VOA标准英语2014--Teens Help Seniors Bridge High-Tech Generational Gap

 

Teens Help Seniors Bridge High-Tech¹ Generational Gap

COLUMBIA, MARYLAND—

Younger people usually learn from the knowledge and experience of their elders but technology has reversed that tradition, especially when it comes to learning about high-tech devices and the Internet. That's the case in Maryland, where a technology workshop for seniors is taught by teens and even younger instructors³, who've grown up in the digital age.

Teaching technology, learning patience

When Myra Stafford signed up for the workshop, she had one goal in mind. The 73-year-old wanted to learn how to use her iPad.

“My daughter gave it to me. She’s been long waiting for me to use it,” she said.

Her daughter won't have to wait too long because Stafford is learning fast.

“I’m more confident today than I was before," Stafford said. "Working with young people makes it wonderful because that's all they know, and they didn’t make me feel that I was old or dumb.”

Eleven-year-old Zhion Perkins is Stafford’s teacher.

“You have to be very, very patient, you know, because some of them might not know as well as others,” he said. "I get excited with them. I go like, 'hey, you got it!.' We start clapping and hugging."

Life at 50 and beyond

This workshop is just one of the programs the 50+ Center offers older residents of Columbia, Maryland.

“It’s everything from QiGong and Tai Chi," Center director Meridy McCague explained. "We have a lot of programs where people just meet together to play cards or sewing circles.”

The 50+ Center added the SeniorTech workshop last year, after receiving a donation of several iPads from a local community organization. About 100 seniors have signed up for the classes since then.  

“As people are aging, their worlds get a little smaller. Some of them can no longer drive, some of them don’t get out and make long trips to see their relatives," McCague said. "So it brings them back out into Facebook, and to Skype and just be able to communicate. They can do eveything, from ordering things from Amazon to ordering groceries, or meals.”

Senior economy

Teaching seniors about technology also benefits the economy, says career and retirement⁴ expert Kerry Hannon.

“We have a huge growing population over 60 that’s just expanding," she observed. "[That] offers an incredible opportunity to buy online, to search products they want to buy maybe not online, to research products they want to maybe buy not online. A third of the Internet users are over 50. As seniors get more excited about using technology, they’re going to the marketplace and buy it. So that’s a boom for economy right there.”

As people live longer, retirees may consider getting back into the workforce⁵, and the Internet, Hannon says, is a valuable resource that helps them do that.

“It’s absolutely critical, if you’re looking for a job in today’s market and you’re over 50, you have to be up to speed with technology," she insisted. "There is no excuse. A paper resume is no longer a big thing. You need to have an online resume; you have to have a LinkedIn presence. That’s how you’re going to network. That’s how you’re going to find a job today.”

Looking for a second career

That’s Carlton Reidcalloway’s goal.

“When I was retiring in 1995, the computer world was coming in and I was going out," he recalled. "I didn’t think it was necessary for me to learn how to use the computer.”

Now, as he starts a second career as an actor, it is a necessity.

“You have to go on line for job interviews," he said. "Everything is done online now. So I had to get in touch with the new world. In fact I had a photo op last week and I wanted to send some pictures - photos; head shots, body shots, stuff like that to my agent and I didn’t know how to do it.”

Social skills and purpose

Workshop instructor² Madison Lam, 17, showed him how. She’s getting something from the class, too.

“I’ve learned a lot on how to connect with people and work because I’m usually a shy person,” she said.

The benefits for the young teachers go beyond building social skills, says Safire Windley, with The Youth and Teen Center, which runs the program.

“I find in this day and age, our younger people are trying to explore how they can add value to life, just trying to find their way," said Windley. "They say, 'Wow, this is not a random⁶ old person. This is a person who doesn't know something and I have something, which is my skill set to teach them and that's going to add value to their life.' This is something where they’re needed and their skill set is valued and it gives them purpose.”

And there's a sense of accomplishment⁷ in bringing someone into the digital age.

1 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

2 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

3 instructors   

指导者，教师( instructor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The instructors were slacking on the job. 教员们对工作松松垮垮。
• He was invited to sit on the rostrum as a representative of extramural instructors. 他以校外辅导员身份，被邀请到主席台上。

4 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

5 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

6 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

7 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。