ALIROW
- Learning in Retirement in California and neighbouring States
Bob
Heilman, immediate past President of ALIROW outlines the principles he feels
inspire the LIR movement. ALIROW, the Association
for Learning in Retirement Organizations (ALIROW) was founded in 1984
by LIRs (Note that the acronym used in the EIN paper is ILR-Institute for
Learning in Retirement. ALIROW is not a member of EIN) in the far western
states of the USA to meet the needs of existing LIRs which needed a better
way to inter-connect and share solutions to questions of growth and service
to members.Although members do
not share a uniform educational policy, several principles stand out as
shared by most of them.
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Foremost
amongst these is the idea that an interest in learning characterizes
humans from birth to advanced chronological age. |
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A
structure which serves such interest is beneficial |
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People
who have reached maturity have already gained from their own learning
and so have much to share with others, -including a passion to continue
the quest for learning. |
An important LIR model is that the traditional classroom student-teacher model, although found in some LIRs, is superceded by a shared learning model, more like the advanced seminar found in many graduate-level college classes.
It is not required that LIR members hold formal college degrees, - only that members share a passion for continuing a learning trajectory that may include a diversity of directions, - and a willingness to share this passion with others of like mind.
However, seasoned persons are too often unaware of their own gifts or abilities and have spent lives too far into the shadows to find joy or comfort in leadership positions. To emerge takes practice and encouragement.
Finding and polishing seminar leaders is a challenge for every LIR. Too often LIRs solve this problem by hiring active or retired teachers who are more than willing to re-create the professorial role within an LIR. After all, why not use an expert? This approach too easily by-passes the great advantage available to the active participant-to become one's own teacher and then share the learning.
This is the challenge to every person and to the LIR 'movement' (if there is such a thing ) - to encourage the mature and seasoned person to recognize their own talents and help them to learn to share these with persons in their own community.
