Most of us have probably, at one time or another, taken classes with older folks. The majority of younger students in a class usually regard older people, between fifty and seventy-years-old, negatively.

Most of us may think to ourselves “wow there’s another drop out” this type of comment is frequently reinforced if this older student is a female where you may catch yourself saying something like, “there goes one more woman, housewife probably, she’s just here because of the empty nest syndrome.” Even if this is the case, I personally see no harm in a woman returning to school once she has had a family, on the contrary, I find it quite admirable.

At times I have thought that it is more acceptable, to see a woman return to college rather than a man. A woman does have additional socially prescribed “tasks” to accomplish in life such as having a family and raising the children. Men on the other hand, are socially determined to go to college, become financially independent and provide for their families. This may just be my uncritical of the mainstream patriarchy self-speaking, but generally this is how things are. Because of this establishment, seeing an older man in a class may lead me to the, in many cases false, conclusion that this guy is a drop out or a loser, what has he been doing all his life, how has he been supporting his family, that is if he has one at all?

Fortunately I realize that my thoughts are affected by the culture that has socialized me. I actually have no problem co-existing with older students in a classroom although I find that my other classmates ranging from ages 18-25 may find the older folks quite annoying. Let’s face it the older you get, the more you have seen and experienced. Older students are usually much more opinionated then us youngsters and this sometimes hits the nerves of the younger crowd.

Older people make connections and references to past times or provide additional information about a topic being discussed. Younger students in turn think that their older classmates are just showing off! Ultimately it is up to us younger people to welcome those returning to college, whatever the reason for their return may be, and it’s never too late!