Perspective from the West:
Life-long Learning for Older Women

BY JENNY SHAW

Jenny Shaw, co- editor for this issue of Women's Education des femmes, is an adult educator, specializing in gerontology. She lives in Vancouver.

As an "older woman" who has been actively involved in formal and informal education specifically targetting the senior population for the past six years, I have become increasingly aware that the term "education" can be applied only minimally to learning within an academic setting. In fact, most of what we learn from the time we are born comes to us through everyday experience, observation and social interaction. The tendency to label the current generation of older women as "under-educated" - even illiterate - is, to say the least, misleading. Yes, it is helpful to be able to read well, and to use a computer. But these skills are hardly more valuable or useful than the skills our foremothers had - reducing fever with herbs from the garden, telling stories learned "by heart"; knowing how to "read" the stars and clouds for weather signs; and the care-giving and the guidance women have always given.

All this is not to belittle the value of formal education for women. I encourage the efforts of those who are still struggling to alleviate the difficulties encountered by many older women as they re-enter the education system, often after years of homemaking and care-giving. Unfortunately, education for women is still often considered a privilege and not a right, or a necessity. Especially for women over 50. In spite of "free" university and college tuition for seniors (65 usually being the starting age), there are so many seemingly insurmountable bureaucratic hoops to jump through (registration, eligibility, etc.) that it is surprising that there are as many older students in the system as figures indicate. Exceptions may be the Elderhostel and other programs which have been specifically designed for the older age groups. Programs which meet the specific needs of older women are harder to come by.

Another important issue, which adult educators still have to come to grips with, is the question of accessibility to programs by older women who face the further barriers of discrimination due to colour or ethnocultural group, low income and/or physical disability. As an editor of this special issue of Women's Education des femmes, I am conscious that women who are doubly and triply oppressed are not well represented within these pages. This silence must be addressed.

Finally, I would like to comment on ageism in education from the perspective of a gerontologist. An overwhelming majority of the people working in this field are, like myself, middle-aged (between 45 and 60 years old). Our intention is to improve quality of life for the generation our mothers, and grandmothers, belong to. They are the "subjects" of our research projects which allow us to live comfortable lifestyles. We use them as we have always used our mothers, to fulfill our own needs. Barbara MacDonald, co-author of Look Me in the Eye: Old Women, Aging and Ageism (1983, Spinsters' Ink, San Francisco) would call this another example of oppression of mothers by daughters. These older women, who give us their time and expertise, often at real cost to themselves, physically and financially, rarely benefit from the results. We take away the questionnaires, analyse the data, publish an article or two and usually forget to sent them a copy, or even a note of thanks. For another look at ageism in gerontology, see Leah Cohen article, on page 31.)

Despite all of these negatives, it has been encouraging to work on this project. The many excellent submissions relating personal experience in the field of education indicate that opportunities for lifelong learning, however rare, do exist and are being utilised. I would like to congratulate and thank all the women who contributed to this issue, including the Advisory Committee members who helped gather and select the final material for publication, which you will read in the following pages.