Can a 70 year old person earn a PhD degree? Would he remember which classes to go to? Or would he break the mold on memory for senior stereotypes? Is college education only for the young?
In my book, Pandora's Prisoner, people on the alien's planet live to be 200 years old. As a result, they get bored and experience a loss of hope. In fact the aliens have forgotten what hope is and why it is important. On the alien's planet, Medical treatment has advanced to the point that people easily get new legs, new arms, new shoulders, a new heart and a few other life sustaining organs. Life goes on, but hope stops, so they self-elect, which is the alien term for suicide.
If you have had enough, why not? In that alien period, self-electing is not the moral issue it is today. If you read the book, you would know that the aliens send representatives to earth to discover what hope is. What has this got to do with education, you may ask?
If we are living longer, we need to work longer. Skills for work change. Education for people in their 70s is a fascinating concept. Tomorrow, I am going to call the Dean of the KU business school and enquire about going back to school and getting a PhD in something.
I will need extra time off for tennis and golf and of course to spend the winters in Palm Springs and I will want an exemption from attending classes. I will also want student prices on basketball tickets.
I will let you know how the phone discussion goes. It should be fascinating.
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