he used to teach and play full time, Hamburger now spends most of his time working in his own recording studio in Austin, composing music for television, commercials, and documentaries. But he still likes teaching and enjoys getting out to the Hill Country.

“I love coming to Kerrville,” he said. “I have friends there, have done house concerts, been to the Folk Festival, and I teach at the Acoustic Music Camps. This is really adding to the music scene there.”

XXX

For information or to sign up for the Acoustic Music Workshop on Jan 29, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Workshops meet at the Kerr Arts & Cultural Center, 228 Earl Garrett St, Kerrville. Class Times are: 10:00am to 11:15am; 1:00pm to 2:15pm; 2:30pm to 3:45pm. Fee is $40 per class, or students can sign up for all three workshops by one instructor for a discount price of $100.

The Saturday evening “House Concert” will be from 6 - 8 p.m. at Union Church at the corner of Broadway, Water, and Travis Streets in Kerrville. Concert admission is $20, and guests are welcome to bring a snack and beverage to share.

Golf: A good walk, improved

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly March 31, 2010


Mark Twain’s observation that golf is the best way to ruin a good walk is simply not true, according to Matt Trevino, Head Golf Professional at Riverhill Country Club in Kerrville.

Trevino is seeing full rosters in both adult and childrens beginning golf classes he is conducting with Club Ed. Last week he welcomed a full class of twelve students with three on the sidelines waiting to get on the green.

“A round of golf is actually a leisurely walk,” he said. “If you play tennis, or basketball, each court is pretty much the same everywhere in the world. Not so in golf. Every golf course is different. Most have trees and water. We have hills and tall trees; others are flat with no trees. Each is a new challenge.”

But folks are not just out there to enjoy the scenery. Trevino touts golf as a way to get the blood pumping.

“I think people underestimate how tough the game can be,” he said. While it doesn’t require running or jumping, playing nine holes will have you walking four miles. Without having to go to gym, you are stretching out your swing. And you must have some basic coordination, because the skill challenges are never-ending. “People don’t realize how many parts of the game there are. You have 14 clubs you can hit, there is putting, chipping, irons, and woods, and lots of rules to learn.”

So that’s what Trevino works on. He introduces adult beginners to the long game, the short game, putting, and golf strategy and etiquette. And perhaps like no other casual sport, the “game” of golf transcends the final scorecard.

“Golf is a great business tool. In no other sports can you carry on a four-hour conversation with someone while you compete. Golfers have a connection... no matter what they do for a living.”

Molly Adams was seeking that connection when she signed up five of her family members to take the class. Adams, who is CEO of Bank of the Hills, was “looking for things we can do together.”

“Most of us play a little bit,” Adams said. “We want to sharpen our skills. I’m getting better, but I’m not at that level yet where I can invite a customer out on the course for a round.” (She was surprised and pleased to get reacquainted with a former high school classmate who was in her class.)

Trevino admits that some think golf is stuffy, or time consuming, or expensive. But he is working on making the experience accessible to all ages and backgrounds.

“There are courses and facilities in all different price ranges,” he noted. “A beginning golfer can go to a range and invest eight dollars in a bucket of balls, then go chip and putt for an hour and a half. For this class, you don’t even need to buy any equipment.”

As a PGA professional, one of Trevino’s goals is to grow the game. That’s why he also works with junior golfers, teaching kids camps and spending time at elementary schools.

Adams already has purchased a membership at her local club, and is eager to hit the links as the weather gets nicer. Time is not an issue.

“If you are with your family and outdoors in the hill country, life can’t get any better than that!”

XXX

Matt Trevino will teach the next Adult Golf Clinic beginning Wednesday, April 21. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.

No retiring from learning

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal and  Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly - Nov 25, 2009



What does a retired teacher do when she no longer teaches?

Learn, says Carol McMahon.

I always love to ask people why they sign up for any lifelong learning classes. Everyone is so busy, I wonder what motivates them to choose a class, register and pay for it, then carve out time to show up for each meeting. I’ve asked people from all backgrounds and of all ages, including a few folks in their 90s. The answers are always revealing.

In McMahon’s case, she retired to the hill country three years ago, after teaching public school for 25 years. She immediately got involved in tutoring college students and, in her spare time, taking Club Ed classes.

“These classes are wonderful - a godsend for people who want to get back up to speed on computer, or learn art or dance,” she said. “It is fantastic you have this program here.”

In a short time, McMahon has enrolled in a smorgasbord of courses. They include Cultures of the Hill Country, dance lessons, art lessons, watercolor, and several trips. She couldn’t name her favorite.

“They were all really, really good,” she said. She especially enjoyed the local history class, and started doing her own research into the area. “There are a lot of small towns, and people don’t know about them. It’s nice to know about where you are.”

McMahon is already planning her next session of classes. She has her eye on geology, Google Docs, and Yoga. How, I wondered, does she decide which ones to take?

“Everything I am interested in,” she replied. “I never had time during my working life to get into things I wanted to do. So it is a real pleasure for me to have time to do this.”

McMahon is especially enjoying her art classes. She finally has time to study this love, and often travels to her place in Port Aransas just to paint.

