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Blog Entry 6 of 9 Still Rockin'

Being born in 1954 makes me a charter member of a pretty explosive group - the Baby Boomers. We survived the British invasion, clackers, disco and parachute pants and lived to tell about it. With a background cocktail of Depression logic and It's All About Me entitlement, we are a mixed bag and hopefully, a vocal one. I'll be turning the spotlight on some of the folks who remember when gas was a quarter a gallon and had little space men riding on their utensils when they ate Spoon-Sized Shredded Wheat.

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Teaching the keystrokes of life

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Contributed by: Carol Rock on 9/14/2007

His students don't necessarily race to their seats; rather some of them totter in tentatively, almost in competition to see who takes the longest. But when they're all in place, College of the Canyons Emeritus College instructor Jack Adams said that they are always ready to learn.

As an instructor of beginning and intermediate computing classes at several locations around the Santa Clarita Valley, Adams teaches people whose college days are a few decades behind them. Average age of his student? Somewhere between late 60s and mid-70s, with a few in the early 90s.

Adams, a quick-witted jovial man with a graying beard and short ponytail, said his students present a whole different audience for his teachings.

"They all want to be here," he said. "They want to learn. They may look a little frustrated when they come to class, but when they leave, they are always smiling. They are so appreciative of what they take away from the class. There isn't a more motivated group of students."

The college started offering computer familiarity classes to seniors two years ago and found they'd hit a gold mine. The classes aren't restricted to those who qualify for AARP, but the free sessions offer no credits toward graduation.

Now, the popular classes - which fill up quickly and have expanded because of growing demand - can be found at senior-friendly locations such as Valley Oaks Village in Newhall, Friendly Valley, Castaic and Saugus, as well as both the Valencia and Canyon Country campuses of COC.

"People take this class because they're tired of being pestered by their kids and grandkids about not knowing how to open pictures or e-mail that they send. The days of printing a picture and sending it in the mail to grandma and grandpa is over; now everything is digital," Adams said. "They have the computers, they just don't know how to use them. What we do in the class is build their confidence level. We start from 'how do you turn it on' and go from there."

Once students complete the class, they are welcome to repeat to really solidify the message. Their diplomas are newfound independence because they no longer have to depend on younger family members or neighbors to do their computing for them.

Depending on the classroom space, there aren't always enough computers to go around or some machines might be a little older and slower, but that doesn't seem to hinder the lessons. Often one person works the keyboard with others standing by taking notes or asking questions - an illustration of the interactive notion of computing.

One 92-year old student was very tentative when he moved the mouse, making Adams think that he might have some sort of physical disability. After a few questions, it was discovered that he was afraid of breaking the mouse or the keyboard.

"Some of these students have never touched a machine. We try to take their fears away. The course covers all the basics - how to get e-mail, how to explore the Web, we talk about viruses and spiders and why they shouldn't open attachments unless they're expecting them. Hopefully, we get them exploring online for other things, like news or blogs."

Adams also advises them to be careful when they go shopping for equipment, especially software. "They learn that salespeople aren't the best teachers," he said, recalling more than one student who came in with misinformation about software and the high-priced components they almost bought.

While the course textbooks cover basics of writing and elementary accounting software, he tells his students to venture bravely into the bookstore in pursuit of books with less than complimentary titles.

"I'm a big fan of the 'Dummies' and 'Idiot' series," he said, referring to how-to books that break subjects down into easy-to-understand segments. "I try to be a little ridiculous myself to help demystify the process, if it helps them understand, then it's worth it."

For information about the computer classes, e-mail Adams at jackadams@earthlink.net. For information about College of the Canyons' Emeritus College classes, call (661) 362-3300.

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