SECTION 14: EDUCATION FOR THE ELDERLY: COPING WITH LEARNING IN ADULT YEARS Nature of the Elderly ‘There are said to be three stages in the human life span: children, adulthood and old age. The transition from one stage to another varies from one individual to another, and the degree of recognition given to it varies in different societies. Whereas transition from childhood to adulthood is usually eagerly awaited by the person concerned and by the society because of the adult's contribution to development, transition from adulthood to old age is largely ignored because it is hardly desired by the person concerned and is at best tolerated by the society: older people are not as active and productive as younger adults. But who are the elders? How do we determine old age? Several criteria are conventionally adopted: Retirement age: Because of assumptions about the age at which the majority of the working population suffers physical and mental impairment, workers are expected to retire from active service at stipulated ages, varying from one country to another. In developed societies retirement age is one of the major criteria for determining what is meant by old age. In some countries, the formal retirement age is fixed at 65 years, while in others it is as high as 70 years. In developing countries (such as Nigeria), retirement age is somewhat lower. Life expectancy: Since life expectancy is lower in developing than in developed countries, the concept of old age is more closely related to the marker of cessation of life than to retirement. In developing societies, the age 55-60 years is recognised as old age. Most self-employed people in developing nations do not retire from their businesses before the end of their lives. Physical appearance: Generally grey hair, wrinkled skin, stooping posture, slow and unsteady gait, and unsteady limbs, can be used to indicate old age; but care must be taken not to rely entirely on these 92 physical characteristics. These are sometimes present in young people as a result of heredity, ill health, perennial personal or family problems, accidents or gift of nature. It is important to combine the above criteria before reaching conclusions on who are the elderly. ‘The Aging Process Besides external criteria, there are internal aging processes: Physical Impairment, The age of 30 years for most people is the watershed of physical development. Thereafter, because of numerous changes in the human body, the body increasingly becomes vulnerable to infection and disease. Mental Impairment. An outstanding symptom of aging is senile dementia, which is the impairment of reasoning and coneeptualisation. The attention span and memory (especially short-term) also suffer ‘impairment as a result of the aging process. Status of Elders While older people enjoy high status and great esteom in developing countries, their status in developed nations is relatively low. Elders in developing societies are regarded as playing intermediary roles between the young generation and their ancestors. Young people therefore avoid conflict with elders who, they believe, could help them invoke the spirit of ancestors for assistance in time of great need. Elders thus enjoy the respect of young generation since they have custody of the most cherished resourees of the society ~ land, property, and symbols of traditional worship. Determinants of Longevity ‘There are numerous factors among those responsible for longevity highlighted by the research respondents: closeness to God; heredity; good eating habits (eating plenty of fruits and vegetables); moderation in everything and contentment; abstinence from smoking and ‘moderation in drinking and sex; adequate sleep, rest, relaxation, peace of mind; moral support from relatives and the environment. Old age has its own problems. For instance, retirement leads to lower income, lower professional status, loss of authority to younger persons, too much leisure to manage, diminishing physical and mental capacities and vulnerability to certain diseases. 93Why Educate the Elders? Remaining active in some interesting, meaningful social role has positive physical, psychological and social impact on longevity. ‘Those who live longest are those who remarry if widowed, take up hobbies, take long walks or other regular exercise, and have formed a positive attitude to the prospect of old age in their early years. We should help elders learn how to age gracefully, how to live in comfort, how to maintain good health in old age, how to eat the right food in quality and quantity, how to keep busy either at work or at play, how to manage their increased leisure, how to avoid boredom, how to keep abreast of events around them, how to save enough money and how to live with a lower income. Leisure activities are known to be uncommon in most developing countries, probably because of poverty and low level awareness of the need for them. People have to work longer hours to make ends meet. The poor, after working long hours, tend to keep indoors with their families, relatives and associates. Leisure education will help emphasise the need for appropriate exercises and social interaction. Education can assist elders in updating and upgrading their knowledge, and thus enhance their political and social interaction, Aging Education. Aging issues should be integrated into the education curriculum in order to improve on the negative attitude towards elders shown by the public, who see them as a burden on the public budget. The general public should be made aware of their duty to take care of the elders in society. 'The elders should be taught in aging education to prepare for economic self-sufficiency, to integrate socially, and to cope with physiological and mental changes that are inevitable in our lives but which can be seen as challenges to be experienced gracefully. ‘The words of elders are words of wisdom. Adapted from Education for the Elderly: Coping with Learning in Adult Years by Oyedeji, 1992 TASKS (@ Match the words from the table with the definitions below. generation @ appearance e longevity e preodek echoroba e dorosly e uyglad e wisdom @ to" retire (from) @ © cierpied @ diugowseczrass ancestor e disease @ adult |prayse na emery e potent to silfer @ impairment, fe madras - English DEFINITION word 1. the fact that part of your body is unable to do something| fully 2, knowledge that is gained by having many experiences in lite someone who is elated to you who lived a long time ago to stop working, especially when you reach the age when you are officially too old to work 5. an illness 6. to feel pain in your body or your mind 7. the fact of having a long life or exiatence 8 9. ‘the way that someone ar something looks someone who is no longer a child 10. a group of people in society who are born and live around| the same time (ii) Replace the words in italics with the following words or expressions. elderly @ upgrade © an adult @ make ends meet e retire @ take up @ vulnerable @ keep indoors leisure @ develop 1. Their constant arguments left her feeling weak and insecure, 2. This course will help you to improve your computer skills. 