Read. Think. Act.

Catherine Read

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Del. Marcus Simon on Your Need to Know

(July 31, 2019) Catherine Read sits down with Del. Marcus Simon (D-53) to talk about how citizens can get involved in affecting policy change at the state and local level of governments.

Simon was introduced to state politics in his first job out of college, as an aid with his predecessor, Del. Jim Scott. Without much knowledge about the inner workings of state government, he got a quick lesson on both how things work, and how quickly things can move in Richmond. While he embraces the concept of citizen legislators, it also means that there is a very short time frame to get things done during their abbreviated legislative session each winter.

One of the aspects of state government that really appeals to Del. Simon is the fact that legislators are very accessible to their constituents.   Representatives are able to hear directly from them about their ideas and concerns.  There are not a lot of “layers” in state government, meaning there are very few staff people who serve as buffers.  When you want to speak to your representative, it is easy to do so. He has personally enjoyed getting to know his constituents, learning about new issues, and advocating on their behalf.

He encourages everyone to participate in the legislative process. One way people can engage is to step forward and take a leadership role in a professional association. When it comes to professional licensing and regulations, the state plays a big role. This is a great way to get involved if they have suggestions for improving things within their industry.

He also recommends scheduling a time to meet with him here in Falls Church, or coming to his office in Richmond during session. He always has time for constituents, and wants to hear about issues that are important to them. Legislators also often attend community meetings such as civic associations, neighborhood community groups or local advocacy groups. If you are interested in having him, or any of his colleagues, speak at a local meeting, simply contact their office to arrange the details. You can find your local representatives at this website, simply plug in your address.

Delegate Marcus SimonIn addition to stepping forward and getting involved, Simon has some advice for younger constituents who are interested in civics. The Virginia General Assembly has a page program geared towards students age 13-14. Teens can apply starting August 1st for these coveted spots. The students who are selected will move to Richmond during the legislative session.  They work in the House and Senate chambers, while also doing schoolwork under the supervision of tutors.

It is a wonderful hands-on learning experience. Del. Simon is always impressed with the young people who come to Richmond, and very much enjoys having them as part of the legislative session. He is continuously impressed at their mock legislative session that they run at the end of each season. It shows just how much they absorb by being present and working in the chamber every day.

Simon encourages all citizens to take action in our democracy. There are elections this fall for every seat in both the House and the Senate, and a lot of work to be done. As a member of the minority party since his election in 2013, Simon is looking toward a future when the Democrats can take back the majority. He knows that if they are able to accomplish this, then there will be real policy change on big issues like gun violence prevention, protecting Medicaid expansion, and criminal justice reform.

As a citizen, if you have an idea for legislation, he encourages you to reach out to your representatives today. They are working on crafting agendas and bills, and need time to gain an understanding of the issue, as well as come up with the most effective wording for the bill itself. Come fall, they will be filing bills with the legislative services office, and want to ensure that they have plenty of time to ensure that the bill is written with the most effective language.

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Class Act Players with Alex Bulova and Alex Poirier

(July 24, 2019) Catherine Read interviews Alex Bulova and Alex Poirier about their local Fairfax based theater company, Class Act Players. In 2015, a group of young artists dreamt of a place where they could come together and hone their artistic skills as all-around theater makers. They joined forces to found Class Act Players, and worked together that summer to produce their first original musical.

The troupe is comprised of university students, who come together over the summer to put on original shows. They have a mission to support and showcase the work of budding playwrights. This summer’s production is called Air Mail Par Avion, and is the 4th original production that they have embarked on making. The very unique thing about this show is that a portion of it is improvisational, so each and every show is slightly different. Improv is not often used in musical productions, so they are excited to bring a new concept to the stage to create a different type of experience for audience members.

Previous productions include the Complete History of Fairfax: The Musical. No other groups have ever offered to produce their shows, but Catherine suggests that perhaps the high school theater programs might be interested in putting this show on as a part of a civics course. There are many possibilities.

Class Act PlayersFor the first time this year, the group is accepting submissions of original scripts. The creative team will come together to decide which show they will select to produce. Both Bulova and Poirier are excited about the prospect collaborating with a local playwright to put together an original production. Their mission is to support and bolster local artists.

