INSIDE OLLI
|
|
Andrew and Lola Fraknoi are a husband and wife team on a mission to help older adults conquer their childhood fears of taking science and art courses.
All of which makes OLLI the perfect place for the astronomer and artist to be teaching such classes as Atomic Science for Poets, The Violent Universe, Art Inspired by Writing, and Self-Portraits that Anyone Can Do. And whether OLLI students step out of their comfort zone to enroll in Lola Fraknoi’s more intimate hands-on art courses or Andrew’s overflow astronomy and physics classes, they come out less intimidated, and eager to continue their exploration. “Something that Andrew and I have in common is joy in bringing our subjects to people who have never experienced it before, and waiting for people to have that ‘ah ha’ when they get the scientific concept or start doing amazing things on paper,” Lola says. Andrew agrees. |
|
1
“Our life’s work has been teaching people who are a little bit scared or worried about the subject,” he says. “All of the decades that I taught at college or university, my specialty was helping non-science majors who had to take a science class to graduate. I try to explain things in ways that are accessible or a little bit humorous.”
Seated in the living room of their comfortable West Portal home, the close-knit couple is surrounded by shelves of Andrew’s 19th century science book collection as well as Lola’s paintings, prints and sculptures. The room is a very personal reflection of their passion for their work. Although they keep their professional lives separate, the semi-retired couple is deeply supportive of each other. You might see Lola in attendance at one of her husband’s public astronomy lectures, or Andrew serving up cheese at one of Lola’s art openings.
“The work that we do is so different,” Lola says. “But the passion and our goals are similar. Often we hear this confession from people telling us how awful their experience was with a science or art teacher. We like working with people who are resistant or fearful, and to see the transformation happen.”
Lola herself has been working with older adults throughout her career. Born in Peru, she was educated in the United States and earned degrees from Rice University and the California College of Arts and Crafts. With a grant from the California Arts Council, her first job was teaching art to elders in a nursing home in Oakland. Later, she worked as Program Director at Bethany Center, a multi-cultural, low-income senior residence. While there, she spearheaded work on the tallest mural in San Francisco dedicated to older adults. At Bethany, Lola founded Ruth’s Table, an arts nonprofit that focuses on bringing generations together through creativity, in honor of her mentor, the late and much-beloved San Francisco artist, Ruth Asawa.
Lola has been teaching art to older adults at City College of SF, the Institute on Aging, and, of course, OLLI. Another of her recent projects has been to work with people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of memory loss. She notes that research shows creativity is the last part of the brain to go. So she designed “Lola’s Art Kit,” available online, to help spark the creativity in those whose memories are fading.
Seated in the living room of their comfortable West Portal home, the close-knit couple is surrounded by shelves of Andrew’s 19th century science book collection as well as Lola’s paintings, prints and sculptures. The room is a very personal reflection of their passion for their work. Although they keep their professional lives separate, the semi-retired couple is deeply supportive of each other. You might see Lola in attendance at one of her husband’s public astronomy lectures, or Andrew serving up cheese at one of Lola’s art openings.
“The work that we do is so different,” Lola says. “But the passion and our goals are similar. Often we hear this confession from people telling us how awful their experience was with a science or art teacher. We like working with people who are resistant or fearful, and to see the transformation happen.”
Lola herself has been working with older adults throughout her career. Born in Peru, she was educated in the United States and earned degrees from Rice University and the California College of Arts and Crafts. With a grant from the California Arts Council, her first job was teaching art to elders in a nursing home in Oakland. Later, she worked as Program Director at Bethany Center, a multi-cultural, low-income senior residence. While there, she spearheaded work on the tallest mural in San Francisco dedicated to older adults. At Bethany, Lola founded Ruth’s Table, an arts nonprofit that focuses on bringing generations together through creativity, in honor of her mentor, the late and much-beloved San Francisco artist, Ruth Asawa.
Lola has been teaching art to older adults at City College of SF, the Institute on Aging, and, of course, OLLI. Another of her recent projects has been to work with people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of memory loss. She notes that research shows creativity is the last part of the brain to go. So she designed “Lola’s Art Kit,” available online, to help spark the creativity in those whose memories are fading.
