Lois Lamdin and Mary Fugate researched the learning motives and methods of 860 elders between 55 and 96 with the Elderlearning Survey. Respondents mostly included participants of AARP, Elderhostels, Institutes for Learning in Retirement, OASIS, and a study/travel group.
Almost 80% of the elders learn for the sheer of joy of learning. In their book, Elderlearning: New Frontier in an Aging Society (1997), the authors remark how joy is - without question - the number one reason. The surveys have stars, circles, multiple exclamation points, written comments, nothing else checked, or rank ordering with joy as number one. Not only do the statistics argue for it, but the respondents wanted to make sure the researchers were certain.
The next three most powerful reasons for learning are "to pursue a long-standing interest or hobby" at 57.9%, "to meet people, socialize" at 53.6%, and "to engage in creative activity" at 47.2%. Elders pursue their learning independently and with others, informally and formally, within universities and at libraries, for credit and for no credit. The options are wide open; but joy motivates more than we might expect.
Lifelong Learning and Civic Engagement
A quick glance at Elderhostel's website reveals travel opportunities described as follows:
- Dinosaur Bone Preservation: From The Jurassic To The Lab
- Historic Preservation: Seasonal Cleaning At Jamestown And Yorktown
- Rebuilding New Orleans
- Nicaragua: Community Water And Sanitation Project
Sharon Simson (2006) describes the Lifelong Learning Institutes (LLI) that Elderhostel has pioneered at universities throughout the nation as emergent centers of a new model of learning. Rather than focus only on lifelong learning, LLI's are finding ways to pair learning with serving. Baby boomers, planning to never stop learning or engage civicly, may be the generation to expand LLI mission statements - enhance local communitites' social capital through both activities.
If civic engagement programs at LLI's sought to attract fifty-years-plus participants by highlighting the volunteer opportunities, Laura Wilson (2006) reports that they say they would not have joined. Instead, the structured, university-sponsored learning environment and the "opportunity to connect with others with a common purpose" motivated their involvement. Research indicates these "Legacy Leaders" continue their civic involvement after the programs and express appreciation for understanding the context of the call to serve.
Elderlearning guides, listen up! Ben Slijkhuis (2006) cites the baby boomers' pursuit of a retirement rich in personal growth (learning) and in opportunities to contribute the skills and knowledge gained by decades of community involvement in and out of work (civic engagement). The Dutch have translated the US Legacy Leaders model. As we design our approaches, we have good reason to be just as eager. Make the way for elderlearners to build upon and employ their unique talents in the learning environment.
Expanding one's horizons while offering something of value to others is not just an idea but a strategy nationwide. Tom Schuller (2001) outlines an argument foundational to the concept and its practice. According to the research he has reviewed, "striking" is the best way to describe the postive link between educational participation and civic participation. As people engage in the learning process with others, they more frequently join others in building and nourishing their community.
Schuller, however, does not believe the extension of formal education answers our nation's need for an active citizenry. Instead, much like the premise of Stories from the Table, he advocates a variety of learning channels that extend throughout all phases of our lives.
Mary Jane Eisen (1998) highlights innovations in elderlearning in her paper. I find the flavor of these programs telling. How much do they reflect the very intention of the aforementioned authors?
EldersShareTheArts, Inc. (ESTA), of New York City
Culture and generations come together through the arts with workshops throughout the city and muligenerational performances and art shows.
Intergenerational Urban Institute at Worcester State College in Worcester, Massachusetts College students of traditional and non-traditional ages and backgrounds use their skills and knowledge to create learning opportunities for teenagers, older adults in financial crisis, and foreign college students.
College for Seniors at the University of North Carolina at Asheville (UNCA)
Their purpose is "...continuous learning through study and fellowship, community service, and intergenerational cooperation. By forging opportunities for productive engagement, both the community and the older residents benefit."
Hartford Artisans' Center
People over 55 and people with disabilities come together in a community to learn to create beautiful things and then to sell them. This program is even moving toward becoming self-sustaining.
