The son of a college professor and grade school teacher, my lack of academic achievement was a source of consternation for my parents.
It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy learning. I loved it. It was simply that my intellectual curiosity didn’t always (hardly ever) followed the lesson plan.
You could hear the collective sigh of relief from the faculty when my school days ended. What has never ended, however, is my love of learning. I have collected a hodgepodge of knowledge that has my grandkids referring to me as “the fountain.” I refer to myself as a “cesspool of cognition.”
For me, learning is fun (unless it is computer programing or changes to the tax code). For all of us, it is an important way to stay mentally, emotionally, and physically healthy. Plus, your brain becomes stronger the more you work it.
Today, partly because of the pandemic, there are more opportunities for those of us in retirement to learn and reap the benefits of learning. This trend of learning late in life is becoming so prevalent that it’s getting its own designation. Academics are now talking about “the 60-year curriculum” and life-long learning.
60-year curriculum
Coined by Gary Matkin, dean of the University of California at Irvine’s Division of Continuing Education, the 60-year curriculum refers to the need for colleges and universities to provide education to help people in mid-life maintain the skills needed to compete in the market place.
“The university, to fulfill its role, doesn’t finish when the student graduates,” says Matkin. “We’ve got to continue our goal to be there for people hitting life transitions, wherever they are.”
Life-long learning
On the other hand, life-long learning refers to older people learning for pleasure, fulfillment, and health benefits.
Chip Conley, co-founder of the Modern Elder Academy, and Ingo Rauth, professor of management and design at IE Business School in Madrid, argue that the old continuing education model does not meet the needs of older students.
“Long life learning focuses on developing a sense of purpose and personal well-being by understanding the positive aspects of aging,” writes Conley and Rauth in their white paper “The Emergence of Long Life Learning.”
The joy of learning something new
Colleges and universities seem to have gone through a transition in my life moving away from developing the mind and critical thinking to a more trade-school approach. The mantra seemed to be, get a degree to get a job.
There is nothing wrong with acquiring practical knowledge you can apply to a career, but that should not supplant the value of learning to hone our powers of reasoning and for the joy of learning.
Learning gives us a sense of accomplishment and self-confidence. Both are in short supply for many isolated by a pandemic or adjusting to a move out of the workforce.
Freedom to choose
One of my favorite classes was high school algebra. I flunked the course and had to retake it in summer school. The reason I liked the class was it allowed me the opportunity to sit in the back of the classroom and read The Harvard Classics, a 50-volume set of classic literature, essays, speeches, and historical documents.
Today, as a senior, I don’t have to hide my love of Emerson, Thoreau, Plato, and others behind an algebra textbook. I can take them out and read them openly in the light of day.
That’s one of the great things about life long learning, you can choose what you want to learn. We are not bound by a curriculum or an institution.
We have the time to pursue what we want
One of the hardest challenges for many seniors is filling the time that used to be taken up by a job. Life-long learning helps meet that challenge.
At the end of the day, would you rather go to bed with your head filled with the empty intellectual calories of what’s on television or with something interesting and stimulating?
Learning is brain food
Numerous studies show that learning developed late in life makes for a healthier brain.
Better memory. University of Texas neurologists found that people who learned something new or took on a new hobby experienced a lasting increase in memory skills.
Delayed Alzheimer’s systems. A study from Harvard Medical School and Massassachutes General Hospital showed that seniors with higher levels of intellectual stimulation experienced a significant delay in developing memory loss. Another study by the Mayo Clinic showed similar results even suggesting continued late-life learning can delay symptoms in Alzheimer's patients.
Alzheimer’s Prevention. Most researchers agree that on-going intellectual activity can delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms. When it comes to declaring life-long learning as a cure, the feeling is that more study is needed. One study that gives hope was done by Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). Neurologists at CWRU found that seniors who engaged in intellectually stimulating activities, such as reading, mental games, and learning were 2.5 times less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease.
How to find something to learn
You probably realize you can type “free online courses for seniors” into your browser and get a lot of information. You can get even more specific. For instance, I typed “how to train a sheep” in my search and came up with 68,700,000 results. If you already know how to train a sheep or you’d like more general information, try the links below.
https://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses. Note, most of these are from universities and can cost fees. To avoid pay, simply audit the course.
https://www.ted.com/talks. Ted Talks are not courses, but lectures from experts in a wide array of interests. Don’t let the word lecture throw you. These talks are informative, fun, and thought-provoking.
https://www.thegreatcourses.com/. These are courses taught by college professors. I’ve taken a couple and enjoyed each one. They can be pricey, ranging into the hundreds of dollars. Before going here, you might want to check to see if a similar is offered free.
https://www.udemy.com/. This is another site offering a wide variety of courses. The downside is that you have to pay for a course (usually under $20). The upside is that you can also develop your own course and teach it. That way, people like me might pay to learn what you know. (I hope I get a discount for plugging your course).
This list of online resources for learning is only a small sample of what’s available. If you have others or specific courses, please leave them in the comments section and I will be happy to add them.
This article originally appeared in Crow’s Feet.