Module 3: Big Ideas, Active Learning and Ill-Structured Problems

I am in the process of setting up a course in the multi-disciplinary field of Gerontology. The main focus in the field of Gerontology is the methodical study of the aging process and the aging population and its effects on the individual and society, in every aspect. There are many big ideas in the field. For the purpose of this blog, we are exploring the retirement process which begins at a certain age; where people encounter longer lives and uncertainty, disease, incapacitation and death. One of the enduring questions in the field is how to think about and treat people who are seniors in American society or any society or country for that matter, to maximize their quality of life, as the authors of Enduring Questions in Gerontology stated.

In the United States there is a belief in “quality of life” and a certain amount of personal dignity for its citizenry, at the end of the life cycle. We still believe that we can make our own choices as to how we want to live out our remaining years and the final days of our life. We can even decide, in some states, how we want to end our lives. With this in mind, I am working on and refining my course and keep improving it in my Wiki Space online.

My course is called, The New Revolution: New Ideas on Aging and Retirement in the United States. The big questions I have posed to my learners are: Do American citizens have a right to a certain level of “Quality of Life?” How does one define quality of life? How do seniors define quality of life? When seniors are no longer independent and able to care for themselves, who gets to define it? Who is defining quality of life for seniors today? This brings us to the main focus of the course.  Do the 21st Century institutions we have created for our aging population truly care for their needs in a way that assures them, that they will have personal dignity and a respectable acceptable “quality of life” in their end of life cycle years?

As the “Baby Boomer” generation retires over the next twenty-five years at age 65, our political and economic system will begin to feel the effects of this tsunami of retirees. In the near future our government will no longer be able to guarantee these citizens the same level of economic support. Neither will the government be able to provide funds for the medical needs of this generation of people.

The government’s responsibility is to protect the health and welfare of its most vulnerable citizens. Without the financial means to fund Social Security and Medicare, we as citizens realize we must begin to re-think our thoughts on aging and retirement. We must begin to make decisions that allow for their personal dignity and a certain level of quality of life. We need to re-think the concept of retirement and very possibly eliminate it altogether. We will need to consider new ways of handling IRAs, 401 Ks and savings for their remaining years. We need to re-think how we can facilitate the end of life cycle plans these people will need to make. Finally, it is imperative that we re-think the concept of age discrimination.

The bottom line is the more people working and paying taxes, the more money the government has to spend helping the most vulnerable citizens at the end of their life. How can we change our institutions and concepts on aging in order to meet the financial needs of our senior citizens? How can we  help seniors who have limited resources and cannot pay for their own care or daily living expenses and still preserve their quality of life and personal dignity in the process?

Are the institutions we currently have in place the best way to help our citizens live out their remaining days? This is the guiding question I hope my learners will be asking themselves as we progress through the ill structured problem I will present them with.  They will be asked to research the options seniors have today by placing a loved one or themselves in the care of others after a sudden illness that has left them unable to care for themselves. They will have limited resources available to them. And, they must determine how safe the placement environment is and whether it will meet their loved one’s need for social contact and human concern regarding their welfare.

I want my students to be able to make informed decisions as to the appropriate placement of a senior who is incapacitated based on what they know that person would want or need. They will be able to gather information in a group from the internet or other resources to make that decision. They will be able to analyze the material gathered. They will be able to comprehend the problems and issues involved in resolving the care giving issue. They will be able to grasp the moral and ethical components of their decision-making. They will be able to determine the need for policy changes and will be able to present them to a committee or agency.

To accomplish these objectives, they will need a certain level of problem-solving skills. They must have the ability to work in groups. They should be able to research the internet and conduct personal interviews. They must be able to think critically and deeply about issues and concepts present in real world situations. They must have a blog site and be familiar with Web 2.0 tools.

In the next Module 4, I will ask them to create a new system and new approach to the concepts on aging they have learned in the class. I want to them rethink their decision with a whole new set of circumstances. For example, what if the only two care giving facilities in the area are being investigated for senior resident fraud and  abuse. Or, the care givers available for helping your loved one are unskilled and do not speak your loved one’s language. The house physician seldom visits the patients in their potential new environment and the residents are beginning to complain. They state they have health problems that need medical attention; but they feel these problems are over-looked during these physician visits. Medicare and Medicaid cannot help fund the level of care your loved one needs.

The reality is: our institutions can no longer fund the social welfare programs we have in place for citizens reaching the age of 65. Our citizens have the duty and responsibility of becoming involved with the decision-making process in order to change current concepts and policies before the situation reaches the crisis level.