If there is one word that should be banned from a senior citizen’s vocabulary, it is ‘Old’. Society will not have a positive perception of older people if seniors think themselves as ‘old’ – as in ‘‘I’m too old to...”
Words have power. Never think you are too old to learn. Brain cells do not atrophy with age. In fact, they regenerate. Our brain cells get stimulated with new learning. Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity enable many to continue absorbing new knowledge, new skills and new experiences. These two processes continue throughout our life span. When we think we have lived long enough, seen enough, and there’s nothing more to learn, it is easy to slip into boredom and have no purpose. Life becomes a long stretch of the boring!
Source:
https://www.greatseniorliving.com
Nothing new, nothing exciting to enjoy or look forward to. On the contrary, the best time to learn new things, to pursue our dreams is in the retirement years. No more nine to five, no more parenting responsibilities. Now is the time and savings to learn what one wants, with no pressure to sit for exams.
If you want to pick up a new skill such as cooking, painting or home repairs or learning a new language, a musical instrument or a new dance, this is the time. Looking for something related to wellness? There’s yoga, tai chi and qigong.
And if technology is your cup of tea, then there’s smartphone usage, cloud computing and drone basics, all taught under Digital Technologies. Thinking of setting up a home-based business or a start-up enrol for a course on entrepreneurship.
All the above, and more, are courses offered at University of the Third Age (U3A) at MyAgeing, Universiti Putra Malaysia. There are more than 40 courses to choose from ranging from art and music to languages and digital skills. Most of the courses run for six weeks with course fees at an affordable RM80 per course. And most of them are on Zoom.
Aside from U3A, there are 132 Pusat Aktiviti Warga Emas (PAWE) activity centres throughout the country. Courses are offered free to enable seniors especially from the B40 group to expand their knowledge and learn new skills that could help them generate some income.
Seniors who did not have the opportunity to further their studies after secondary school can now fulfill their dream of obtaining university qualifications. Compared to the limited number of courses in the 1960s-80s, many universities now offer literally hundreds of degree courses. As Malaysia heads towards ageing nation status, we may see a surge in university applications from older adults.
Grants, scholarships and loans have an upper age ceiling that close-out applications from older adults. Education has always been seen as a way out of poverty. This applies to young people as well as to older people. But with ageism, opportunities to improve the socio-economic status of retirees and pensioners via higher education remain limited.
One alternative is to go online for learning resources. With thousands of courses available online and for free, adult learners are spoilt for choice. All that is required is the determination to complete the course.
The internet opens up a world of e-learning. It is our go-to virtual library. Knowledge is practically at our fingertips, and just a click away. It’s that simple to enrich our mind. Unfortunately, there are still many among the older generation who think they are beyond learning anything new.
Use it, or lose it: That applies to our brains as well. If we continue to use our brain, we are exercising it, stimulating it to think, to analyse, to reason, to stay mentally sharp. Learning new things throughout our lifetime can help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Our memory improves when we challenge it with learning new skills. Learning something new also boosts self-esteem. When we learn a new skill, we feel a sense of achievement and pride. When we add a new qualification to our name, we earn respect from others.
So, please keep at it or end-up with dementia!
Reference:
Seniors, Ditch age old stereotypes and live you best lives, https://www.seniorsaloud.com
No comments:
Post a Comment