The Class Act players are currently operating out of the Lorton Arts Center, and the shows are very affordable to attend. Bulova and Poirer are thankful for their sponsors, both individual and corporate, who help keep them afloat and allow the theater to be accessible to all who want to attend. Having a place for new artists to test their work and try new things is very important. Their shows tend to be an outgrowth of their mission, posing the question of: what is art and who gets to make it? The production team shares a passion for producing quality theater productions, and they hope to continue to do that into the future.

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Kimberly Boateng FCPS Student Representative 2019-2020

(July 17, 2019) Catherine Read interviews Kimberly Boateng, the new student representative to the FCPS School Board for the 2019-2020 school year. Kimberly is an incoming junior at Robert E. Lee High School, and was elected this past spring by the Student Advisory Council (SAC).  She serve a one-year term starting in July, and will participate in School Board meetings as a non-voting member.  Kimberly is the 49th student representative to serve in this capacity.

Over the course of her academic career, Kimberly has attended seven different schools, six of them being within the FCPS system.  Through this unique lens, Kimberly has gained a good snapshot of the county and has a lot of ideas based on her experiences. She understands the diversity, both from a racial and socioeconomic standpoint, and is able to use that understanding to help advance the issues that are most important to her.

Among the pressing issues at hand, Boateng believes that mental health, implicit bias awareness, the dress code, assistance for at-risk students, drug use, and punishment reform are most important.

Some of these issues dovetail with one another. Punishment reform merges in with the issue of implicit bias and at-risk students. She points out that the policy of suspending or expelling students is not working. If the goal is to reform the students and help them, then keeping them in school and making them aware of their mistakes, as well as teaching them how to avoid making the same mistakes in the future is the most important thing.

“The worst thing that a school can do” she says, “is give up on a child”.

Since she has been in so many different schools, Boateng has had the opportunity to see things that have worked well, and things that have not worked out the way that they were intended. She would like to highlight the creative, out of the box ideas that she has seen to be successful.

Boateng takes her role seriously, and hopes that the FCPS student body will reach out to her with their thoughts, ideas and observations. The school system is very large, and she believes the only way to be an effective representative is to be open and responsive to the student body that she represents. Her email is effective on July 1st, and she hopes to start hearing from them with ideas and feedback for the new school year.

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Caldecott & Company – Maurice Sendak

Caldecott & Company (July 2019) I love this book so much! I was led to it from a footnote in Dear Genius: The Letters of Ursula Nordsrom which was published in 1998. Maurice Sendak dedicated Caldecott & Co: Notes on Books & Pictures to his beloved editor Ursula Nordstrom, who died in 1988, the year this book was published.

By 1971, Sendak had illustrated 70 books in twenty years. Most of his illustrations in the 1950s were for the works of other authors. In 1964, he wrote and illustrated Where the Wild Things Are which won the Caldecott Medal that year. His acceptance speech for that award, the Hans Christian Andersen Award, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award make up the last part of this book of essays.

Where the Wild Things Are was not universally embraced by librarians and the adult buyers of children’s books, and In the Night Kitchen even less so. In one of Sendak’s essays published in 1964, he quotes Nordstrom about the difficulties in publishing quality children’s books:

It is always the adults we have to contend with — most children under the age of ten will react creatively to the best work of a truly creative person. But too often adults sift their reactions to creative picture books through their own adult experiences. And as an editor who stands between the creative artist and the creative child I am constantly terrified that I will react as a dull adult. But at least I must try to remember it every minute!

In a separate essay from 1964 he talks about Nordstrom’s support for Where the Wild Things Are despite her “squeamishness” on seeing the first pictures for the book.

This admission of misgivings and her realization that she was reacting in a stereotyped adult fashion was a confession of utmost truth, and only she could have made it. This is how she put it recently: “And so we remembered once again, as so many times in the past, that the children are new and we are not.” Her support and unflagging enthusiasm helped bring the book to a happy conclusion.

These essays written by Sendak are from 1955 to 1987 and are not in chronological order, but rather arranged topically about the history of children’s books and the artists who illustrated them.

One of the essays is the preface to Pictures by Sendak published in 1971. It’s a selection of 19 illustrations from eight of the 70 books he illustrated – all of them after the 1950s. I went searching for the portfolio at my “go to” website for out-of-print books www.abebooks.com and they do indeed have sellers in their network who have the portfolio for sale from a low of $750 to a high of $16,000. I’m guessing it was a small print production.