Her next frontier lies in taking more computer classes.

“I work on the computer all the time. You have to update your skills as software is always changing. I especially need work on digital photography. You have to use it or lose it!”

Losing it does not see to be an option for this lifelong learner. She tells all her friends - even the out-of-town ones - about Club Ed and encourages everyone to take a class.

“I do believe in education. These classes are wonderful, especially for seniors. Anyone can afford $20 for a yoga class. What a great addition it is to the community.”

xxx

For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.

Ride with the wind

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly

Nov 11, 2009

Karen Dampeer wants everyone to feel what she felt the first time she straddled her Yamaha Stratoliner 1900cc motorcycle.

“I got hooked,” said the Boerne resident. “Since I started riding, I dress the way I want, and I’m always ready to ride when I want.”

Dampeer, who works as a financial planner by day, racked up 12,000 miles the first year she had her bike. One of her trips was a solo journey to Colorado Spring. She made many impressions along the way. “Women came out of diners, amazed that I was traveling this way. It meant different things to different people, but to most it was liberating to see someone doing something like that.”

Dampeer and Robert Allen are the Rider Coaches, teaching the new Course for Motorcycle Riders being offered every weekend through Club Ed in Kerrville. The course is sanctioned by the Department of Public Safety, and qualifies new riders for the Class M endorsement, along with reducing insurance premiums.

Bob Kee, owner of Destination:Cyclesports, provided six Suzuki 250 bikes when saw the need for safety training in the Hill Country.

“We see guys returning to this sport thinking that riding a motorcycle is like riding a bicycle - you never forget. But 25 years off the machine, plus the change in physical conditioning, results in overconfidence. Offering this course in the Hill Country means a better chance of preventing future accidents.”

In the basic course, students learn how to operate a motorcycle, the best protective clothing to wear, how to avoid and react to dangerous situations. By the end of the course, riders will have skills at the two-year rider level.

“The course is user friendly and a safe place to ride and learn,” Dampeer said. “We go step by step, and don’t ask you to do anything we haven’t prepared you for. There is a gradually building up of experience. Anyone can pass the course and build their confidence.”

At the same time, the course is not easy. In fact, Dampeer calls it “strenuous.”

“It is not hard, it just takes different muscles than you are used to using.”

Still, they have trained riders from as young as 15 on up to 79 years old. In the past few years they are seeing more and more women taking their seats at the front of the saddle.

What is the appeal? Romance? Rebellion? Freedom? Thrills?

“It is all of those,” Dampeer said. “I like the sense of being outside and being part of the outdoors. All day, I work in an office, with tons of responsibility, and I’m a good citizen. But sometimes, I like putting aside my normal personality, taking off the mask, and being myself.”

Ride, Karen, ride.

xxx

Club Ed now offers the Basic Rider Course for Motorcycle Riders in Kerrville, at Peterson Middle School on Sidney Baker Street next to IHOP. A new class starts every weekend, between 8 a.m. and 5: 30 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Riders must register in advance by calling 830-895-4386, or by stopping by the Auld Center, 1121 Second Street, Kerrville TX 78028.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.

Take a trip; Make a memory

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly
Oct 21, 2009

When you travel with Ardie Dixon, you not only are going to have a great time, you might learn something and come away with a new friend.

Dixon has owned Hill Country Coordinators since 1995 and serves as host on many Club Ed excursions. She will guide two upcoming trips - A Night Out in Fredericksburg (which includes a trip to the Rockbox Theater) and our popular San Antonio Holiday River Parade and dinner.

For Dixon, the actual trip is just one part of the travel experience.

"For me, it is all about creating a happy memory - that's what it is about."

She prides herself on customizing her tours and events, and anticipating every contingency that might put a kink in the escapade. She can provide any kind of group service, whether a trip, wedding, reunion, or corporate event.

"I like to provide the service that guarantees everything goes well, and that the sponsors look good when it is all over with."

Dixon draws on years of experience doing catering and convention work in the hotel industry, from La Mansion del Rio in San Antonio to the Inn of the Hills in Kerrville. She also worked with travel planners.

Even for someone of Dixon's skill, she is first to admit not every detail can be controlled.

"There are always little things that come up," she said, recalling the couple from Houston who held their wedding down by the riverside. "They asked seriously to have two white swans swim by while they were exchanging vows. Needless to say, we did not get that done!"

But she can usually find a resource for every request. And when that rare contretemps occurs, she is philosophical. "I always tell brides when something happens, not to get excited - that's what you are going to laugh about years later."

So how is a tour with Ardie Dixon going to be different from any other tour?

"I am going to be a little more informed about Texas Hill Country heritage," she said. "We'll have some good chuckles and laughs, and probably eat some good, unhealthy food. People will feel like they met a new best friend - it could be me or other people on the tour."

Ultimately it is all about the people.

"God puts people in my path, and I know he does," she said. "I know I need to do my best to help some people have a good time or to put at ease. That's one of my missions I am supposed to do."

xxx

Club Ed travels to the San Antonio River Lighting Parade on Nov 27, and takes a Holiday Night Out in Fredericksburg on Dec 12. Signup deadlines are approaching. For information, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.

