Learning Never Ends–Did Old Dogs Learn New Tricks?

Learning Never Ends was a one night event of classes, for adults, and members of the community. The event took place at AHS North Campus on Wednesday, March 26th.

The evening consisted of 14 classes which included meditation, salsa making, and the uses of a therapy dog. There were 18 Arrowhead teachers who volunteered to teach a the topic, and every class was offered free of charge to the public.

The different uses for a therapy dog was taught by certified therapy dog, Abby Ward, and AHS counselor, Mike Ward.

“I felt it was my turn to do something positive for the community, and I saw training a therapy dog as doing just that,” said Ward. “I wanted to get a dog, with the intentions of getting her licenced as a therapy dog, but if that didn’t work I would love Abby just the same.”

Currently, Abby is seven years old and has had her therapy licence since she was two, said Ward. You might recognize Abby from the Arrowhead webpage.

(Abby Ward, www.Arrowheadschools.org)

Ward talked about the training needed to obtain a therapy dog’s licence and where he and Abby volunteer.

At the end of the class, Ward said “Abby can’t talk so….” he then gave her a sign that said “Thank You” which she held in her mouth.

Salsa making was toughy by culinary teacher Leah Cull and AHS counselor Kathie Mitich.

“This class was the first to fill up,” said Mitich. “I am excited to get in and see all who signed up so hastily. I just hope they all knew we would be making salsa tonight, and not dancing the salsa.”

In this class, there were four different salsa’s made, including guacamole, two fruit salsas, and a tomato salsa. Class members also made four batches of homemade tortilla chips, and each batch was made specifically for a different salsa. For instanced, the fruit salsa had brown sugar tortilla chips.

“A fun fact for you is that salsa is the most popular condiment in the United States,” said Cull.

Basic Firearm Safety and Wisconsin Firearm Law was a women’s only class, taught by social studies teacher Chris Herriot.

Herriot’s major point of discussion was how to be safe while handling a firearm. He stressed the importance of knowing the type of weapon that is in a person possession. Whether it be, “a single action revolver or a Smith and Wesson 32. revolver, it is imperative you know what you are doing,” said Herriot.

“I had no idea the repercussions, and injuries, that could happen,” said Elaine Kaiser, who attended the class.

Herriot explained to the female students got the chance to see that handling firearms is not as easy as it seems. More than a few volunteers had a slightly difficult time loading the chamber of the gun a cocking it but eventually got the hang of it.

Herriot showed different ways of carrying the weapon when out in public, to make sure the gun is not loaded while cleaning or just looking, and to always check the gun yourself.

Herriot gave suggestions when looking to purchase a gun. He said if you are at a store like Cabela’s, “don’t trust the kid behind the counter to make sure the gun is empty,” said Herriot.

“My husband is a hunter and I bet he doesn’t know half of the things I just learned. I definitely will be the expert next time we go out hunting,” said Carla Priest, a community member in attendance at the class.

Mindfulness and Meditation, taught by Jennifer Passler, a English teacher at Arrowhead, was another popular class which discussed a range of ways to help relieve stress and ways to live in the moment.

“A lot of our day is filled with task that we just want to be over– take washing the dishes. If all we think about is what comes after the dishes, you’re not truly allowing yourself to be in the moment. Allowing yourself to feel the silkiness or smell the soap,” said Passler.

“Being mindful of the things around you lets you tap into that certain area of stress in your life,” said Passler.