One fact that emerged in these essays is his love for music and he refers to some of his drawings as “a kind of pen-and-ink ballet.” He drew his illustrations to classical music and had a fondness for Mozart. In addition to picture books, he also designed sets for operas and ballets, including The Magic Flute. The Morgan Library in New York City has a special exhibit of his theatrical designs from June to October 2019, Drawing the Curtain: Maurice Sendak’s Designs for Opera and Ballet, which I’m hoping to see this month.

Woven throughout the essays are stories of his childhood growing up in Brooklyn in the 1930s- the impact of Mickey Mouse, comics and the movies. From his acceptance speech for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1970:

Mine was a childhood colored with memories of village life in Poland, never actually experienced but passed on to me as persuasive reality by my immigrant parents. On the one hand, I lived snugly in their Old Country world, a world far from urban society, where the laws and customs of a small Jewish village were scrupulously and lovingly obeyed. And on the other hand, I was bombarded with the intoxicating gush of America in that convulsed decade, the thirties. Two emblems represent that era for me: a photograph of my severe, bearded grandfather (I never actually saw him), which haunts me to this day and which, as a child, I believed to be the exact image of God; and Mickey Mouse. These two lived side by side in a bizarre togetherness that I accepted as natural. For me, childhood was shtetl life transplanted, Brooklyn colored by Old World reverberations and Walt Disney and the occasional trip to the incredibly windowed “uptown” that was New York – America. All in all, what with loving parents and sister and brother, it was a satisfying childhood. Was it American? Everybody’s America is different.

One of many interesting things about Ursula Nordstrom and Maurice Sendak is their choice of life partner. In her letters to writers over the decades, Nordstrom refers to her partner Mary Griffith – their homes, their travels, their parties. In 1988 Nordstrom predeceased Mary Griffith, who is credited in Dear Genius with providing some of the letters that appear there.

Maurice Sendak’s longtime partner, Eugene Glynn, predeceased him in 2007 and in Glynn’s obituary Sendak was mentioned as his partner of 50 years. The following year, in an interview with the New York Times, he said never told his parents. “All I wanted was to be straight so my parents could be happy. They never, never, never knew.”

I’m struck by how two such talented people impacted children’s literature, had wonderfully rewarding lives and loving partners, and were part of an LGBTQ community that wasn’t itself “out” in the workplace from the 1930s through the 1980s in New York City. When we talk about the need to teach LGBTQ History, we need to teach about the amazing accomplishments of people like Ursula Nordstrom and Maurice Sendak who persevered and gave so much to this country and to our culture. There are a number of well known authors long deceased who were less well known members of the LGBTQ community. Let’s put these role models out there for students.

I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve spent with both Dear Genius and Caldecott & Co. and I’m awestruck by seeing how some of my favorite childhood books were made. I would highly recommend these books to anyone of any age who loves books.

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Speak* with Rhonda Eldrige and Erin Villaronga

(July 10, 2019) Catherine Read sits down with Executive Director Rhonda Eldrige and Program Facilitator Erin Villaronga, of the nonprofit Speak*.   Their summertime interdisciplinary arts program for girls aged 12-18 encompasses all aspects of creative performance.  From writing to dance to direction, the girls work together to create a performance that culminates in a show for  the Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, DC.

Modeled after a sister program that has been running in Nashville for the past 10 years, Eldrige brought Speak* to Northern Virginia as a way to empower young women. Her arts retreat is an opportunity for these young women to author their own life, as well as write and tell their own story. This program offers a safe space for young women to explore and express their feelings.

Speak* takes place over a two-week period. In the first week the girls focus on process. Each day, they have a writing prompt which helps them to build a collection of stories. During the second week, the participants figure out how all of the pieces can work together. They incorporate music and movement to bring the entire performance to fruition.

Erin Villaronga Speak*In an example of how this program works, a writing prompt asked the participants to write a letter to one of their parents. One of the girls wrote a letter of appreciation to her Dad where she was able to express her gratitude and love for him.  Another participant wrote to her Dad about the pain she felt after he left their family, and how sad she was that he was absent for most of her life.  The juxtaposition of these two pieces highlights how each one of us goes through life by looking at the world through our own lens.

These two young women then presented their pieces side by side for the final performance. There was not a dry eye in the theater. This is just one example of how this program gives the girls an opportunity to explore their feelings, be validated for speaking their truth, and be empowered by their own thoughts and words.

The program culminates in three final performances at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Washington, DC during the Capital Fringe Festival. To learn more about the program, or to purchase tickets, visit their website.

