Continue learning when you're older
Why do you think it is important to continue learning no matter what age you are?
Why do you think it is important to continue learning no matter what age you are?
I think that when you have had a very active working life, when you reach retirement, you suddenly find that you have a lot of free time and it is important to look for something that you have always liked to do and that due to lack of time you have not been able to do. In my case, I would have liked to study, but the circumstances of the time did not allow me and I had to start working when I was twelve years old.
Learning does not have to be tied to a practical use (professional etc.), but is a good in itself. Therefore, for me it is like asking what is the point of eating or enjoying a landscape when you are old.
Why did you decide to participate in the University Extension Classrooms for the Elderly in Barcelona (AUGG BCN UB) ?
Why did you decide to participate in the University Extension Classrooms for the Elderly in Barcelona (AUGG BCN UB) ?
I left my job after the age of seventy and, although I wanted to study Astronomy, I didn't feel like doing exams, assignments... Then, a friend told me about the Classrooms, I found out about it and saw that it fit my interests: learning, but not having to work hard!
I like to share, and for me, knowledge in itself has no meaning if it is not communicated. The elderly receive this knowledge with great satisfaction, because no one forces them to come, they come to enjoy and spread well-being. I also like to see how people who are more alone at the beginning gradually find company and their faces change. I think that it is very important for them to come to class, it gives them vitality, a sense of life, well-being, satisfaction... Some of the people who come have always wanted to study my subject and have not been able to; it is the time to fulfill their expectations, and this is very important for them, a great opportunity.
Tell us what your role is in this space?
Tell us what your role is in this space?
I attend the weekly conferences and also the ones they do online , I go to an Art History seminar (which I'm passionate about), where the details of the works of art and the political and social context in which they were made are discussed. I also attend an opera seminar, where they explain the work in question and accompany it with a film, with the most important moments. Then I also have a great time at the Intimate Auditions, very interesting small live concerts where we have the luxury of asking and commenting on the concert with the musicians. In addition, I am a delegate, I supervise that everything works and I control attendance at the seminars.
I teach an Art History workshop and also lectures on various artistic topics. The classes are master classes accompanied by a PowerPoint with images. I place the art I teach in a historical and philosophical context and accompany it, whenever I can, with music or films that illustrate the moment I am explaining. I also offer bibliography and recommend documentaries, films and novels, as well as monuments, exhibitions, trips and places to visit. I try to get students to participate whenever they want, and at the end of the class I always give time to ask questions and to debate.
What do you think is the main difference between going to college when you're young and when you're older?
What do you think is the main difference between going to college when you're young and when you're older?
The main difference is that when you're young you go with the illusion of becoming a doctor, lawyer, physicist..., but with a strong pressure to pass, to get a grade. And when you're my age, you simply go with the placidity of learning without pressure, learning for the pleasure of learning subjects and topics such as archaeology, painting, medicine, history...
Younger people go to university to build a future for themselves, so learning for them has, mainly, a practical objective. Whereas older people, who for me are the best audience, are not pressured by grades or by finding a job later. Nobody forces them to come and they do it with joy, desire and curiosity; they come to enjoy themselves.
What do you think being part of this learning project has given you?
What do you think being part of this learning project has given you?
This project has allowed me to fill my free time culturally, keep my mind open, learn new things and, very importantly, meet other people with similar concerns to mine.
Unwanted loneliness, what are we talking about?
I have also learned a lot, because we must not forget that each person in the audience is an expert in their field, they are people with years of experience in their work or interests. And, at the very least, they are all restless people and, therefore, they can contribute many things to the class. For example, in a course that I teach there is a former professor of Architecture who illustrates us very well when we talk about his topics in class. The students always add up.
What is the last thing you learned?
What is the last thing you learned?
The last thing I learned is the way ancient people measured and counted the passage of time using the sun, moon, and stars.
It was precisely last week when this professor taught us the benefits of the hipped roof, as part of a class on classical Greece.
The fact that older people continue to learn certainly contradicts the view we often have of them. Could this be a step towards breaking down stigmas about old age?
The fact that older people continue to learn certainly contradicts the view we often have of them. Could this be a step towards breaking down stigmas about old age?
Older people, if they have health and means, can continue learning, even more, they should continue learning, because this keeps the mind active. I think that administrations should do much more so that everyone has easy access to the Classrooms or any other cultural activity, which, as I said before, in addition to keeping the mind active, helps you have social relationships with other people.
This view exists because for decades we have belittled older people without valuing their experience, the time they can dedicate to us and the inputs we can get from them. Older people in other cultures are highly respected and valued, we need to return to this idea. We have pushed them aside, but now we realize that life is getting longer and that they have (we have!) a lot to say and to give.
They can study like they can do many other things. But studying involves being with other people and that is very important, because many of them are very lonely. It changes their lives when they make friends or different relationships. In one of my classes a woman calls the other students "brothers".
What other things do you think we can do to stay active as we get older?
What other things do you think we can do to stay active as we get older?
Go to university as a listener (you don't have to sit for exams), attend conferences and seminars, go to the Casal d'Avis or the neighborhood Civic Center, where you can do multiple activities for all tastes: cooking, dancing, singing, languages, board games, talks, book clubs... Also, if your physical condition allows, you can visit museums, unique buildings, read, walk and observe the buildings and works, and at the same time you get the necessary physical exercise.
The same things we would do when we were young, but adapted to our possibilities, if necessary. It's a matter of accepting the limits. We can't do a marathon, but we can go for a nice walk or swim. We can't go to Japan, perhaps, but we can discover our territory, etc. We need to discover everything that these limits offer us, because they open up new possibilities that were previously unexplored. It's a new stage with new perspectives.