I really do believe in the old adage “you’re never too old to learn something new”. Over the years as a public school teacher, I had many occasions to work with the local public and private colleges and universities in my area. Much to my delight, I observed many retired people taking courses. In fact, many are actually working towards a degree matriculation. As the most recent research indicates, this is yet another activity that may protect against Alzheimer’s and result in lower rates of decline in short-term memory and perceptual memory (a persons ability to perceive new information).
Here are some specific examples on how to keep those brain cells active:
Adult Education
By all means, contact your local board of education to determine if adult education programs are offered in your community. You’ll find the cost to be minimal, the offerings to be extensive, and the rewards to be quite satisfying. Many communities offer joint programs in conjunction with neighboring towns and cities. By pooling resources, these towns and cities are readily able to expand their course offerings. Most courses are offered in the evening from 7:00PM – 9:00PM. A semester typically lasts four to six weeks.
Local Senior Citizen Center, Recreation Center, and YMCA
If you are a person that would prefer to engage in learning activities during the day, then you should obtain a schedule of events from your local senior citizen center or recreation center. Don’t be apprehensive about doing this because you feel that you’re too young. In my town, the minimum age for joining the recreation center senior activities is fifty. You’ll find that the events are varied and reasonably priced. Most centers offer great deals on day trips to tourist attractions, day classes of general interest, and lessons sports.
How About Graduate School?
Now that we’re living longer and healthier lives, it may be easier to begin a new and enriching life cycle. If your nest is empty, and you have the desire to continue learning, why not go back to school? According to Department of Education, 120,000 men and women over the age of fifty are earning graduate degrees.
A relatively new way of taking courses is called distance learning. You don’t actually go to classes. You become part of a rapidly growing roster of virtual campuses. You do all of your coursework at home on your computer through the Internet.
Online schools offer programs that lead to a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and doctor of philosophy. Many public and private colleges and universities offer distance-learning programs. The University of Phoenix offers a wide variety of degrees with full accreditation. That institution is very highly rated by the Wall Street Journal. You can choose from programs in business, criminal justice, education, healthcare, and technology.
The news makers in America are helping buyers, certainly not the Mexican people, enjoy bargains. If you believe the media, Mexico is a war zone with shootouts on every corner. That may be somewhat true in the border towns, where drug smugglers trying to get their product into the US are killing each other. It is not true in the places Americans would retire to. Mexico has an overall crime rate three times less than the US.
Quito ,the capital of Ecuador, offers life at 9,000 feet. It is one of the prettiest colonial cities in the Americas and offers all you would expect in a city of almost 2 million people. English is widely spoken and you have a myriad of restaurants, museums and art galleries to attend. The new International airport is soon to be open that will make travel in and out of Ecuador a breeze.
Learn a New language In a Another Country
While we’re on the subject of traveling to learn, here’s a novel idea: Travel to another country to learn the native language.
In an effort to keep their economies stimulated, many governments of smaller countries are attempting to promote something relatively new called language tourism. Basically, you are immersed in the culture of the particular country while you study the language for an intensive period of time. People who participate in this type of instruction often experience the joy of learning about the country without feeling like a tourist. During the off hours, you can explore the topography of your surroundings.
A popular destination for Spanish language instruction is Ecuador. The Canoa Spanish Language School features immersion instruction on a beautiful beachfront setting. Private teaching is scheduled at your convenience. The Ecuador Spanish Language School offers a home stay approach in which the student lives with a family. If you would like to learn a little of the Italian language, The Italian Language School offers two to four week sessions
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