PMC Class with Washington Township

For weeks, I've been looking forward to the intermediate PMC class offered by Washington Township's Community and Continuing Education program. But, on Tuesday afternoon, just a few hours before the first class, my Spidey sense was tingling. I realized I hadn't received any confirmations or reminders, and I didn't have the supply list that's usual for this kind of class. So, I called the office to confirm the class, and the program director assured me -- mere hours before the class was to start -- that the class would run as scheduled.

You can already see where this is going, can't you? You can already picture me wandering around North Central High School, searching desperately for an unlocked door. Standing in front of a dark, locked classroom by myself. Frantically calling the CCE program office to double-check the class time and location, only to find that it had closed at 4:30. Finally cornering a beleaguered secretary and begging for her help.

I'm still not clear about what happened. The secretary's schedule showed the class on Wednesdays, but the course catalog clearly showed it on Tuesdays, which is when I had it on my schedule. The secretary called the director, who told us not to worry about the schedule discrepancy, because the class had been canceled due to low enrollment. This is, mind you, the same woman I had spoken to just hours earlier.

Apparently the problems in Washington Township's CCE program go deeper than just one class. The secretary rolled her eyes at the course catalog, telling me not even to bother checking it because it was riddled with errors. She also asked me--very nicely--not to scream at her the way the last four or five people that evening had done (I didn't scream at all, I promise). I think somewhere in there she also threatened to hang herself if one more person showed up at her desk with class issues. (If you're reading this, nice secretary lady, please don't.)

So, lessons learned this week: One, trust your Spidey sense. Two, find some other place to take classes, because this venue sure doesn't look promising.

Washington Township Community Education

Since the recent demise of Lawrence Township Community Education, I've been looking more closely at Washington Township's adult-education program. The fall 2009/spring 2010 catalog is now available, and it contains a wide range of classes.

In the arts category, you can choose classes on precious metal clay, painting, drawing, photography, knitting and jewelry making. You'll also find a wide range of fitness and aquatics classes, and the usual offerings in the computers and business categories.

I'm sure that some of these classes are worthwhile, but none of them are unique. The beauty of Lawrence Township Community Education in its heyday was that it offered classes no one else in town offered (like that tarot-card reading class). In contrast, every class on Washington Township's list is also offered somewhere else in town, and in most cases I'd prefer the alternative. (If I want to learn to knit, for example, I'll head to the Knit Stop or Mass Ave Knit Shop.)

On the plus side, if you live in Washington Township, you're probably closer to the J. Everett Light Career Center than to alternative venues. At the moment, that's the only argument I can muster in favor of Washington Township's program.

It's true that I'm probably being too hard on the program. I'm in mourning for LCTE, and I expect the surviving school-district programs to fill the gap of vibrant, ever-changing, always-surprising programming. So far, Washington Township isn't doing it.