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She Believes in Me with Renee Gorman

(July 3, 2019) Catherine Read sits down with She Believes in Me founder Renee Gorman to talk about her work in supporting young, vulnerable girls in her community. Lori Barnes, a volunteer who has been with the program since inception, also joins the show to talk about the importance of being a mentor, and giving these girls positive experiences and valuable skills.

Gorman is a school counselor in a community with many vulnerable children. Over the years, she became increasingly frustrated because she did not have the bandwidth during school hours to help support the young girls who were coming into her office with profound challenges.  She wanted to do more, but needed to find a different approach to helping them work through their obstacles. She believed in these girls, and wanted to show them that they had a fan rooting for them.

The first step involved planning some positive programming to bring the girls together. Gorman put together a group of volunteers by reaching out to her professional and community connections.  Her goal was show these young girls that there were people in their corner who wanted to help them. These workshops take place at her elementary school on Saturday mornings, and are always framed with a theme so that the girls have a valuable skill to bring home with them.

She Believes in MeA few examples of topics include building self-esteem, developing healthy coping skills, recognizing inner beauty, and the importance of friendships. The workshops are free of charge, and Gorman simply advertises by word of mouth. They have become so popular that they attract approximately 160 girls a month, and are staffed with over 30 volunteers. These girls are looking for positive role models, and are thirsty for programs that speak to them.

Most importantly, the environment is warm and welcoming, and girls are made to feel special and important. Having enough volunteers to staff the program means that the girls who really need help, have an opportunity to share their struggles and reach out for support The girls come from diverse backgrounds and varied socioeconomic environments, and many have experienced trauma. Gorman’s goal is to ensure that they have an outlet to find support when they need it.

The She Believes in Me model has been so successful that Gorman would love to grow the program to additional schools. If you are interested in setting up a similar program in your neighborhood, you can reach out to them to find out about how to get started at [email protected]

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Dear Genius – The Letters of Ursula Nordstrom

(June 2019) It took so long to finish this book, but I love every minute I spent with it. It was too heavy to lug around in my travels, so it was my “at home” book for months.

These letters written by the iconic children’s book editor Ursula Nordstrom are so rich in every conceivable way. They are written to the many writers she worked with in a career with Harper & Row that spanned the 1930s to the end of the 1970s. The footnotes are in a class by themselves and they are on every page. I was never at a loss for context.

Ursula Nordstrom was an extraordinary person. You get that from the tone and content of her letters. She was smart, witty, encouraging and loving. Juvenile books were not even considered “literature” back in the day. Many writers wanted to have nothing to do with it. She nurtured and developed so many wonderful writers and illustrators in her career: Margaret Wise Brown, E.B. White, Maurice Sendack, Ruth Krauss, Russell & Lillian Hoban, Syd Hoff, Crockett Johnson, Louse Fitzhugh, Crosby Bonsall, Else Homelund Minarik, Arnold & Anita Lobel, Jesse Jackson, John Steptoe, Mary Stoltz, Hilary Knight, and Meindert DeJong. She launched the I CAN READ series of books. These book titles are the ones I grew up with and many are still classics of children’s literature – Where the Wild Things Are, Runaway Bunny, Charlotte’s Web, Little Bear, Harriet the Spy, Freaky Friday and Danny and the Dinosaur.

Nordstrom was not college educated. She took a job with Harper & Brothers College Textbook department in 1931. In 1936, she became assistant to Louise Raymond, editor of the small department of Books for Boys & Girls, and in 1940 took over the chief editor position of the growing Juvenile Literature Department, staying at the helm until her retirement from full time employment in 1973.

Through all those years she was supported by her longtime partner Mary Griffith. In her letters she refers to Mary, the homes and apartments they purchased and sold, and the parties they hosted at their home.

I have markers throughout this book. I learned so much about the authors and books I have loved so much in my life. And I learned so much about writers I am not familiar with but who deserve all the accolades that were heaped upon them by their loving editor.

The book is worth every minute spent in its 400 pages. Leonard S. Marcus does a masterful job in editing and compiling her letters and providing rich additional resources and context for their content. Ursula Nordstrom made a profound impact on the children’s literature that continues to influence generations of children.

She was fond of this quote from Martha Graham which she shared with the writers with whom she worked:

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action and because there is only one of you in all of time this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. It is not your business to determine how good it is, nor how valuable, nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, to keep the channel open.