Shooting for fun

by Phil Houseal
Oct 14, 2009
As published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal & Boerne TX Hill Country Weekly

When it comes to recreation, Americans spend the most money on exercise equipment. Do you know which sport comes in second?

Shooting.

"In 2006 spending on firearms and shooting gear overtook golf for second on the list," said Larry Arnold, one of two instructors teaching the Texas Concealed Handgun License Course in Kerrville and Boerne for Club Ed (details at end of article).

At clubs like the Buck & Bull Club, hunters can practice target shooting, skeet, trap, sporting clays. They have a hunting game where they shoot steel silhouettes of game in a realistic setting.

Larry Arnold started his own infatuation with shooting at age 11.

"I was kind of a nerd, and it was something I could do rather than play football," he recalled. "Besides, it was fun."

It was also a lot safer.

"The shooting sports rank below ping pong in injuries sustained as a sport."

Arnold - who recently won a national award for his course curriculum - has been a National Rifle Association instructor since 1982, and has taught hunter safety education since 1984. Arnold was involved in the long effort to have Texas adopt the concealed carry laws, working with six legislatures over 12 years.

Arnold actually taught his first concealed carry course on the very first day it was legally allowed to be taught in Texas, back in September 1995.

In the years since he has seen a parade of people from all professions who have their own reasons for taking this gun safety course. In the early days of the new law, he trained lots of professionals who traveled in their jobs, such as real estate salespeople. Students have been both young and old, and quite often whole families have taken the class together.

Regardless of background, their reasons are the same.

"A lot of it is just to be able to protect yourself," he said. He also gets students who want help navigating the national background check system. While protection is the reason many take the class, for Arnold, guns are just fun.

"It is a lifetime sport. We have people in their 80s who have won trophies. Shooting is one of the few sports that are completely coed. It's where soccer moms can take their kids and watch."

XXX

Club Ed offers monthly courses in the Texas Concealed Handgun Course in Boerne and Kerrville. Constable Don White is instructor in the Boerne course. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com, or follow us on Twitter @clubedtx.

Everyone in the act

On Thursday Aug 6, 2009 I was a guest on The Ranch FM 92 in Kerrville TX. Calamity Jane could not resist putting on her Elvis and posing. Too bad it wasn't TV so fans could see the mugging. CJ and DJ had a hoot with the new Club Ed classes and catalog, and we hope to see them (and you) in class this fall!

Thankyewverymuch.

Kerrville ISD delivers Fall Club Ed catalogs

Online signup underway

PHIL HOUSEAL, DIRECTOR, KERRVILLE ISD, 830-257-2218

phil.houseal@kerrvilleisd.net

Lifelong learners can soon begin signing up for their favorite Club Ed classes, as 70,000 64-page catalogs arrive in mailboxes throughout the Texas Hill Country this week (Aug 3-14).

Club Ed, the Kerrville Independent School District's Community Education program - offers hundreds of courses held in local communities and offered online from the convenience of home. Areas cover computers, travel, recreation, cooking, art, self-improvement, business, training and much more.

Among the new offerings this fall are Canning, Cooking Italian, Candle Making, Teaching art to a child, Horsemanship, Social Networking, Kindle, Hypnosis, Wine Appreciation, and Storytelling.

Local flintknapper Jim Morris is bringing in Woody Blackwell, the best-known flintknapper in the U.S. to teach a one-day workshop. Kurt Shirer will teach how to build and play a washtub bass.

Travel guide Ardie Dixon is hosting trips to a Holiday Night Out in Fredericksburg, and to the San Antonio Holiday River Lighting Parade. Travelers can also sign up for trips to the South Pacific, Bavaria, New England, or the Canadian Rockies.

Popular returning courses include Welding, Web Design, Coaching, Spanish, Writing, Dog Obedience, Travel for Free, a complete set of gardening how-to's, and all types of dance.

Those not wanting to wait for the catalog to arrive can sign up online now at www.clubed.net.

Complete information and registration is also available by calling 830-895-4386, or by visiting the Auld Center, 1121 Second Street, Kerrville. Weekly articles appear at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.

Link to article in Kerrville Daily Times:
http://dailytimes.com/story.lasso?ewcd=946f297afebc3360

Whacking away

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal
May 13, 2009


As a kid, Matt Trevino tagged along as his grandfather played golf. No one in his family played all that well - they couldn’t break 100. But those golf outings made an impression on young Trevino that drives him to pass along the passion of the game to today’s youngsters.

“I was enamored of beauty of the course as I tagged along,” the Riverhill Country Club head golf pro recalled. “We have three beautiful courses in Kerrville, and you can't ask for a better golf atmosphere in a community. In order for the game and the courses to survive, we need to get young people playing.”

Getting young people playing is the purpose of Trevino’s summer junior golf clinics at Club Ed. Trevino, who had no lessons as a kid, loves introducing youngsters to the sport.

“None of this was taught to me at school, so I had to learn on my own,” he said. “I love the game. It can teach us a lot of lessons other sports can't. I am trying to make the game more accessible to the community. The earlier we get them started, the better chance to grow the game.”

