has a membership of more than 400, with every promise of doubling within a short time. It draws upon the best talent in the community for lectures, book reviews, discussion of hobbies, and field trips. The Lane Public Library at Hamilton, Ohio, bas a "You're As Young As You Think” Club. The Institute for Human Adjustment of the University of Michigan asked a number of old people what their problems were and early in 1948 started a 16-session extension course on problems of the aging with 44 Ann Arbor old people enrolled. A physician stressed the dignity and naturalness of aging and discussed food, sleep, and exercise. A psychologist told them that intelligence, if used, does not decline materially with age and that they could live mentally alert lives. A psychiatrist warned against the dangers of withdrawing into themselves as families moved away and spouses died and urged them to find activities that would compensate in a measure at least. Other experts discussed creative hobbies, how to change habits, how to deal with legal matters, social security, and similar problems. When the course ended a club was formed with weekly meetings. It has grown materially. The course was later given in Detroit and six other cities. During the summer of 1948 the first "institute on aging" was sponsored jointly by the Institute and the Extension Division of the same university. At least three other universities started similar institutes within a year. 995 In a Nation-wide survey covering the year 1947-48 only 25 public schools reported "special activities for people past retirement age. Reports, publicity materials, and requests for help to the Office of Education show that the number of school adult programs providing activities for the aging is growing rapidly. Illustrative of activities are these: In California possibly the earliest work was done by Grace Ruth Southwick, now retired as director of adult education at Santa Barbara, who had a very successful course in "Growing Old Gracefully." The Visalia Evening High School shows films and provides a crafts class which meets 6 hours a day 3 days a week for the residents of a home for the aged. A gardening program is being planned. The Extended Day Division of Pasadena City College has operated a weekly current events class at the public library for 16 years. Old people meet guest speakers, see appropriate movies and slides, meet political candidates, and discuss the issues of the time. Leathercraft, copper tooling, rug making, and similar crafts are provided for old people in the Montebello program. The San Mateo Junior College operates a canning center in the county home for the aged. San Francisco courses specially designed for old people usually are of two types-those designed to meet the avocationalrecreational needs of the elderly, and those in the field of psychology. Adult Education Activities of the Public Schools. Washington; U. S. Government Printing Office, 1949. Office of Education Pamphlet No. 107. The latter often follow the lecture-discussion pattern and deal with biological aging and maintenance of physical, mental, and spiritual health. Some are held in cooperation with the American Women's Volunteer Service. The Broward County Institute at Fort Lauderdale, Fla., reported conversational Spanish and classes in woodcraft and architectural and mechanical drawing for its older residents. The older persons at Story City, Iowa, call on the school for current educational movies and space for other activities, including displays of historical material, lectures, and discussions. The Department of Home Economics and Family Life Education at Wichita, Kans., sponsors a Grandmothers' Club. The program of this club recently included six lectures dealing with emotional maturity, interests, hobbies, crafts, gardening, and renewed outside activities for those with reduced family responsibilities. A supper club and courses in handicrafts and foods and nutrition are offered older persons in Springfield, Mass. The Stephenson, Mich., Public Schools surveyed the craft hobbies of retired persons, encouraged them to make articles, and arranged for their cooperative sale. Rugs, embroidery, candy, wood products, and similar articles were displayed in a store and all sold within 2 weeks. The Kalamazoo Schools provide a Three Quarters Century Club of more than 100 members with speakers, discussion leaders, and materials dealing with current problems. The Johnson City, N. Y., schools provide certain educational and recreational activities and services to several of the Townsend Clubs meeting in school buildings. The Youth and Adult Centers of the New York City Board of Education each provides several activities for aged people. Hobby, craft, and various industrial art classes are filled largely by old people in the Olympic Junior College (Bremerton, Wash.) adult education program. These are illustrative of the school programs going on that are especially designed for older people. No doubt a great many schools could point out sizable numbers of old people in certain types of activities open to everyone. While a great deal of the elementary and secondary curriculum undoubtedly is of use throughout life, no studies show how much of this learning is specifically useful during the last decades of life. The opportunity, however, for schools to provide specially designed educational activities for the older age brackets apparently has not yet been widely developed. IV What Can Be Done General Programs for All Ages Participation in any activity by young and middle-aged adults is likely to be helpful in preparing for the more mature years. Insofar as activities help develop new interests, build new competencies, grow beneficial attitudes, or deepen established interests, they are contributing to the possibilities of a richer later life. This is especially true when the activities are in the fields of community affairs, family living, arts and crafts, and leisure-time pursuits. General programs of adult education often involve a good proportion · of older people; in fact, many classes and other activities open to all ages frequently are filled mostly with older persons. The mere presence of these persons shows that at least some of their needs are being met. Almost without recognizing it, instructors and group leaders may alter the nature of the activities to fit the needs of aging people. Conscious tailoring of activities to the needs of those taking part can do a great deal to serve older members when they attend in sufficient numbers to warrant it. Any expansion of general adult education activity, then, is likely to offer greater educational opportunity for the aging. Attention is given here, however, to the activities and emphases within activities which are especially designed to serve the peculiar needs of the aging and the aged. Special Programs for the Older Years General Cultural Orientation As can be seen from the earlier brief discussion of major problems accompanying the increase in the proportion of old people, certain general public attitudes will have to change before old age can be a normally happy period. The schools and other educational agencies can help build more desirable attitudes both among aging people and in the general population, although many other agencies will have to help in the process. Content.