This quote was purportedly found in the wallet of Louise Fitzhugh when she died suddenly of an aneurysm at the age of 46. The author, best known for Harriet the Spy made history with her book The Long Secret (published in 1965) by addressing menstruation for the first time ever in juvenile literature. From a Nordstrom letter in 1981:

I do remember when I read the ms. [manuscript] and came to the page where the onset of Beth Ellen’s first menstrual period occurred, and it was written so beautifully, to such perfection, I scrawled in the margin, “THANK YOU, LOUISE FITZHUGH!” It is incredible that Louise’s Long Secret contained the first mention in junior books of this tremendous event in a girl’s life.”

Nordstrom would have to defend that decision to include Beth Ellen’s first period in children’s literature for many years to come.

There are so many revealing moments in these letters for those who love books. The wit and wisdom of Ursula Nordstrom made an impact. Her story is one not to missed by the truly passionate bibliophile.

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Fairfax Futures with Sallyann Bergh

(June 19, 2019) Catherine Read sits down with Sallyann Bergh, Executive Director of Fairfax Futures. Since 2004, Fairfax Futures has been raising awareness about the critical role that school early childhood education plays in promoting academic and lifelong success.

In partnership with the business community and Fairfax County, Fairfax Futures is uniquely positioned to foster cross-sector collaboration in support of early childhood education and school readiness in the county. Through their annual Business Leaders Reception and Leadership Forums, they aim to raise the awareness in the community about the importance of investing in our youngest citizens. Approximately 85% of brain development occurs by age five. It is increasingly clear that the achievement gap starts early on in life, so quality educational experiences prior to kindergarten can greatly enhance a student’s potential and provide a solid foundation for learning.

In addition to working with the business community, Fairfax Futures focuses heavily on supporting early childhood educators. They provide both learning opportunities and ongoing resources for educators. Every year they sponsor a School Readiness Symposium, a unique daylong educational forum for early childhood educators across Fairfax County. Topics presented include literacy, science and math, the arts, play and nature. This was the 15th year of sponsoring a program and the 2019 School Readiness Symposium theme was Healthy Children, Healthy Futures. The program is possible thanks to a generous grant from the PNC Foundation.

While Fairfax is regularly recognized as an affluent community, there are pockets of poverty and income inequality. There are 74,000 children under the age of five in Fairfax, and one in five of those children are living in poverty. With the cost of quality early childhood education hitting record high numbers, it makes it very difficult for many of these students to access quality early childhood education.

Fairfax Futures works closely with the county’s Office for Children that helps to identify families who are eligible for subsidies and county run programs.. In 2017, Fairfax County adopted the Equitable School Readiness Strategic Plan.  Fairfax Futures partners with government, the private sector and the nonprofit community to support goals and objectives of this plan. The goal is that all children, regardless of economic, cultural or ethnic background  are prepared for school. Through the Neighborhood School Readiness Project, they forge relationships between local schools, community resources, early childhood educators and families, to ensure that children are well prepared for their transition to kindergarten.

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Democratic Business Council of Northern Virginia with Laurie MacNamara

(June 17, 2019) Catherine Read speaks with Laurie MacNamara, the first female President of the Democratic Business Council of Northern Virginia. (DemBiz).  Their wide-ranging discussion covers everything from the purpose of the council, to the programming and policy components of the organization.

MacNamara is the first female to head the DemBiz Council in its sixteen years of existence. Senator Scott Surovell, Laurie Blackburn and Kevin Cook founded the organization in 2003, when they recognized that the business owners with Democratic values were under-represented.  Their goal was to bring together business executives who wanted to advance issues that their workforce cared about, such as education, healthcare and affordable housing.

DemBiz provides opportunities for Democrats, like-minded independents and others to meet and network with other professionals, as well as with local, state and federal elected officials and candidates. Through a wide range of programming, from breakfasts to after work networking events, the Council aims to serve all who are interested in participating.

As MacNamara notes, in a local economy with essentially zero unemployment, it becomes a competitive environment to keep employees happy.  Employers are looking to do all they can to retain their staff. By collaborating with organizations like Equality Virginia , they are working to advance policies to make the workplace more inclusive. DemBiz aims to advance policies that workers are yearning for, such as paid family leave and inclusive LGBT workplaces.