Trevino starts by teaching the rules and etiquette of golf. Then he “lets them whack away.”

“They are looking to hit a bunch of shots,” he said. “We let them figure out how fun it is. They all want to hit balls.”

Trevino employs a three-pronged approach to teach kids - or adults - to be better golfers. First is to get them to put their hands on the club the right way. Then they learn how to stand. And finally, how to swing.

“I you get them to grip it right and stand right, odds are they are going to swing right,” he explained.

Most kids he sees in junior camps start at the 8 to 10 age range. With golf, younger is better.

As to those lessons that golf teaches? Trevino ticks them off.

“Golf is a tough game to learn,” he said. “It is a very individual game and what you put into it is what you get out of it. You don't have somebody to pass the ball to. It is a game of integrity - almost every penalty is self-imposed. So it teaches honesty, builds integrity, and teaches you how to work hard.”

Trevino’s vision goes beyond the immediate improvement in kids’ golf games.

“Part of my feeling and part of my job as a PGA professional is to grow the game for years to come,” he said. “These kids will be the pros of the future. I can't imagine having grown up and learned a different sport.”

XXX

Matt Trevino will teach Junior Golf sessions this summer on Wednesdays at 4:30 at Riverhill Country Club. Club Ed offers15 enriching summer camps and programs that range from rockets to computers to horses. To sign up, visit www.clubed.net or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes with 3000 enrollments. The fall session begins in September. To sign up, ask a question, suggest a class, or apply to teach, call 830-895-4386, or visit www.clubed.net.

When camels ruled

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal Feb 18, 2009


Longtime Kerr residents are familiar with the clumpy story of the U.S. Army's experiment with using camels in the 1860s.

But newcomers are always surprised when they learn about the history of Camp Verde. The area, now home to the Camp Verde General Store and Post Office, is 10 miles south of Kerrville on Highway 173 at a site considered " the most historic crossroads in Kerr County."

Gerald Witt teaches a Club Ed class there called Camp Verde - The Camels and More.

"It really was a government project," Witt said. "They thought camels would be the best beasts of burden for carrying cargo across the southwest. So they went to Asia Minor and came back with 40 camels."

The year was 1861. It was the start of the Civil War, but the "camel experiment" had nothing to do with war. According to Witt, this was all about the Army finding a better way to ship cargo across an unsettled west.

The project was not without challenges. The Army had to bring in camel handlers from Asia. Apparently, American soldiers didn't get along with camels.

"They were more used to working with horse or cattle," he noted.

The upshot is that the camel experiment was a success. The hardy beasts of burden easily navigated the deserts and mountains, hauling goods from Texas to California. But a national distraction ended the program.

"In two words, what killed it was the Civil War," Witt said.

The camels that made the trip to California never came back. The ones left at Camp Verde were auctioned off to circuses and zoos, and a colorful chapter in the area's history closed.

In his class, Witt points out that Camp Verde was about more than camels.

Along with Fort Martin Scott in Fredericksburg, Camp Verde was part of a string of forts stretching from Fort Worth in the north to Fort Inge on the Rio Grande. For a very brief period, they served as the line of defense along America's western frontier. A restless nation quickly grew beyond it, and the forts were abandoned or converted to other uses.

Witt tells how the Comanche nation adopted the horse and moved in from Wyoming to spread across Texas. That leads to discussions of the two battles of Bandera Pass; one with the Spaniards, the second with the Rangers.

Again it is a reminder of the area's colorful and often unforgiving past. For those of us who came to Texas from states where settlers plowed sod or poled rivers, it is fascinating to walk hills and riverbanks where only a few generations back ancestors of local families clashed with Indians, led cattle drives, and built ranching empires.

So as you sit inside Camp Verde General Store, sipping your tea and gazing out over Verde Creek, Witt will help you envision a time when camels roamed those hills.

XXX

A few times each session, Gerald Witt teachers Camp Verde - Camels and More. For information or to sign up, click www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.

Model Behavior

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal Feb 11, 2009


Doris Brooner wants to teach you to hold your head up.

"One thing I teach is that when you are walking and you are straight and your head is up, you are more aware of your surroundings," said the professional modeling instructor. "It is just amazing what you can see as opposed to walking with your head down. Plus, if you can project confidence, your audience recognizes it."

Brooner has been a model, and has taught modeling techniques to students who have appeared in fashion shows and television commercials from New York to Dallas. She believes the skills that help you walk a runway are skills that can help you become successful in any career.

Those techniques go beyond having good posture, but everything starts with how you carry yourself in public. Brooner teaches young women (and young men) how to sit, how to stand, and how to walk, pivoting gracefully on the turns. She demonstrates a proper handshake - firm but not hard, and definitely "not a fish." Maintain eye contact, and always keep your head up. Then we come to "how to make conversation."

"To be a good listener, don't do all the talking," she said. "Keep the subjects clean, and steer away from morbid topics."

This sounds like common sense, but Brooner maintains that social skills that used to be common are increasingly rare. She traces the decline in courtesy straight to your home, and to your dinner table.

