May 1, 2002
One of the abiding myths of education is that there's only a short window of time in your life when learning new things is possible. It saddens me to hear of people who have to start over in life in a new career. Not only do they have to overcome the economic barriers to education but also the social and psychological barriers that make lessons learned in adulthood appear to be of lesser value than those learned in the "traditional" ages for learning.
My college years were not right after high school, but after four years' service in the Marines and five years of employment in the Postal Service, but I had figured out the value of lifelong learning long before then.
It was in getting my pilot's license that I found that there was more to education than book learning. At the conclusion of my flight test in July 1981, after I had successfully landed a Piper Tomahawk in a crosswind, the examiner, turned to me, said "congratulations," shook my hand and added, "You now have a license to learn." Getting that little piece of paper from the FAA was not the end of learning, but the beginning.
It's the same with diplomas. Whether from high school, college or trade school, they symbolize that while you've learned some things, there's a lot more out there to learn and, hopefully, you know how to get and apply that knowledge.
In college, the group I admired most was the senior citizens in the lifelong learning program at Florida Atlantic University. Indeed, I envied them because they could attend fascinating lectures on all sorts of subjects without having to take notes, tests or write research papers, and could audit the regular undergraduate classes.
That was learning, I thought. Though I and other non-traditional students were inspired by the lifelong learners, it was stunning to find out that the "traditional" students did not like their presence on campus.
Lifelong learning classes were conducted in rooms in the student center, and the student government types would rant and rave in the college paper that they didn't belong there, or anywhere else on campus.
One student whined that the presence of older people was "depressing," and it was ruining her college experience. In an anonymous letter, someone repeated every stereotype about Florida seniors, and the editor, who agreed with the writer, insisted that it be published verbatim to balance my signed columns in favor of the presence of seniors on campus.
Declaring that not only did the lifelong learners have a right to be on campus, but that their taxes had made the college possible, did little to persuade the young know-it-alls that the resources of the college should be for everyone, not just for them.
I hope those who opposed the lifelong learners eventually come into wisdom and understanding that learning is a process that goes on through one's entire life, and seekers of knowledge should always be welcomed into the classroom, regardless of age.
That's the most important lesson of all.
Vincent F. Safuto is a copy editor for the Press Journal. Reach him at Vincent.Safuto@scripps.com.
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