2
An immigrant as well, Andrew came to the United States at age 11 with his family in the years following the 1956 Hungarian revolution. His late start in learning English didn’t hinder him from entering the select Bronx School of Science and then earning astronomy degrees from Harvard University and UC Berkeley. Although he first thought that he would become a research scientist, it was as a graduate student that Andrew learned his gift was in teaching. He has been involved with astronomy education—at the college level and for a non-profit scientific organization—ever since.
“I realized that the abilities that make a student go into science don’t necessarily translate into being a good communicator,” he says.
As a result, in addition to his own teaching career, for many years he has been involved in training future science teachers. Recently, he was instrumental in establishing a project to train early-career astronomers through the American Astronomical Society, the professional society for astronomers in the U.S. To date, about 250 young astronomers have taken the training and become better at explaining their subject. In recognition of his contributions to the public understanding of science, Asteroid 4859 was named Asteroid Fraknoi by the International Astronomical Union. (He is quick to point out, however, that his asteroid orbits peacefully in the main belt of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter, and is not a danger to planet Earth.)
After spending much of his career teaching 18- to 20-year-olds at Foothill College in Los Altos, Andrew finds it particularly rewarding to be teaching older adults—especially since he no longer has the burden of grading 900 students a year.
“Teaching at OLLI is my retirement gift,” he says, “The level of questions is marvelous. There are so many people who have read about the topic of the class, and want to ask more detailed questions, I really enjoy that.”
“I realized that the abilities that make a student go into science don’t necessarily translate into being a good communicator,” he says.
As a result, in addition to his own teaching career, for many years he has been involved in training future science teachers. Recently, he was instrumental in establishing a project to train early-career astronomers through the American Astronomical Society, the professional society for astronomers in the U.S. To date, about 250 young astronomers have taken the training and become better at explaining their subject. In recognition of his contributions to the public understanding of science, Asteroid 4859 was named Asteroid Fraknoi by the International Astronomical Union. (He is quick to point out, however, that his asteroid orbits peacefully in the main belt of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter, and is not a danger to planet Earth.)
After spending much of his career teaching 18- to 20-year-olds at Foothill College in Los Altos, Andrew finds it particularly rewarding to be teaching older adults—especially since he no longer has the burden of grading 900 students a year.
“Teaching at OLLI is my retirement gift,” he says, “The level of questions is marvelous. There are so many people who have read about the topic of the class, and want to ask more detailed questions, I really enjoy that.”
3
Like the older adult students he teaches, Andrew is a lifelong learner.
In recent years, he has turned from writing textbooks to writing his own science fiction—much of it based on notes about scientific discoveries he took during years of attending academic conferences. To date, several of his stories have been published.
“I am learning to flex my creative muscle. The challenge is how to convert a fun scientific idea into an actual story someone would want to read,” he says.
Despite their full schedules and lives, both Lola and Andrew Fraknoi continue to work hard creating and preparing new classes for OLLI students. Both of them would like to see more OLLI students take science and art classes.
After all, how else will OLLI students overcome their fears?
______________________
To learn more about Andrew and Lola Fraknoi and their work, check out their websites.
Andrew Fraknoi: https://www.fraknoi.com/
Lola Fraknoi: https://www.lolafraknoi.com/
In recent years, he has turned from writing textbooks to writing his own science fiction—much of it based on notes about scientific discoveries he took during years of attending academic conferences. To date, several of his stories have been published.
“I am learning to flex my creative muscle. The challenge is how to convert a fun scientific idea into an actual story someone would want to read,” he says.
Despite their full schedules and lives, both Lola and Andrew Fraknoi continue to work hard creating and preparing new classes for OLLI students. Both of them would like to see more OLLI students take science and art classes.
After all, how else will OLLI students overcome their fears?
______________________
To learn more about Andrew and Lola Fraknoi and their work, check out their websites.
Andrew Fraknoi: https://www.fraknoi.com/
Lola Fraknoi: https://www.lolafraknoi.com/
4