"You always go back to the family," she said. "We are not eating meals at home. That's where you learn how to have a conversation, and how not to chew with your mouth open. Parents just don't have the time to teach proper etiquette any more."

Brooner also knows her way around a table setting. We have all experienced that moment of panic at a formal dinner, where we face a bewildering array of flatware, stemware, and utensils - a minefield waiting to blow up in front of someone we are trying to impress. Brooner's advice?

"It's simple. You watch your hostess, and do what she does," she said. When it does come time to choose which fork to use, Brooner's rule of thumb is to work from the outside in. And when you get up to visit the "powder room" during a meal, proper etiquette is to place your napkin on your chair seat.

I had to ask the expert how to handle a situation I always seem to encounter at a formal dinner: how does one discretely dispose of that annoying piece of gristle hidden in a bite of prime rib?

"You delicately get rid of it with your napkin," she explained. "It happens, and don't let it ruin your meal. Don't be embarrassed."

So I guess I have been doing it correctly. I just need to practice doing it while smiling, making eye contact, listening to the hostess, and keeping my head up.

XXX

Doris Brooner will teach Visual Poise through Modeling for Teens starting Wed, Feb 25 for six sessions. For more information, visit www.clubed.net, or call 830-895-4386.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Each year, we offer more than 400 classes throughout the Texas Hill Country, along with online courses, business and individual training, and after-school and summer camps. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.

50 back seat drivers

by Phil Houseal as published in the Kerrville TX Community Journal, Nov 19, 2008

Can you imagine taking 50 friends for a drive to look at Christmas lights? That is what happens every fall on Club Ed's Hill Country Lighting Tour. It is second nature to Don Ball, our longtime tour host and owner/operator of Si Texas Tours. To Ball, a seat on his bus is the best seat in the house.

"In a car, you sit low and look up," he said. "On my bus, you sit high and look out. It is an unrestricted view - you know you are going to see the best of the best."

Ball has been driving buses since 1973. He never tires of escorting travelers to all the popular destinations, and he can recite all the reasons people prefer to travel by bus.

"A lot of seniors don't like to drive at night; big cities are easy to get lost in; people don't want the hassle; when they take the bus, they leave the driving to us."

Ball believes that people also like the fellowship of traveling with a group. On board his 45-foot, climate-controlled 54-seat cruiser, riders travel in comfort.

"Many people think of that old yellow school bus they rode 50 years ago," Ball said. "It was not very comfortable. But when get on a motor coach costing a half million dollars, you get a different perspective. You can recline, plug in your headphones and watch TV, or just visit with your neighbor. You can't do that while driving a car."

Ball also hosts Club Ed's Holiday Barge Ride, where passengers cruise San Antonio's famous Riverwalk and see the Christmas lights from a different perspective - being able to see lots of lighting they couldn't ordinarily view unless they did a whole lot of walking.

At Club Ed, Ball has watched the profiles of his passengers evolve over the years. He notes that "today's 50 is yesterday's 70." That is, he sees more people retiring in their 50s, with the resources and time to get around more.

Even as he approaches the 3 million mile mark, Ball never tires of driving. But he does mention one special challenge.

"If you have four people in your car, you have three backseat drivers," he said. "I have 50 back seat drivers!"

He still enjoys it.

"In the bus industry, everybody buys the same piece of equipment; it's what kind of service you give people," he said. "You meet the best people in the world this way. Yes, sir, that's why I do it."

XXX

Club Ed is offering two holiday travel opportunities: The Hill Country Christmas Lighting Tour on Dec 13, and the Christmas Barge Ride on the Riverwalk on Dec 17. There is also time to sign up for the trip to China scheduled for next April. To learn more about these and other lifelong learning classes, call 830-895-4386, or visit www.clubed.net.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.

The Art of Knitting

As published in the (Kerrville TX) Community Journal, Oct 22, 2008 - Phil Houseal

Iris Miller has discovered the cure for arthritis, insomnia, and dyslexia, along with the secret to personal success.

Knitting.

The 76-year-old Midwestener has been knitting since she was 6, taught under duress by her grandmother.

"My mother was bound and determined that I was going to learn all the womanly crafts that her mother had shown her," Iris said. "But she couldn't get knitting across to me because I am left handed. So my grandmother took over and taught me."

Her English grandmother taught her the womanly arts well, because Iris learned to not only knit, but also to spin, crochet, weave, and dye natural fibers ("You'll never be hot in wool, because it breathes."). She ended up designing and making her own clothes.

In spite of her mother's insistence on learning to be a homemaker, the no-nonsense Omaha native never married and went on to a career as a librarian. She moved to Texas 13 years ago to escape the cold Nebraska winters ("I am real cold-blooded; I wasn't going to stay up there and freeze.").

But she never abandoned the skills passed down from her grandmother. Even as she teaches knitting at Club Ed, she espouses the benefits of knowing the ancient cloth arts.

"It should be called Stress Management 101, because it's very relaxing," she said, noting that knitting is the perfect way to pass the time while waiting in a doctor's office, or while traveling.

As a young girl, Iris was dyslexic, but knitting helped her distinguish between right and left. As a senior citizen, Iris notes that knitting helps keep her hands limber and her mind sharp. Knitting is also Iris's cure for insomnia.

