is launching a new book. The instructors have been
prepped for class engagement — and frequently
compare us to the young students in their regular
session classes, wishing they had the attention and
interest that we exhibit.
For me, belonging to this group of people has
freed me up to continue learning — not for any
other reason than for the pure enjoyment and thrill
of learning something new. From that first ‘learning
to draw’ course, I have moved on to watercolour
painting, which occupies much of my time these
days. I have even sold a few pieces. That, of course,
is not the reason I continue to paint — it’s to
discover a new technique, or colour combination,
or to struggle with expressing the feeling I want to
portray. They are problems to solve; mysteries to
engage my brain. The old saying of “use it or lose it”
rings true for us older adults.
There are so many online courses that we can
take from the comfort of our homes, but the
exhilaration that comes from joining peers in the
quest for knowledge is the very best feeling of all.
Most communities in Alberta have access
to lifelong learning opportunities, and many
can be accessed through your local libraries —
digital resources.
There is an ageism bias out there that older adults
have lost much of their capacity to think and solve
problems. We may move slower, but our brains are
very much alive and thrive and grow as we challenge
ourselves to keep learning. ELLA has grown to
support over five hundred students this year. It is
consistent with the growing demographic of this
age group.
I am a retired teacher who loved school enough
to spend my life in the education field, and I
value learning. I know there are many of you,
like me, who now have time to seek out our own
opportunities to engage our minds for intellectual
well-being — just because we want to. ●
Edmonton Lifelong Learners Association:
my-ella.com
Calgary Lifelong Learners:
calgarylifelonglearners.ca
Community Adult Learning Program:
calp.ca/find-a-calp-near-you.html
Third Age Learning Network:
thirdagenetwork.ca/links/
Letters to the Editor
To the editor:
Regarding your editorial in the autumn issue
of news&views, ‘paradigm shift’ and the word
‘solipsism’ were coincidently on our reading list
the same week as the December 8, 2018, issue
of The Economist. This is a very scary time to
be alive. Just this morning, Flynn, the ex-White
House boss, denied being coerced in the Mueller
inquiry. His boss, Trump, overruled Flynn’s own
words thereby fulfilling the point of your editorial.
As Will would say, “ O brave new world / That has
such people in ‘t.”
Gerry Smith
news&views SPRING 2019 | 41