Our class headed to Casa de Manana for an exchange of learning with the Learning Exchange Group, and it indeed was an enlightening experience.
The amount of input that we got from the seniors was absolutely amazing; they had far many more ideas than I personally did. I did anticipate that they would have a plethora of suggestions on how to improve the age-friendliness of our La Jolla community since they experience it from that perspective. One of the many relevant insights was to make more bus stops that are not located on top of an incline, which I agree completely with. Near Casa de Manana is a 30 shuttle stop that I have used before, but even I thought it was a workout just to get there. There is a very steep uphill incline that I am sure would be near impossible for a senior with a stroller to pass.
All the seniors who participated expressed that they truly value and enjoy interacting with college students and are thankful for intergenerational opportunities. Therefore, I believe that the more activities allowing students and elderly to mingle, the better. One of the seniors who was working with us said that she would love to take care of young children, such as those in daycare. I thought that was a great idea and am wondering how we can work to have that happen. Another senior told the students that there are many highly educated residents at Casa who can be of great help for college students. If students can ask residents for advice, I believe that would be a great experience for both generations as well.
The amount of input that we got from the seniors was absolutely amazing; they had far many more ideas than I personally did. I did anticipate that they would have a plethora of suggestions on how to improve the age-friendliness of our La Jolla community since they experience it from that perspective. One of the many relevant insights was to make more bus stops that are not located on top of an incline, which I agree completely with. Near Casa de Manana is a 30 shuttle stop that I have used before, but even I thought it was a workout just to get there. There is a very steep uphill incline that I am sure would be near impossible for a senior with a stroller to pass.
All the seniors who participated expressed that they truly value and enjoy interacting with college students and are thankful for intergenerational opportunities. Therefore, I believe that the more activities allowing students and elderly to mingle, the better. One of the seniors who was working with us said that she would love to take care of young children, such as those in daycare. I thought that was a great idea and am wondering how we can work to have that happen. Another senior told the students that there are many highly educated residents at Casa who can be of great help for college students. If students can ask residents for advice, I believe that would be a great experience for both generations as well.