-General orientation may be artificially divided into two tasks: (1) that of building adequate attitudes in the general public toward aging, and (2) that of developing a satisfactory point of view among middleaged and older people toward aging. These two tasks are essentially one in that attitudes most desirable for older people to have toward aging are basically those which the public in general should have. Among the attitudes desired are: 1. That making a community a good place for old people is a total community responsibility with special responsibility falling on older people. 2. That preparation for a continuously creative and productive period of later maturity should begin early. 3. That old age should normally be as happy a period in life as any other; that old age can be a golden age 4. That adults should continue to adjust during the middle and older years as their changing biological, social, and vocational environments demand; that people should continue to learn throughout life. 5. That all people should work at suitable employment as long as they are able. 6. That employers should become more receptive toward the employment of older workers. 7. That labor-management agreements, laws, pension plans, and retirement systems should be geared more closely to the psychological needs of the individual. 8 That plans and preparation for retirement and gradual cessation of paid work as definite as those for entrance upon an occupation in youth should be made; that older people should accept work with less prestige, part-time work, and volunteer community work without stigma, especially if they have sufficient income. Approaches.-Schools and communities may want their first approach in this field to be a general orientation course, discussion group, or lectureforum series on problems of the aging mostly for those of middle age or older. The content and treatment may wisely be similar to that of the University of Michigan course discussed in Part III. Study, discussion, and exploration of the major aspects of aging will help reveal the possibilities and set the stage for further study and action. Beyond the beginning educational stages much of the satisfaction of noneducational needs can and should come as a result of activity of the people concerned. That is, with enough educational opportunities provided, the normal assumption with adults should hold that they are capable of acting on their own behalf. This will usually lead right into healthy relationships with a number of community groups. Specialized activities in one or more of the fields treated in the rest of this bulletin can evolve from this initial orientation activity. In building new attitudes in the general population all sound educational approaches and methods have a place. Full use of mass medianewspapers, radio, television, and films will reach many people, but they bring about changes slowly. Special drives, weeks, and campaigns can be added to other persistent effort. Universities and a number of schools of industrial relations hold seminars on problems in such fields as personnel work and labor-management relations. Few problems are of greater significance to industry and labor than those connected with an aging population, social security. retirement plans, and employment policies. Especially where the services of higher educational institutions are not conveniently available, there is no reason why the public schools should not take the initiative in such seminars. Similar study commissions can be set up with any number of other groups. Personal methods are usually productive with special groups. Personal approaches to employer groups, inducing them to establish flexible hiring and retirement policies and classification of jobs which can be filled by the older worker or part-time worker may help build acceptance. While this is not primarily the job of the school, adult programs providing guidance and placement services can have a hand in it. For children and youth textbooks and school instruction should give more orientation to aging and a more balanced treatment of the older ages. Provision of adult education services for the aging adult and wide publicity and use of these services are likely to help considerably. Involving more adults of all ages year after year in satisfying learning experiences will go far in building attitudes and habits of lifelong learning. When systematic part-time learning has become a fixed habit with most people, the desired attitudes are well on the road to being built. The greatest attitude-building influence, however, will exist when society has actually made old age a satisfying stage in life—when health, economic security, adequate recreation, purposeful work, adequate housing, companionship, and other psychological satisfactions are available to the maximum number. Health Content. The general increase in life span during the past two generations has been due largely to progress in control of communicable diseases. Increasingly, diseases which shorten life or reduce efficiency in the later years are chronic conditions for which there is seldom a specific control. Even though much research in chronic diseases and geriatrics (the science of aging) still needs to be done, medical science has available information, which if applied in time, could do much to prevent or delay the development of chronic and degenerative conditions. Health education for the aging then will want to bring the results of research on prevention of the chronic conditions to people young enough to make the most use of the information. People who are made aware decade by decade of the normal biological changes to be expected are more likely to become aware of trouble early, and take steps to prevent its further development. Possibly the way to build a health curriculum for the aging which will command most public interest is to build it on the ailments common to |