It is very different engaging with peers over an online platform for a class that is designed to thrive in real-time, face to face human interaction. I am no stranger to the wonderful class that is the Life Course Scholars program. I was a previous student of the 2020 cohort, the one that had to transition online in the middle of what was previously a two quarter long class. There loomed a shadow of panic and confusion in the midst of a pandemic- we had to scramble to still make it work for the seniors we had been previously serving, but we made it happen to the best of our ability. Now, after two years of nominally adjusting to Zoom University, I see exhaustion lining everyone’s faces (the ones who would opt to show their faces on camera anyway- there are peers who I have never seen before, names who remain unattached to nothing but a blank, black square of screentime). But I sense spirit. There is real enthusiasm and curiosity from people who want to serve the community, who regard the intersections of ageism, racism, sexism, and classism as salient prejudices extant in society that prevent elderly folks from living with dignity and happiness. In a class that has its foundations in the principles of empathy and reconciliation with the complexities of the world, we’re chugging along pretty well even in an online format. There are connections that we miss out on, shy people who perhaps would have been more emboldened to speak up about their thoughts in class. But overall, even though the class is condensed and reduced in ways of interaction, as the month of online learning rolls by with the promise of meeting in-person on the horizon, none of the quality has been lost- I am excited to return to the scope and vision that LCS demands of my peers and me.
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