The Long View; Adult Education and An Ageing Society
Listed on October 21, 2014 in Blogs!Since this blog’s inception I have often remarked or written at length on the benefits of lifelong learning both for society and the individual. I have also spoken about the gap between the rhetoric and the reality. Nobody who follows these things can be unaware of how the adult education landscape has changed in the past fifteen years or so. Gone are many university extra-mural departments, diminished are the once generously funded county adult education services and gone have so many of the residential colleges. The WEA is also a reduced presence in so many parts of the country and the Open University is not quite as accessible as it used to be. Across all of this diminution there is one success story – the U3A, but even that has its detractors. Anyway, why am I writing about this? Well, those who know our programme will be aware that I am going to discuss the present state of the adult education world and its value to older people, a long life and a thriving society. I will be describing its development from the nineteenth century and maybe a bit further back as well. The date is Sunday 16 November at 2.30pm here at Dillington House, Somerset. The cost is £12 but that includes a cup of tea and some delicious cake in fabulous surroundings. I hope you will think about joining me.