"If you can't sleep, get up and knit for half hour, " she offered. "You will sleep the night through."

Best of all, the end result of all that therapeutic handiwork is a gift you create for someone else.

"I make things people can use," said Iris, showing me a picture of a sweater she was knitting for a friend who has cancer. "She is real hot-blooded so I made it a lacy one."

I started to tell her that I never learned to knit, but Iris firmly interrupted me.

"My mother never allowed me to use those words 'I can't,'" she said with a scowl. "You would be surprised at what I can do."

I wanted to tell her nothing she could say or do would surprise me. But I did want to know if everyone could learn to knit?

"Sure," she insisted. And I believed her. "People who want to knit, knit all the time."

XXX

If you want to learn to knit, Iris Miller teaches beginning knitting classes for Club Ed. To learn more about this and hundreds of other lifelong learning classes, call 830-895-4386, or visit www.clubed.net.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District.

Visit our blog at http://clubedcomments.blogspot.com/

Born in the Renaissance

As published in the Community Journal (Kerrville TX) Phil Houseal, Oct 08, 2008

"I feel like I was born in the Renaissance."

With Angela Freeman's Italian accent and continental aura, you could easily believe she was. Freeman is Club Ed's expert on all things Italian, from art to history to speaking the language. She will combine all those interests in Il Salotto Del Rinascimento - A Salon of the Renaissance.

While not born in the Renaissance, Freeman was born in the heart of Italy in the region of Parma. She was raised and schooled in Milan. It steeped in her an abiding affinity for the Renaissance.

"I believe it was the most interesting and important part of our history," she said. "There was such an evolution in every field - not just painting, but also sculpture, architecture, philosophy, and literature."

The Renaissance is usually described as a cultural movement that bridged the Middle Ages and the modern era. It began in Italy and later spread to the rest of Europe. The Italian word Rinascimento comes from re- "again" and nascere "be born."

Freeman was born into a family where culture was important. She grew up surrounded by books. Her mother was a teacher, and her father was an officer in the Italian army. She married an American and has spent most of her adult life in this country, where she sees the connection to her beloved Renaissance.

"America now finds in this era something that is popular, so they are becoming more interested in the Renaissance," she said. "The Italian style is liked. Just look at the fashion, the furnishings, the food, even the important buildings in the capital reflect the influence of Italian architecture."

Freeman has compiled - by hand - a 64-page book with examples of the art and influence of the Renaissance ("My husband said this is not just a book - it is an encyclopedia!" she said). She will share it with her students in the class. In her book, she tried to pick the most important figures, not just the most well-known names of the Renaissance: Michaelangelo, da Vinci, and Raphael.

"There are many minor figures that also did excellent work, but who do not enjoy the fame of those three," she said, citing names such as Titian, Cellini, Dante, and Veronazi. "Please come... it will be una posseggiata attraverso il Rinascimento!"

That translates to "a walk through the Renaissance." With Angela Freeman, it is more like "a lifetime in the Renaissance."

XXX

To learn more about this and hundreds of other lifelong learning classes, call 830-895-4386, or visit www.clubed.net.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.

Arrows as art

by Phil Houseal, (Kerrville TX) Community Journal Oct 1 2008

Everyone knows what skill it takes to flake an arrowhead from flint. But making a stone toothpick?

That is one of the actual pieces created by a flintknapping instructor at the Club Ed Arrowhead Making course.

Local jeweler Jim Morris, who has taught flintknapping at Club Ed for at least a decade, is excited that he will have a very special guest instructor at his Oct. 4 class in Kerrville.

That would be John Kiernan, the internationally-known arrow point specialist.

"I think he is one of the world's greatest pressure flakers," Morris said. Kiernan is so respected in the lithic arts that he was featured on the flintknappers calendar this year.

Kiernan's work is so intricate it is collected as art - something previously unheard of in the world of stonework. He starts with the classic form of arrowheads and spear points, but refines them into eccentrics - intricate and delicate decorative forms that swirl and end in graceful balanced flutes. The reclusive artist engraves his name into every piece with a diamond stylus, partly to ensure no one mistakes them for ancient creations. Morris notes that most serious flintknappers are also amateur archeologists and have great respect for maintaining the historic record.

Amateur flintknappers already seek one of the limited seats in Morris's popular classes. Morris can claim credit as a pioneer in the field of modern arrowhead making. He first fell in love with the stone tools in 1952, and spent years studying the leftover flakes of flint and stone in order to unlock the secrets of how the natives made them. He has written a book explaining the process, and has taught hundreds of students his techniques.

Morris is known in the field for utilizing the same tools and raw materials used by the ancients.

Morris promises other surprises in the all-day workshop. He expects visits from Paul Stein and David Calame, both presidents of the Texas State Amateur Archeological Association.

Since flintknappers support research and interest in archeology, Morris invites all students to bring their own arrowhead collections. The instructors will help identify and classify them, even as they strive to recreate them.

But the goal of the workshop is to have each student produce a finished piece by the end of the day. That is a challenge, as it takes 300 blows to make a typical arrowhead, and any one blow can shatter the stone.

