29. Why I Love Teaching Different Age Groups

I've been teaching high-school aged kids for over twenty years, but this summer, a friend asked me to teach a class at the local retirement community.

My first reaction was fear. What would happen, I wondered, if my students asked me questions I couldn't answer? What if they knew more about the history of the book than I did? (That's a low bar. I, as the song says, don't know much about history.) What if? What if? What if? I almost said no.

But then, I thought, What if it's fun? What if I learn something? What do I have to lose? So, I told my friend I would teach Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, a book I've taught over a dozen times.

On the first day, eleven students showed up for my class. Five of them are the parents of people I know from Hotchkiss. One is the mother of former Hotchkiss students, including the boy (who's now a man) who taught my older daughter to swim sixteen years ago. Another woman used to work at the local elementary school. Two are semi-retired teachers.

I won't tell you about every minute of the five-hours we spent together, but I can summarize in two ways that I hope will interest and/or amuse you.

First, I'll tell you some of my observations about this age group:

• These students are totally engaged for all the "right" reasons.
• They've signed up because they're curious, thoughtful, and eager.
• Conversations become deeper when everyone starts with an understanding of the vocabulary.
• They're completely honest about what they have and haven't read and/or understood.
• They, like my younger students, pay particular attention to sections of the text that pertain to their own age group.
• They've helped me to notice parts of the text I've never paid attention to and pointed out some of what Huxley has done that makes me think even more of the book than I already did.
• These students know more than I do, which makes them more interesting for me to listen to than when I listen to myself.

If I spent longer, I could probably add to this list, but honestly, right now, it's about ninety degrees in my house, and I'm having a hard time thinking. Still, my basic takeaway is that it was so much fun and so rewarding to work with these older students. Rather than feel afraid, I should have been excited about what these students offer that's different from what my Hotchkiss students bring to the table (which is also a lot. I'm very lucky).

In addition to my big lesson on trying not to fear what I don't know, I want to share some of the most memorable lines I heard while teaching this group.

The following quotations (as close as I can remember them, mostly word-for-word) are lines I have never heard from my young students studying this novel:

• "So I said to him, 'Don't try to tell me about free love, I have five children!'"
• "Every party we had at Twin Lakes ended with skinny dipping!"
• "As one of my ex-wives used to say..."

So this post is a long way of saying that if you get the opportunity to teach a group of (mostly) retired people, take it. Or, more broadly, don't be afraid to try something that's a little different from what you're used to because you may love the differences once you get over your fears.

If you have ever had an experience like this one or done something outside of your usual, please write about it in the comments.