Cloisters 12 - November 2006

There are only a few weeks left to finish your Christmas shopping. So we won't be taking up too much of your time with this month's Cloisters. We're saving up all of the big stuff for the December issue, when you have time to sit by the fire and read it at leisure. Margaret Legum's excellent series will continue and there also will be a Christmas present of a free book and three of Paul's Puzzles, just to keep the grey cells moving. Just like Dr Who, we are launching a new series at Christmas, with an article from David Webb about Forensic Psychology we're calling Christmas Cracker.

While we're on the subject of Christmas Shopping, remember that a course from the New Curiosity Shop needs no wrapping paper and won't get lost in the Christmas post. Have a look at our course catalogue and see if there's something to suit someone close to you. There are some suggestions below.

The news is looking good for online learners with this month's publication of the National Survey of Student Engagement. It seems that online students are having a better time than those in traditional institutions.

I won't keep you from the Christmas shopping any longer. See you next month with our bumper Christmas Cloisters: and remember that learning online is more fun.

Mark Toner

Paul’s Puzzle - The winner of September's Puzzle is Ann Ferguson, from Australia - well done Ann! Ann received a fat discount off her next course for her efforts. Look out for next month's bumper issue full of puzzles to keep you busy.

Ideas for Christmas - At this time of year when family gathers round, why not surprise them with your own family tree? Join Kathryn Senior to learn how with Family History Begins at Home. In the northern hemisphere, we are coming into the season of long, dark nights. So what better time to learn the constellations with Mark Toner and Constellations of the North, one of our Three Wishes courses.

Another Three Wishes course that might appeal at this time of the turning of the year and reviewing our lives is What Does it All Mean?, with Jenni Jenkins. In looking ahead to follow our dreams, there is some help from Mike Wilson in Dreams, the Theatre of the Soul. Or why not let Trudi Mullerworth guide you through California Dreaming?

Learning is Good For You - The hard evidence is in: being better educated helps you live longer. In The Benefits of Learning: The Impact of Education on Health, Family Life and Social Capital the authors, using data gathered world-wide,  find that people with few qualifications report poor general health more often than people with university degrees. Low levels of literacy and numeracy are strongly connected to suffering from depression. The more years of formal education we have in our background, the less we are likely to suffer cognitive problems in later life.

So, as part of your new healthier life-style, restart your education with the New Curiosity Shop College of Online Learning.