On Wednesday, February 28, 2018, the LCS cohort met for its weekly meeting. This meeting was primarily logistical. We gave updates on our progress regarding assignments, and continued planning events, such as the dances at Casa de Manana in La Jolla, and the Gary and Mary West Center in Downtown San Diego.
We also discussed our Neighborhood Assessment Projects, wherein the LCS cohort members are divided into small groups, and are assigned a neighborhood of San Diego. Each group travels out to their assigned neighborhood and explores, taking photos and checking off items from a checklist regarding how accessible the neighborhood is for elderly people to navigate. Factors such as the presence and quality of sidewalks, the length of time allotted for crossing at crosswalks, community involvement and engagement in order to prevent isolation in the local elderly population, are all considered. During our outings in La Jolla, we traveled to the community center, La Jolla Cove, the La Jolla/Riford Library, and the La Jolla Recreation Center, examining the many dimensions of the city and how accessible it is to senior citizens.
During this class meeting, we also discussed our Healthy Aging Projects. I am planning to partner with Jackie in order to create a website that will extend and highlight the Oral History Projects we completed earlier in the quarter. I enjoyed interviewing my grandmother, and I learned many things from speaking to her, so I think that highlighting her life, experiences, and accomplishments, and those of others elders, is something very important to carry on. One valuable aspect of interacting with elders, which is very impermanent, is the stories they have to tell of the past. This is especially seen with people who experienced significant events in history, such as survivors of the Holocaust, but even average, everyday elders have a story to tell that cannot be replaced. I would love to help bring more of those stories to light by participating in this project.
We concluded class by making final plans for the dance at Casa de Manana on Friday, March 2, 2018. I have been looking forward to this event, as it presents the opportunity to further interact with the seniors and provide them with an experience that takes them back to their younger days, allowing us to gain a deeper glimpse into the essence of who they are and what life entailed when they were teenagers and in their 20s.
We also discussed our Neighborhood Assessment Projects, wherein the LCS cohort members are divided into small groups, and are assigned a neighborhood of San Diego. Each group travels out to their assigned neighborhood and explores, taking photos and checking off items from a checklist regarding how accessible the neighborhood is for elderly people to navigate. Factors such as the presence and quality of sidewalks, the length of time allotted for crossing at crosswalks, community involvement and engagement in order to prevent isolation in the local elderly population, are all considered. During our outings in La Jolla, we traveled to the community center, La Jolla Cove, the La Jolla/Riford Library, and the La Jolla Recreation Center, examining the many dimensions of the city and how accessible it is to senior citizens.
During this class meeting, we also discussed our Healthy Aging Projects. I am planning to partner with Jackie in order to create a website that will extend and highlight the Oral History Projects we completed earlier in the quarter. I enjoyed interviewing my grandmother, and I learned many things from speaking to her, so I think that highlighting her life, experiences, and accomplishments, and those of others elders, is something very important to carry on. One valuable aspect of interacting with elders, which is very impermanent, is the stories they have to tell of the past. This is especially seen with people who experienced significant events in history, such as survivors of the Holocaust, but even average, everyday elders have a story to tell that cannot be replaced. I would love to help bring more of those stories to light by participating in this project.
We concluded class by making final plans for the dance at Casa de Manana on Friday, March 2, 2018. I have been looking forward to this event, as it presents the opportunity to further interact with the seniors and provide them with an experience that takes them back to their younger days, allowing us to gain a deeper glimpse into the essence of who they are and what life entailed when they were teenagers and in their 20s.