Take A Byte Out Of Fear And Give Yourself A Boot

Who decides that at middle age your best years are behind you? A thirty-something computer whiz who said middle-aged women are the hardest of all to teach? I know one who said that.

I’m middle aged (that is if I live to be 100). I took a computer class from a middle-aged woman - bless her. I entered the class with first night jitters feeling very unsure of myself. The teacher assured us that it might seem overwhelming at first, but we would learn. I wasn’t sure I believed her, but she taught us all the basics, equipping us to go on to the more advanced classes. She didn’t think the other “older” women and I were hard to teach.

Sure it was confusing at first. Why can’t they say “turn on the machine” instead of talking in code and saying, “boot up.” I looked around the class and not one person in the group of 20 or so even wore boots. So we all started at the beginning - by learning the terminology.

I consider myself to be a fairly intelligent person, a former school teacher and excellent typist. I had also been out of the job market for a number of years, and that class made me feel dull as a rusted knife. Dull knives can be cleaned up and sharpened, though and middle-aged minds can be taught new technology, contrary to what some may think.

The other “older” woman and I completed the course along with the younger students and received our certificates. Now when a 10-year old asks me how many bytes I have available, I know he’s not talking about my teeth. I’m literate enough to discuss hardware and software; I keep records in a database file, and I know how to do a spread sheet. I’m not looking for a job, but if I were it’s nice to know I’m more prepared now.

There’s a whole world of knowledge to be gained if we take advantage of the opportunities, and most younger people are glad to help. So what if you are the only person in the class with gray hair. So what if your teacher is young enough to be your son or daughter. So what if you haven’t held an outside job for years. You can learn new skills and grow.

Remember Grandma Moses.

MEMO: Your Turn is a feature of the Wednesday and Saturday Opinion pages. To submit a Your Turn column for consideration, contact Rebecca Nappi at 459-5496 or Doug Floyd at 459-5466 or write Your Turn, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210-1615.