Lifelong Learning at Any Age
Written by Ellen Frank Bayer
The frozen squash is in the oven. Put up the fish, 350 degrees for thirty minutes. I found the supper on the table, note attached. This was my life when I was in middle school. My mom, Gladys Reznik Frank, was going back to school. After raising children, being a stay-at-home mom, a lifelong volunteer and President of Amit Women, my mom fulfilled her dream and returned to college. At the age of 59, Gladys Frank graduated Brooklyn College, and continued on to earn a Masters Degree in Reading and become a New York City teacher. When I think about what my mom did back in the Seventies, I realize that she was ahead of her time. She loved going to school and surrounding herself with young people.
Think you’re too old for college? Think again. More and more successful people are having second and third careers later in life. Ruchie Freier, a current New York City Criminal Court Judge and founder of Ezras Nashim, the female ambulance division of Hatzalah, enrolled in college at the age of 31 while raising six children. In 2019, twenty-five percent of undergraduates were over 30 according to the National Center for Education Statistics, and in graduate school more than 71% of students were over 30 years of age. Some people are considerably older. According to a story from Reuters, Giuseppe Paterno was 96 when he graduated from the University of Palermo in July 2020. He graduated with honors and says, “Knowledge is like a suitcase that I carry with me, it is a treasure.”
Today adult learning is ‘in’. My mom carried her books in a shopping bag because she was embarrassed about going to school. From MOOCS (Massive Open Online Courses: see Mooc.org) to in-person courses at both universities and community colleges, it is no longer strange to see people of all different ages in one class. This past year I took a 31 Day Writing Circle challenge with Diane Zinna, author of The All-Night Sun and the host of a weekly Grief Writing Sundays workshop. I met people from across the globe, and one of the participants was traveling to a different location every week!
Some students were up to their second novel, some have already written several series and some were just daily journal writers. The range and breadth of students amazed me.
How to Find a Program for Your Passion
The easiest way is to google “continuing education” or “lifelong learning”. Add the location if you wish to take courses in person. Kingsborough Community College, part of the City University Program, has a program called “My Turn” a tuition-free program for New York State residents over 60 which lets you audit classes for a registration fee of $80.00 per year. Pennyhoarder.com has a list of free college programs across the United States.
It is easier than ever to learn a new skill. According to John Coleman, author of HBR Guide to Crafting Your Purpose, “lifelong learning often leads to happiness, longevity and a higher income.”
If you are interested in making a difference, check out the class “Don’t Kvetch, Organize” with Join for Justice. The program is a combination of self-paced and “live” online classes. During the “live” sessions you meet and interact with your peers.
Toastmasters.org is another place to learn and grow. Toastmasters International is a program dedicated to making people feel comfortable
with public speaking. All classes are in real time, some are on Zoom and some are in person.
Many synagogues and yeshivas now offer virtual learning programs. OUtorah.org has hundreds of lectures on Gemara, Parsha, Nach and Machshava. Hadar and Drisha, both offer text-based learning programs and one-time workshops.
Go With Your Flow
Life is short, it’s important to make the time to do the things you always wanted to do. Find the one thing that “stops the clock” for you and don’t let your age or lack of experience get in your way. If you didn’t enjoy school as a child, keep in mind that learning at an older age, when it’s something you want to learn, is a vastly different experience from your childhood memories. There will be no “test” unless you want or need the certificate for a salary increase or your own record of achievement.
Try to find “splurges of time” like puddles. You can find a “daf” for ten minutes a day. If meditation is your thing, you can look at the Insight Timer app and narrow it down by time. You can practice Tai Chi for five minutes a day. The choices are unlimited, the challenge is to make the time for what is important to you.
My advice is go slow. Take one or two classes, don’t be afraid to try something even if you never did it before, and enjoy the journey.
Life is short, it’s important to make the time to do the things you always wanted to do.
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