 The OWLs (Older, Wiser Learners) consortium is bringing Broome
County’s seniors back into the classroom, and BCC is leading the
way. OWLs is a joint effort of the Broome County Office for the
Aging, BCC, and local senior citizens centers.
OWLs classes blend traditional-age students and senior
citizens, providing a unique learning environment. “The class
discussions are remarkable,” said BCC professor Steve
Call. “Our seniors come from a world that is almost foreign to
traditional-age students, and to most professors as well.”
“Not only is it an opportunity to learn a new subject or to
review a long forgotten one,” said an elderly student in Professor
Matt Brannen’s class at the First Ward Senior Center, “but there
are young students in the class! They have some remarkably
intelligent opinions that will make you think. And they seem
interested in hearing what we older students have to say.”
Call pointed out, “When these people were young, most had
no hope of going to college.”
“Many of you have children, and grandchildren, who went to
college,” Garnar tells seniors when he visits senior centers.
“Now it’s your turn.” |