The DemBiz Council is best known for its monthly breakfast meetings that are held at the Tower Club in Tysons Corner. Under McNamara’s leadership, however, she has sought to broaden the programming options.  She has also encouraged the Council to hold events around the region and during various times of the day – branching out to both Arlington and Loudoun Counties. Notable recent speakers include Michael Bloomberg and Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Additionally, the council has hosted candidate forums in the recent elections. In 2018 they put on a robust candidate forum focused specifically on business issues for the 10th Congressional Seat (which was eventually won by Rep. Jennifer Wexton). The following year, in 2019, they hosted a forum for all who were running for the Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. The panels were informative, and they plan to continue these events in the future.

Other upcoming events include a discussion about Women in Politics, to be held at 1776 in Crystal City on June 20th. On July 17,  Nobel Prize winning economist Dr. Joseph Stiglitz will join the Council for a talk about the impact of economics on elections.  In September, former Governor Terry McAuliffe will be the keynote speaker who will discuss his experience of stumping for candidates throughout the state during the summer months.

MacNamara is proud of the work she has done in her two-year tenure to help move the organization forward. As the business community in Washington evolves, she aims to keep up with the trends. Her personal background is in Government Contracting, and while there are still many of these businesses in the area, the region has worked hard to attract new industries.

One of her new programming ideas is to have a DemBiz Annual Awards Banquet.  This would give the council an opportunity to recognize employers in the region who are promoting family friendly policies, like paid family leave, early childhood education and inclusive workplaces.

From the Amazon and Nestle headquarters in Arlington, to Hilton putting down roots in Tysons Corner, and Volkswagen landing in Herndon, area officials have worked hard to diversify the business base. Other employers such as INOVA and George Mason University are expanding and hiring more workers. Additionally, players like Virginia Tech, who are setting up their new innovation campus in Alexandria, are helping to fuel the growth of the region. Small businesses are emerging, and many of them are minority, women and veteran-owned enterprises.

All of these businesses have policy objectives that will help attract and retain their employees, and continue to make Northern Virginia thrive. The DemBiz Council has an entire arm of the organization dedicated to advancing policy initiatives on things like education, transportation and healthcare, just to name a few. McNamara encourages all of the members to get involved and add their voice in establishing policy objectives. She welcomes all who are interested to the table. www.DemBiz.org

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AARP Driver Safety Class on Your Need to Know

(June 26, 2019) Catherine Read talks to Bervin Elliott and Pamela Houghtaling about the AARP Driver Safety Program. They are both volunteer instructors for the Virginia course, which is an effort to keep seniors safe on the road. Launched as “55 Alive” back in 1979, the AARP Driver Safety Program is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

Elliott and Houghtaling are both seasoned instructors, and Elliott is the volunteer leader for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The 8-hour course is offered both online and in person, but both instructors emphasize that students get the most out of joining an in-person class if possible. They strongly believe that students benefit from the discussions and interactions that they have with one another.

Topics covered in the class are wide and varied. They talk about everything from eyesight change, to the effects of medication on driving, to how weather conditions affect the road, to how reflexes change as people age. The classes allow students to bring up their real-life challenges, and provide a safe place to work through the challenges that they face. The instructors also offer strategies for drivers to help them cope with difficult traffic situations, which come on a daily basis here in Northern Virginia.

AARP Driver SafetyIn addition, the instructors review changes in driving laws.   Every year there are updates and changes to the rules of the road. This class comprehensively covers the existing laws, as well as any new changes or updates in order to ensure compliance and safety. They cover rules about cell phone usage, bike lanes, roundabouts (traffic circles) and how to share the road with other users.

The instructors also discuss transportation options, so seniors are aware of all of the different modes of transportation in their community, in case that they do not feel comfortable driving. AARP also offers a separate course entitled “We Need to Talk” that covers how to talk to an aging parent about when it is appropriate to stop driving.

The “Smart DriverTEK Workshop,” another separate course offering, helps seniors understand and properly utilize the technologies in newer vehicles. The workshop covers things like backup cameras, blind spot monitors, brake assist and lane correction are all newer features and can be overwhelming for seniors to try and understand on their own. This online course breaks down the features, how they work, and why they are useful for drivers.

The AARP Driver Safety course is an 8-hour program. If it is taken in person it can be administered over 1 or 2 days. An online version of the course is also available. If you cannot find a class in your neighborhood, you can contact AARP to set up your own course– groups have held class in community centers, clubhouses and community rooms in apartment buildings.

The cost is very reasonable – – AARP members pay $15 for the in-person class and $19.95 for the online course. Non-members pay $20 for the in-person class and $24.95 for the online version. Once the class is completed, participants can submit the certificate of completion to their insurance company and receive a discount on premiums.