ESSAYLEAKS SELECTIVIDAD / ABITUR / IBO / BACHARELATO / KPDS / BACCALAUREATE / IELTS / TOEFL/ MATURA

ESSAYLEAKS SELECTIVIDAD / ABITUR / IBO / BACHARELATO / KPDS / BACCALAUREATE / IELTS / TOEFL/ MATURA

CAN YOUNG PEOPLE TEACH OLDER PEOPLE?

Living at the start of the new millennium, in the most advanced technological era in history, one is confronted with a plethora of knowledge and information which itself continues to become outdated by the moment. While young people possess an ability to learn new concepts and absorb information faster and easier many now products or ideas could be taught to old people if they possessed the desire to learn.
The computer, for old people, has emerged as the first barrier and stigma. With a computer, one can work without paper and pencil, obtain useful searches on the Internet or make online purchases from ones home. However, many older people are not able to do these things since using a computer initially demands a modicum of knowledge and skill. If one has time, there are rewards, however, to teaching our grandparents how to use a computer in order that they could discover the many benefits and pleasure of using a computer.
In addition to new technological products, ideas or concepts that have helped shape young people can be conveyed to old people. Many old people maintain that health, for example, suggests an absence of disease. Yet many of us have realized that the notion of being healthy contains emotional, social and physical health rather than simply living without illness. Such scientific notions could be learned by old people from their children because young people may acquire such new ideas quickly. Why not learn something new from youngsters in order to adjust to a modern lifestyle and become healthier?
There is no doubt that there are many things we should learn from older people such as aspects of traditional culture or some valuable, life-teaching experience. But in modern society it is the young who, at the forefront of the era, possess updated knowledge, positioning old people to learn from those younger.

CAN YOUNG PEOPLE TEACH OLDER PEOPLE?

Who says only old people can teach young people? We admit that older people have much more experiences than our young people, and it is true that they can give us much guidance when we encounter problems or unsolvable difficulties. However, with the rapid development of the modern society, young people can also teach the older people a lot. They can update knowledge about new technologies for the elders, share attitudes towards life with them and bring freshness into their lives.
Since living in a very fast developing society, we need to make contact with many new technologies everyday. In other words, we need to learn everyday to keep up with the latest development. For example, computers are now very popular, but we seldom see the elders use computers. If they can learn how to use them from young people, they will definitely be beneficial from it because computers have brought a lot of changes to our lives and bring us new experiences. Young people are known for their quick understanding and acceptance new things, so that I think they can teach the older about new technologies used in our daily life.
The attitudes of young people are totally different from old people. Mostly they are more positive and energetic than old people. They have a different angle to judge things. Sometimes the elders are passive towards life because they went through a lot of frustrations. On the contrary, young people are full of energy towards the life, and they are always optimistic. They proudly say because they are young, they can try millions of times. In some degree, young people's attitudes may influence old people.
Young people also can share with old people what they like, which may result a change of old people. As we know, most young people like popular music. I have a friend who likes Japanese music very well; everyday she plays this music at home. Her grandmother often asks her to stop the music and asks her why she likes it. My friend tells her grandmother about the history of Japanese music and shows her a lot of examples. Gradually her grandmother likes Japanese music as well, which made us so surprised. Now if we go to their house, we can see my friend and her grandmother listening Japanese music together and share the feelings as well. You must be surprised like me when you know the story, but it did happen.
So, no matter what age group you belong to, we must believe that everyone has something to share with others and to teach others. Old people can give the youngsters' lessons and guidance, on the other hand, young people also can teach the elders new things and different ways towards life.

CAN YOUNG PEOPLE TEACH OLDER PEOPLE?

To my ear this statement sounds false and a little too fare-fetched. It is truth universally acknowledged that the old people have volumes of experience, while the young have the energy and lots of creative power. Therefore I think that it's not suitable to take sides in this situation. Because in my view there is no way to determine who is better - the old or the young.
Obviously, each of these groups has its own positives and negatives. I suppose they should co-operate and be helpful to one another rather than try to rival. The exchange should be done for their own mutual benefits. Even though the old people possess a great deal of experience, it is sometimes not enough for surviving in the changing modern world. That's why they often get stuck with their dated information, without being able to break free from their own prejudice.
In many cases the old people are used to their old ways and, I imagine, it must be really hard for them to get adjusted to the new environment. But one should always remember that, like it or not, only the fittest survive. Therefore, if the old people don't want to become extinct as dinosaurs did, they should rather learn some ways from the young. The thing is that the young people are way more flexible to all of the little changes happening in their everyday life. It is easier for them to get up-to-date and to face the fact that some old ways are no longer valid. For them it is not a difficult thing to come to terms with. I guess that this is something that could be of some use for the elder people as well. If they have lots of experience to give, the young can teach them lots of flexibility in return.
In fact, I personally think that there are many things that the young can teach older people and flexibility is just one of them. But the problem is sometimes that the old are very unlikely to be willing to accept this kind of searching with their arms wide open. Most of the times they are conservative and prefer to stick to their old ways.

CAN YOUNG PEOPLE TEACH OLDER PEOPLE?

An English proverb goes, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks." With all due respect to this folk wisdom, I have to admit that it sounds somewhat dated to me. At the same time I agree that almost every saying has a grain of truth to it, and this one is no exception. Nor is another one? There is no fool like an old fool. As it can easily be seen, the two sayings contradict each other, which may seem terribly confusing. Nevertheless I would like to pursue the subject at some length and try to find out which one is in the right.
It goes without saying that the old dog has quite a lot of experience. During its lifetime it has learnt a lot of different tricks that now make it feel happy and content with itself. I believe it deserves all kind of respect and admiration, since it has done a pretty good job. But one should always remember that the kind of tricks it has been doing up to now are old-fashioned and not up-to-date anymore. There now exists a marvelous opportunity to do all of them over again in a better, more sophisticated way. It is not surprising that a young dog would be way more dexterous in performing those tricks.
Moreover, it can create some innovative, brand-new ways that an old dog has never even dreamed about. Therefore I suppose that the old dog should appreciate this never-ending source of energy and ideas, and maybe even pick up some of them. If the old dogs don't want to be considered off-the-shelf, they should rather be flexible and get with the times. "You are never too old to learn" shrewdly reminds them another popular saying. But still there is no way for the mature dogs to humbly imitate their own puppies. It is advisable for them to share the accumulated knowledge with the young, to be more helpful and willing to co-operate.
At the same time, all of this will be accepted more easily if the old dogs don't try to impose their experience on the young. Then the latter would undoubtedly greet their teachings with their arms wide open. Both the old and the young should never forget that they are living in the same world that belongs equally to the first group as to the second. Even though the modern world is changing all the time, there still are ways to get adjusted to it for both.
All metaphors aside, I guess that the young and the old must be very loyal to each other. They should exchange their experience and whatever else they have to give to each other. To get back to where I started? Nor the first nor the second saying is totally correct. As usual, the truth is somewhere in the middle.