English 155/Ms. Quinn
26 March 2013
Essay
Should Colleges Accept Senior Citizen Student Imagine sitting next to someone’s father or grandmother in a classroom, at first it may feel awkward having a senior age classmate. Later you find they are just well on their subjects both in the classroom and online, and might be someone to consider as a study buddy on a class project. Keep in mind to those older Americans returning to school, the world of the classrooms, can seem both foreign and intimidating. For some senior citizens, taken online courses also eliminate the fear of feeling out of place, where being in a class full of decades-younger students may make them feel, shamed at not having completed their education. Being an online student, they do not have to share their ages or educational background.
The flexibility of online courses is also beneficial for seniors with ambulation problems, allows them to still work on class assignments from home. When thinking of education and senior citizens that are returning to school with hopes in getting the degree they missed in the past has their families feeling very proud just to think that they're actually taking advantage of the opportunity that the government has given them to go back to school. Younger students are true believers of the fact that no one is ever too old to learn. The older generations, with the disruption of the wars and the increasing financial insecurities, had to take a back seat to the more primal needs of securing food, shelter, and medical care. These and many others, are reasons why it important that all colleges should allow senior citizens to further their education, it promotes inner growth and it gives them the chance to reconnect with their past and future educational goals, with the added bonus of improving mental and physical health by creating cognitive and corporeal exercise.
Mr. Barry Williams (63) Real Estate Management, Sacramento City College Student