8. Many people find it difficult to earn enough money to buy things they need 10 Live, sn 95. The busy schedule leaves little time for relaxation. ‘The area is working to expand its tourism industry... An old gentleman was standing at the reception desk. . Older people often stay at home because they do not have enough money to go out, ‘ 8. I want to take care of my grandchildren when I stop working. 9. Treally want to start skiing in my free time. - 10. Children must be accompanied by a grown-up in the musoum, (iii) Use some of the words from the table from the above exercise to complete the following sentences. You need to change the form of the words. 1. In developing countries, age is somewhat lower. 2. Because of ignorance, swe to infections and diseases and poverty, life expectancy in developing countries is not vory high. 3. in developing societios are regarded as playing intermediary roles between the young generation and their ancestors. 4. Transition from childhood 10 emoomwnnnonsen i usually eagerly awaited by the person concerned. 5. While older people enjoy high status and great esteem in developing countries, their status in... nations is relatively low. (iv) Match the words to form collocations. Write the Polish translation in the right column. 1. life D Ja) dementia 1. frodnia dlugosé iyeia 2, rotinement ) posture 2, 8, mental ©) skin 8. 4, senile @) expectancy 4 5. attention ©) process 6. 6. stooping 1 impairment 6 1. wrinkled @) memory 1 8, short-term ») span 8 9. aging 4) disease 8. 10, vulnerable to i) age 10. 96 (v) Answer the following questions based on the text. 1, How many stages are there in the human life span? 2, Why is transition from childhood to adulthood usually eagerly awaited by the society, whereas transition from adulthood to old age largely ignored? |. Enumerate five external signs of getting old. Why can physical characteristic be misleading in judging someone's age by appearance? . What are the other signs of aging apart from the external ones? What is senile dementia? Why do the elderly in developing countries enjoy high status? . Enumerate a few factors responsible for longevity. . What problems do elders have to cope with? What are the problems of old age? 10, What has positive physical, psychological and social impact on longevity in developed countries? Who lives longest? 11, What are two main arguments for aging education? How ean it help elders? 12, Compare the differences between the developed and developing countries, Discuss retirement age, life expectancy and status of elders. Give your opinion on the situation in Poland. Be Senos GLOSSARY attention span - the length of time which someone is able to think about or remain interested in something (dlugosé koncentragji uwagi) burden ~a difficult responsibility that you have to deal with (brzemie, obcigzenie) cessation ~ an end of something (zaprzestanie) contribution - something that you do that helps to achieve something or make it successful (wkiad) developing ~ growing larger (rozwijajacy sie) diminish - to become less in size or importance (zmniejszaé sig, ubywaé) elder - an older person (starsza osoba) gait - the way that someone walks (chéd) heredity - the genetic process by which particular characteristics or diseases are passed on (dziedzicznosé) 97impairment ~ the fact that a part of your body is unable to do something fully (uposledzenie) intermediary - someone who talks to each of the people involved in something trying to persuade them to agree with each other (posrednik, mediator) leisure activities that you do to relax or enjoy yourself (rekreacja, wypoczynek) life expectancy — the length of time that someone is likely to live (Srednia dlugosé Zycia) life span - the length of time that a person lives or is expected to live (dlugoéé, ezas trwania éycia) limb ~ an arm or a leg (kofiezyna) posture — a position of the body (postawa, postura) stooping ~ bending the top half of your body downwards (przygar- biony) take up ~ start doing something new (zainteresowaé sie ezym$) transition — passage from one form to another (przemiana, przejécie w inny stan) update - to bring up to date (aktualizowaé) upgrade ~ to increase, improve (rozszerzaé, ulepszaé) vulnerable — easily hurt or harmed physically, mentally or emotionally (czuly, bezbronny, podatny na) be widowed — to become a widow or widower (owdowie6) wrinkle ~ a small line or fold that appears on your skin when you grow older (zmarszezka) 98 SECTION 15: STRUCTURE AND AGENCY IN LATE-LIFE LEARNING In the past quarter century, an entirely new kind of education has come into being: called, variously, older adult education, late-life learning, and education for the third age. Though it arose inside higher education, those same educational institutions have paid little attention to it, Latelife learning, even as it has grown in scale, has remained marginal, even invisible from the standpoint of “official” systems of control. This marginality has inadvertently permitted older adult education to be free and experimental, but there is also a negative side to it - it has remained underfunded. Elderhostel Elderhostel was founded in 1975 in the USA. It began as en effort to provide late-life learning opportunities by using low-cost summer dormitory facilities at the university. Its programs in the USA are typically 6 days long, with 3 classes each day, drawing on subjects from the liberal arts, broadly understood. There are no tests, grades, or other requirements of conventional education. Formal classes are complemented by field trips and cultural events to take advantage of the local environment. Both structure and agency have been critical elements in the evolution of Elderhostel. On the one hand, Elderhostel operates as a franchise, and the term “Elderhostel” is a legally registered trademark. However, instead of a predictable, cookie-cutter approach to educational offerings, Elderhostel has insisted only on a few essential requirements ~ 3 formal class meetings each day, liberal arts orientation, absence of grades or other elements of conventional education, and all costs kept to a minimum. Beyond these elements of quality control, local providers are free to innovate and create programs that reflect local interest and variety. It is a successful example of the slogan “Think globally, act locally”. Who are the participants in Elderhostel programs? Their average age is 70. Nearly two-thirds are female and a similar proportion are 29