Excerpt from daily Cures, Wisdom for Healthy Aging by Connie Mason Michaelis
I graduated with a degree in Education. I had a short teaching stint as a secondary biology and general science teacher. I was teaching junior high school at the time. You can imagine that it was not really about my knowledge of science that was important; it was all about the students being ready to learn. Junior High students seem to vacillate between acting like a five-year-old and a 25-year-old. The adage, “When the student is ready, the teacher appears.” is correct. How true that is with educating people about Senior Living options. When the subject of Independent Living, Assisted Living, Sub-acute, Long Term Care, Medicare, and Medicaid comes up, most people’s eyes glaze over. Honestly, very few people want to think about those things. So, the education goes on the back burner until some emergency requires attention.
Recently I participated in a Senior Health Fair and Symposium. It was excellent, chock-full of information that was timely, interesting, and well presented if you were ready to hear it! There were dozens of service vendors and many speakers on various topics. As I looked around, I thought, “Why wouldn’t more people attend?” But it is a subject that most people are quick to avoid. The aging process cannot be ignored. The next time you see a seminar or event that promises an education on senior living, consider attending. You can Google senior living, and hundreds of options are available. Each state will have its specific programs and levels of care, so it is vital to be specific by your local. I have one caution, do not sign up for these websites unless you are ready for phone calls, but you can gather information without giving your personal information.
The difference between an educator and a teacher is: a teacher is someone that takes something complicated and makes it simple, and an educator is someone who takes something simple and makes it complicated.