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Continuing on the Elderly…

May 21st, 2008, 10:37 pm · 6 Comments · posted by Ann Austria

Ann AustriaI must say, I’m not surprised at the tremendous amount of comments on my last post about the older generation in college classrooms. Those wishing to inflict bodily harm on me, let me explain my “unknowledgeable” self before you do anything.

First off, I apologize for my incorrect definition of “elderly”. Secondly, I apologize for generarlizing the older generation based on the two in my math class. I had that math class the day I blogged about this issue and, as some of you mentioned, wrote without thinking about the responses I would receive. Did I think this was a “cute little issue” as someone mentioned? No, I was just expressing my frustration. I guess it’s one of those things where you have to be in the class to understand where I’m coming from. I’ve tried befriending one of the elders in my class, but it only confirmed my frustrations. Yes, she was incredibly nice and friendly, but never wanted any help concerning the class, preferring to ask the instructor during class. I respected what she wanted but wished the class could move a little faster.

I also apologize for coming off as insulting - that was not my intention. Don’t get me wrong, having grown up around many from an older generation (my granparents, my friends’ grandparents, teachers, coaches, and my U.S. Marine veteran neighbor just to name a few), I truly repsect the wealth of knowledge and unique experiences that all of these people have and am thankful to them for sharing with me. I’ve learned many things from them that I would never learn in a college classroom. I didn’t write alumni feature stories for the Daily Forty-Niner for nothing (take this article for example http://www.daily49er.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=f5358924-aef9-4d87-95a8-f78d210d5428 )Someone inferred I probably don’t know anything about the time before I was born - you’d be surprised. Thanks to my older mentors and my own interests, I know more about the time before I was born than you think. See, I do respect my elders.

Someone asked why I am taking a class that does not stimulate my learning. Well, math is a required foundation class atbooks2.gif CSULB, meaning a math class must be taken in order to move on to the upper division courses. I chose this particular class because it sounded fun and compelling. I soon found out that the class is only as good as the instructor makes it to be, and the students in the class of course. The teacher went off on many tangents, (MANY tangents) to the point where what he was talking about had nothing to do with the math theory he had written on the overhead. I did, however, learn some really random facts.

As Harper Lee wrote in “To Kill a Mockingbird”, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” This goes for all of us, including me.

It is said that the future belongs to the younger generation, but it is the older generation that has shaped the present.

I have to thank all of you for the comments. I learned that in the journalism world, absolutely everything gets scrutinized. So thank you, again, for the enlightening comments.

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 6 Comments

  • Judith says:
    May 22, 2008 at 1:04 am

    I am so glad you came back on this, Ann, and explained yourself more fully. I must say I was disturbed by the degree of antagonism expressed in many of the responses; I felt some of them to be unnecessarily harsh, and unwarranted in the way they made personal attacks on you which were gratuitously unpleasant. Since older women frequently claim that one of the benefits of greater age is greater wisdom, I was shocked that some of the respondents showed as much or more disrespect, than that of which they accused you. As I said in my first response, that is not the way for different generations to get a closer understanding of each other.

    I wish you good luck, and a long life of learning with joy.

  • susan says:
    May 22, 2008 at 3:20 am

    You’ve just shown grace and widom that well overcomes any perceived flippant frustration on your original article, and as a senior, I salute you. I happened to be one of those “elderly” students and have recognized the diversity of community college classrooms as a wealth of information about people–all ages, all backgrounds. And in the midst of the agonizing, there are things to be learned from each and every one.

    As a journalist, you’ve learned some valuable reporting skills to add to your observational talents. Good luck in what promises to be a very successful future.

  • Seniorwriter says:
    May 22, 2008 at 4:48 am

    Thanks for clarifying, Ann. As a former college professor, I understand a lot about student frustrations and (some) teachers’ lack of focus.

    You’re “right on” in many ways. You are the future, while I am the past, and we can work together for better intergenerational understanding. I, and some of my contemporaries, and perhaps some college students, need to develop our capacities for tolerance and our senses of humor.

    Best wishes!

  • Chris McLaughlin says:
    May 22, 2008 at 11:20 am

    Dear Ann,

    I’m glad that you finally identified the real problem here, which is classroom management. It’s really an issue with the professor, who should be asking the students to seek further help in his office or elsewhere.

    It’s always frustrating when a student or students dominate classroom time–whatever their age or other labeling factor.

  • Karen M says:
    May 23, 2008 at 8:51 am

    I consider this a wonderful meeting of the minds. I now know more about you now than I did from your first post and I also know more about triangles, haha.

    I commend you for carrying this through to the end. Some people would have read all of those 20 or so comments, picked up their marbles and gone home. Instead you explained your self without sounding harsh or whiney. You also gave reasons for your remarks. Kudos for a bright, eloquent, rebuttal. Keep your honing your skill. Barbara Walters will retire one day.

    Just keep one thought in mind. As long as someone is spry enough to reach over and slap you up side the head, I think I’d refrain from using the term “elerly” at all. With all the new technology, they can hear you clear across the room.

    I wish you well with your studies and what ever career you ultimately choose. As for your journaling, I hope you will continue to get both sides of the story.

  • Paula Brandes says:
    June 2, 2008 at 2:39 pm

    Huzzah! It’s all about working together, yes?