At Corso Atlanta, our main goal is to help people enjoy their senior years in the healthiest, most up-to-date ways. With today’s widespread availability of information, staying informed about the latest news and knowledge is both easier and more overwhelming than ever before. If you want to formally expand your mind but haven’t sat in a classroom in decades, you may not know where to begin furthering your education. Fortunately, there are many resources out there that make it easy to continue your education far beyond college and even retirement.
We’ve discussed how staying mentally active as you age has proven benefits, and we’ve explained a few different approaches to keeping your mind engaged after retirement. Taking a week-long course that requires you to comprehend nuanced ideas, read complex texts, and recall intricate information could keep your mind strong and possibly stave off certain types of mental decline. These types of activities are correlated with more stable cognitive performance, increased memory retention, and even lowered rates of dementia.
Although you can independently take courses that engage your mental faculties, giving yourself “assignments” and guiding your own research, you’ll likely benefit most from the structure and content of a course that’s been designed by an expert. This doesn’t necessarily mean signing up for in-person classes—many educational outlets provide legitimate learning opportunities online—but it does mean that you need to be careful and, in some cases, skeptical of information you find on the internet. Stick to reputable, trusted information sources, and always use fact-checking resources (like Snopes, Politifact, or Media Bias/Fact Check) to verify any claims that seem dubious or too good to be true. A good place to start researching the validity of an information source or education provider is to type the name of the institution in question, followed by the word “scam” or “review,” into a search engine like Google or Yahoo.
There are many free or affordable online resources for learning about academic subjects, and you would likely be welcome to audit in-person courses with a college or university near you. In fact, if you’re based in Georgia (like the communities of Village Park Senior Living are), live near one of the more than 30 colleges in the state system, and are over the age of 62, you can take in-person college courses tuition-free at one of those schools. Other fees, like those for books and the application process, may still apply. If you’d rather not go to class in person, there are several reputable online companies that offer affordable or free courses that you can take in your pajamas. Some offer homework and tests, while others are more informal and simply offer a semester’s worth of lectures for you to listen to at your leisure.
One of the great things about taking college classes after retirement is that you can focus purely on the subject matter you genuinely enjoy learning about. Having the freedom and means to pursue your interests is a wonderful thing. Here at Corso Atlanta, we offer truly independent senior living options, as well as several health, wellness, and social activities. If you’re interested in learning more about assisted living, independent living, memory care, or any of the many programs, activities, and facilities we offer, please contact Corso Atlanta for more information. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook for updates and to check back soon for new blogs.