But it is a challenge every true flintknapper embraces, even knowing his first attempt may not be a work of art.

XXX

To see more of John Kiernan's art:
http://lithiccastinglab.com/gallery-pages/2002maykiernanpage2.htm

Jim Morris will teach Arrowhead Making on Saturday, Oct 4. To learn more about this and hundreds of other lifelong learning classes, call 830-895-4386, or visit www.clubed.net.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Comment online at clubedcomments.blogspot.com.

Master Your Dog

as published in the Community Journal, Kerrville TX by Phil Houseal, Aug 26, 2008


Yvonne Gerhardt set me straight right away: Dog obedience is not about teaching the dog; it is teaching the master.

Through the Club Ed dog obedience course, Gerhardt has helped hundreds of dog owners become better masters. She goes beyond heel, sit, stay, using "natural dogmanship" to help your dog learn its proper role in your "pack."

"We take the point of view of the dog," she explained. "Dogs are pack animals by nature. They have a hierarchy. Any dog will be happier when they have a pack leader."

The pack leader has to be the owner, a role some owners are reluctant to adopt. Lots of Gerhardt's training is focused on training the trainer.

"We won't let the owner drive the bus until they are comfortable with being in charge," she said.

Gerhardt has bred, trained, and showed dogs since 1976. She is also a veterinary technician, and works for the animal control department in Fredericksburg. The certified dog trainer has seen the gamut of issues when it comes to dog behavior.

She gets many calls from people seeking help with dogs that bite, jump on people, or won't come when called.

"We have had dogs that were nonsocial," she said. "When they left the training, the owners were finally able to take the dog to the vet without being bitten. Results all depend on the person and how hard they want to work with their dog."

Gerhardt recommends spending 15 minutes every day on training. Less than that, you get no results. More than 15 minutes, the dog loses interest.

Another point is that you cannot treat your pets as if they are people. They are not children. A dog doesn't know the difference between a $1000 collar and a piece of twine.

While Gerhardt believes in positive reinforcement, training is not all treats and petting. Again, her training methods parallel life in the dog pack.

"There are consequences in life, and consequences in training - if a dog does something wrong, you have to show them the right way," she said. Gerhardt used the example of a mother dog dealing with a puppy trying to get into her food dish. "First she stares, then shows her teeth. If the puppy still doesn't get the message, then she bites. But you always end on a positive."

Training dogs brings reward, sometimes in unexpected ways.

"People have called after taking this class and said you helped me in real life, you made me a leader. I was shy, and now I'm not. Or you've changed the way our family behaves."

One owner just wanted to have her dog walk on a leash without throwing a tantrum. Within 10 minutes, Gerhardt and the student had that dog walking.

"At the end of the class, that owner got a standing ovation and had tears in her eyes," Gerhardt said. "I get rewarded every time I see a dog walk out and become a good citizen. That owner got something good out of my class."

Gerhardt is so passionate about what she does, that she makes a surprising offer.

"Once you take my class, you can come back for free for the life of your dog," she said. "We want you and your dog to be happy."

XXX

Yvonne Gerhardt teaches a Dog Obedience class that begins Sept 8.

To learn more about this and hundreds of other lifelong learning classes, call 830-895-4386, or visit www.clubed.net.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District.

Ni hao! (nee-Ha-OW - that is hello in Chinese)

Published in the Community Journal (Kerrville TX) August 19, 2008

Those whose interest in the Far East is rising as a result of the Beijing Olympics can add to that knowledge with Club Ed. Next spring we are sponsoring a trip to China, and this fall you can start working on the language by taking Chinese Language.

Tatiana Authement teaches both Chinese and Russian. Tatiana is a native of Moscow, and spent time teaching and living in China, where she participated in a historic first I'll share later. So along with language instruction, she plans to pull back the Iron Curtain to give westerners a glimpse into daily life in the former Soviet Union.

And what a life. Tatiana's parents were dissidents, who actually met while held in one of the gulags. When Stalin died in 1953, the government released her parents.

Both were theater producers, so Tatiana grew up surrounded by artists, actors, and performing troupes that put on local productions.

"We would travel to peasant villages, and give little shows with singing, playing, and comedy," she recalled. Her father directed these shows, which were approved by the communist party line. But it was a way to spread culture to her countrymen. Young Tatiana was often cast in these local productions.

"I was performing bad characters mostly," she explained. "I was always the mischievous one - I played the witch types that went flying across the stage."

She eventually enrolled in Moscow University, and studied International business relations and the Chinese language.

In 1989 she traveled to China, where her life took an unexpected turn and she made a bit of history. Tatiana never particularly wanted to come to the United States, but she met and fell in love with an American. Both the U..S. and Soviet embassies in China refused to marry them, so they were married in a Chinese courthouse by Chinese officials. It was the first marriage between an American and a Soviet citizen ever performed in China.

Tatiana has lived in Texas since 1994. She finds most Americans to be very curious about Russia, but not always informed.

"People ask all sorts of questions about my life," she said. "The everyday stuff interests them. They know about Tchaikovsky and Dostoyevsky, but they don't know what the Russian people are like."