Innovative Lifelong Learning
Fourteen years ago, Gretchen Lankfort (an elder herself) created the Academy of Lifelong Learning at Carnegie Mellon University as its founding president. The Academy is an example of innovative lifelong learning.
In three phone interviews (February 2007), Lankfort described learning driven by older adults themselves. Rather than participating in community college classes planned and taught by paid staff, the Academy members choose what courses they would enjoy. Then, they develop the courses, find special speakers, lead the study groups, organize special events, and conduct all the business of the program. Much of the planning and managing is done in committees because the academy meets the need for learning with others - not independent learning.
The most popular and innovative courses, according to Lankfort, are those built around the expectations of the students and those in which leaders highly involve their students. She did clarify, however, that fact-driven and purely historical courses do not lend themselves to development by many members. Although members may lead many of them, the sessions are not as interactive as a literature course.
They never call their courses classes. Instead, they call them special studies or study groups. They are learning together not just taking a class. Also, asking a retired member to teach often intimidates him more than asking him to be a study leader.
Monika Ardelt (2000) challenged me in my role as an elderlearning guide (course designer/program director), suggesting that Western societies do not revere the wisdom of our elders because wisdom is rare among them. Rather than assuming our culture does not recognize the value of wisdom, she argues our lifelong learning and continuing education programs create more information junkies instead of cultivating reflective men and women. Long and healthy lives in places like the United States are often fraught with boredom and a sense of being obsolete; elders - free of family and work responsibilities - do not move into valuable new roles.
Ardelt reminds her readers of the academic consensus regarding the difference between intellectual knowledge and wisdom knowledge. Then, she argues that the high requirement for children and adults to pursue intellectual knowledge does not promote their pursuit of wisdom. Conversely, older men and women have the opportunity. Because wisdom is essential for all generations - especially during societal upheavals, the old have a powerful gift to share with the young.
Successful elderlearning guides would encourage and support reflection, interpretation, and determination. A lifetime of experiences, the meaning and significance of life and death, the significance of truths one has know for a lifetime, and one's place "in the larger frame of human culture" (p. 786) are all ingredients for wisdom.
I believe Stories from the Table could be reshaped to pursue more than knowledge of new places, strategies, and problems. From discussions reflecting on life experiences to face-to-face interaction with younger members of the community to readings and lectures that inspire an awareness of one's place in the larger story of history, Stories from the Table ought to be facilitated with the intention of growing in wisdom together.
WORKS CITED
Ardelt, Monika. "Intellectual Versus Wisdom-Related Knowledge: The Case For A Different Kind Of Learning In The Later Years Of Life." Educational Gerontology, 26:771–789, 2000 Full-text accessed through Academic Search Elite (EBSCO).
Eisen, Mary-Jane. "Current Practice and Innovative Programs in Older Adult Learning. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education Volume 1998, Issue 77 , Pages 41 - 53. Published Online: Decmber 13, 2002.
Lankfort, Gretchen. Telephone interview on three days in February 2007.
Schuller, Tom. "The Need for Lifelong Learning." The Political Quarterly. 2001. Volume 72 (s1), 90–99. Accessed by Blackwell Synergy on Jan. 30, 2007.
Schuman, Jamie. "SYLLABUS." Chronicle of Higher Education. September 16, 2005. Vol. 52 Issue 4, pA25-A25. Accessed through Academic Search Elite (EBSCO).
Simson, Sharon P. Civic Engagement and Lifelong Learning Institutes: Current Status and Future Directions. New York, N.Y.: Haworth Press. 2006. Abstract accessed through PsycINFO (EBSCO).
Slijkhuis, Ben H. An International Application of Lifelong Learning and Civic Engagement. New York, N.Y.: Haworth Press. 2006. Abstract accessed through PsycINFO (EBSCO).
Wilson, Laura B. Legacy Leadership Institutes: Combining Lifelong Learning with Civic Engagement. New York, N.Y.: Haworth Press. 2006. Abstract accessed through PsycINFO (EBSCO).
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