Lifelong Learning: Learning for the Joy of Learning
by Ruthann Sirbaugh

This article appeared in the August, 2007 edition of The Vintage.  Ruthann McCarthy Sirbaugh is the director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Oklahoma State University.

I'm learning something all the time. That's the way I want it to go, and that's the way I'll go until I am no longer on this planet.       ~ Doris Roberts

“Lifelong learning” is a term widely used to describe the educational programs offered to the “seasoned” citizen. With many Americans entering retirement years, lifelong learning is a steadily growing trend throughout the United States. Seniors find that as the demands of work and family diminish, opportunities arise to satisfy an intellectual curiosity that may have been waylaid due to time constraints.

The benefits of lifelong learning are widely documented: delaying the onset of degenerative brain diseases, reducing adult depression, enhancing a sense of well-being, creating a broader social network, and increasing self-confidence. “Lifelong earning” is current terminology, but the movement for elder-learning has been in existence for years under the auspices of The PLATO Society, Elder Hostel, and Institutes for Learning in Retirement.

It is estimated that 46 percent of the adult population engages in some form of lifelong learning. From book clubs to travel clubs, seniors typically find great enjoyment in spending time with peers and continuing intellectual pursuits. Lifelong learning pushes us to keep exploring, deepens our knowledge base, and helps us to grow in the appreciation and joy of learning.

Lifelong learners tend to have great respect for intellectually stimulating classes. Life focus has shifted from kids and career to purposeful living and learning. Seniors are at a time in their lives where they are free to explore various subject areas and are excited to embrace learning. Engineers may find themselves studying Shakespeare and biologists may find a new appreciation for Plato. Most lifelong learning programs affiliated with universities require that the courses have similar academic requirements to that of undergraduate courses. However, there are no tests, no grades, and no attendance requirements – simply put, it’s “learning for the joy of learning.”

The most popular classes tend to be liberal arts studies, literature, religion, history, earth science, and philosophy. Many lifelong learning programs offer travel opportunities in conjunction with the classes.

Maria Mitchell said eloquently, “We have a hunger of the mind which asks for knowledge of all around us, and the more we gain, the more is our desire; the more we see, the more we are capable of seeing.”

Lifelong learning is happening in many communities in the United States. Universities, churches, and independent groups gather together to explore learning in a way most have never had the opportunity to experience...learning for the pleasure of learning.

Consider the wisdom of Henry David Thoreau when he wrote in 1854, “It is time that we had uncommon schools...that we did not leave off our education when we begin to be men and women. It is time that villages were universities and their elder inhabitants the fellows of universities, with leisure, if they are, indeed, so well off, to pursue liberal studies the rest of their lives.”

OLLI@OSU offers classes in Tulsa, Stillwater, and Oklahoma City. To receive a course catalog, please call 1-800-765-8933 or  visit the Web site at www.okstate.edu/education/olli.

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Last Updated Monday, August 27, 2007