She finds many Americans hold onto stereotypes of Russian people left over from the cold war.

"People say to me, 'You can't be Russian... you don't look like a Russian!'"

To help educate us, Tatiana promises to add in a bit about the culture as well as the basics of the language.

"We have this great soul," she said. "Things like our little traditions and superstitions. If you don't know them, you can't understand us."

She acknowledges that one cannot expect to learn any language in six lessons. But she promises that students will have a better understanding of the culture and even be able to read a sentence or two. She does promise two things: "It will not be boring. And there will be no propaganda!"

XXX

Tatiana will teach Chinese starting Sept 16 at 1 p.m., and Russian starting Sept 16 at 3 p.m. The trip to China leaves in April, 2009, with a free information session set for Tuesday evening, October 21 at the Auld Center.

To learn more about these and hundreds of other lifelong learning classes starting this fall, call 830-895-4386, or visit www.clubed.net.

Sharpen your tools

As published in the Community Journal, Kerrville TX Aug 13, 2008


Whether using your mind or your kitchen paring knife, dull tools are dangerous.

Welcome back to another season of Club Ed, where you can not only sharpen your mind; you can sharpen all of your working tools.

Dr. Tom Harris, revered as a wizard at gardening, has always been fascinated in the tools that help him keep that garden in shape. That is why he will teach a Tool Sharpening Workshop this fall.

"I took a course in tool maintenance when I was working on my Industrial Arts degree," Harris said. "We learned how to maintain all the machines and hand tools in shop. I found it fascinating, and loved all of it. Ever since I have had a fetish about sharp things being sharp."

Taking care of our tools has become an anachronism. Back on the farm, my dad carefully cleaned the dirt off the hoes after each use, sharpened the edges, then dipped them in a bucket of used oil before hanging them up in the barn.

These days, when our hoe becomes dull, we are more likely to toss it and buy a new one than we are to sharpen it (if we even use a hoe, come to think of it). You wouldn't do that with your brain; why do it with your tools?

Harris acknowledges that sharpening has become a lost art, but not for him. He still cleans his spades and hoes after each use, sharpens the blades, sprays the metal with WD-40 and applies linseed oil to the wood handles.

"I've got shovels, hoes and rakes that are 25 years old," he said. "Some of them look better than new ones. I'm a nut about it."

Still, Harris is not obsessive about how you sharpen your tools. He teaches students how to sharpen by hand and to "eyeball" it, mainly by matching the same angle as the original blade was ground. His other tip is to keep your knives sharp by not putting them in the dishwasher or silverware drawer, where they will bang against other utensils. He recommends simply rinsing them off after each use, drying, and placing back in the knife holder.

Oh, about the "dull is dangerous" comment?

"You have to work harder to make a dull tool work," he noted. "If the blade is sharp, it will do what it is supposed to do, easily. If it is dull, that's when you make a mistake."

Sharpening your spades, scissors, knives, and shears is a strange combination of practicality and Zen.

"It is just fascinating," Harris said, "when you can get something sharp enough to shave with, whether it is a shovel or a razor."

Or your mind.

"Where Learning Never Ends"

That is the slogan on our coffee mugs.

Why did we put it there? Why does lifelong learning matter?

According to About.com, lifelong learning...

* Keeps your mind sharp
* Improves memory
* Increases self-confidence
* Offers an inexpensive way to try something new
* Saves you money as you learn to “do it yourself”
* Gives you a feeling of accomplishment
* Helps you meet people who share your interests
* Builds on skills you already have
* Offers you an opportunity to learn a new skill or trade and increase your income
* Gives you a new interest that you can share with family and friends

More important, why do we NEED lifelong learning?

Here are the key challenges set forth by one government agency:

- The increasing pace of technological change in the knowledge economy
- Need for a flexible and adaptable workforce to keep pace with the economy's skills needs
- Aging population, which means we will have fewer young people entering the workforce in the future
- Closing the opportunity gap - learning plays an important role in providing a route out of poverty, and enables people to take an active part in society

Interestingly, those points came from the Lifelong Learning Strategy for Scotland! Here in the United States, there is no national plan or funding for community education. Local programs such as Club Ed exist solely because of the desire by local school districts to provide learning opportunities for all citizens, even those of us beyond our school-age years.

In Kerrville, we also are fortunate to have a population of motivated citizens that believe in lifelong learning enough to take and to teach classes. If no one came, we wouldn't have built it.

So, with the holiday season near, here are two suggestions for making lifelong learning a bigger part of your life:

1 - Give it as a gift! Club Ed will whip up a gift certificate that you can give a loved one who wants to keep on learning.

2 - With New Year's near, why not make it a resolution to better yourself by taking a class?

After all, has a coffee mug ever let you down?

XXX

Club Ed catalogs are being mailed between Christmas and New Year's. Meanwhile, you can sign up online at www.clubed.net.

We always offer custom training for individuals and organizations.

Club Ed is the Community Education program of the Kerrville Independent School District. Courses are open to everyone. To sign up, ask a question, suggest a class, or apply to teach, call 830-895-4386, or visit www.clubed.net.