
Running Out of Children, a South Korea School Enrolls Illiterate Grandmothers - danso
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/27/world/asia/south-korea-school-grandmothers.html
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kwhitefoot
The general idea of using the school to do more than teach children is
something that I have wondered about since I was a child (I'm 63).

It seems such a shame for all those facilities to stand idle all summer, all
weekend, all night.

As the article shows there are people who need the basic education that a
primary school can give but surely we should go further still and offer
everyone in society the chance to go 'back' to school and learn whatever they
want. Perhaps to learn some of the things that they thought were dull or
inappropriate when they were there the first time around. Men could learn to
cook and sew, women could learn to maintain their car or bicycle, Lots of
people could benefit from a better grasp of simple mathematics and statistics.

Yes, I know that evening classes and further education exist but they are far
from universally available and except for classes in demand for craft training
(mechanics, electricians, etc.) depend all too much on volunteer effort by
teachers or even untrained enthusiats who are already overworked
orunderqualified.

And lastly, why am I the only one commenting here? Surely life long education
should be dear to the heart of all HNers? And worth a comment or two.

~~~
automatoney
I've never really thought much about using schools to teach adults. I love the
idea, although in the United States there'd likely be a lot of pushback from
people who oppose more subsidized college.

But aside from all of that, I think that the expansion of services that
libraries provide would be an excellent way to go about this - many libraries
are already getting 3D printers and all sorts of tools, and are consistently
adding new programs. And I doubt many people oppose supporting local
libraries. Plus, libraries are in some ways better equipped to train people on
how to learn on their own (not that they shouldn't also have teachers, but
self teaching is definitely a great skill for life long education)

Also, the idea of having many ages all together is really nice - something
that doesn't even happen much in colleges. It's the sort of thing that helps
foster community across generations and helps give people an understanding of
more perspectives. Although luckily that kind of interaction can happen a lot
across the internet.

~~~
Mediterraneo10
> And I doubt many people oppose supporting local libraries.

Previous threads on HN (and many other fora) about local libraries in the US,
bring out a lot of people who complain about local libraries. They say that
libraries smell bad because homeless people sit there all day (and supposedly
view pornography on the provided computers, and use drugs in the bathroom).
They say that libraries are a waste of taxpayer money now that we have the
internet and they should be shut down. I cannot claim to have visited every
community in the USA, but it seems to me that a lot of people oppose
supporting local libraries.

~~~
tooltalk
I used to work for NYPL years back. Apparently there are also gangs having sex
(eg, gang initiation) at some branches -- this topic was actually covered
during my orientation.

I agree many branches are essentially day-time shelters for homeless (sure,
they smell really bad) and drug addicts.

Not sure about "shutting them down," but they try to justify their existence
even in the age of the internet and wireless communication by claiming that
they serve various unheeded needs of local community other agencies are unable
to provide.

Are they really a waste of taxpayers money? Well, most librarians are unions
members and they are not for the most part a drain on NYC finance -- we are
talking about NYC where NYPD officers can make $150+K or sky-is-the-limit
earnings for MTA contractors. I think the city has much greater issues at its
hand, but the library system is far from frugal or efficient, IMO. Some work
for the library because they share and believe in the mission and service they
provide to community, but I suspect many don't care about that.

~~~
killjoywashere
If public libraries would serve coffee and get serious about wi-fi, they would
make money. Why is there not a Starbucks morticed into every public library?

~~~
notfromhere
lots of public libraries have coffee shops inside, though generally not
starbucks.

At least in a bunch that I've been in Illinois

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_Nat_
In the US, I used to tutor in a college's "Learning Center", where students
could come in for free tutoring from staff who'd be hanging out there.

One student who came in was very elderly; I don't know her age, but I think
she mentioned great-grand children. And what she wanted tutoring on was her
math homework.

She was studying how to add single-digit numbers. We must've worked on it for
like 3 hours. I had no idea that the college taught a course like that; in
fact, I strongly suspect that there was something else going on. And I was
kinda confused about why she'd even want to learn about how to do basic math
like that.

But she seemed to find joy in it. She was certainly an enthusiastic student! I
don't know if she really walked away with a strong command of the material,
but it was good to see someone so happy to have gotten to study.

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mensetmanusman
American society could use more circular educational systems like these, where
the retired and the young could benefit in a healthy way from each other’s
presence.

The young, by being read to and told history; the old, by being surrounded by
hope.

I have seen some attempts at schools attached to retirement/end of life homes.

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astannard
In the UK we have 'Adult Education' where schools are often used for evening
classes for adults. They tend to offer IT training, foreign language studies
as well as creative subjects. I have been to a few for learning to make
Pottery, and back in the day 'Flash Programming'

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theredbox
Seriously if this is what a rural school looks like South Korea should
consider taking in some immigrants from SEA countries.

I am not saying they have to take in immigrants but it's clear they need
children and the children need a stable, safe and clean environment.

~~~
profalseidol
> young couples migrate en masse to big cities for better paying jobs.

If only farming payed like in tech, I would happily do switch careers.
Unfortunately this not how we human beings decided to run our society.
Hopefully our French yellow vest comrades can give us revolutionary
improvements again like they did in past.

