Most people try to take up something new when they retire to fill their time. It’s often something they’ve always wanted to do but never had the time to due to work or life getting in the way. One of the more overlooked things is to go back to education. However, it’s an incredibly valuable way to spend your time. There are many opportunities for those in retirement looking to go back to education.
First of all, the option of full-time education is always available to you. It should be easy enough for you to get into whatever course you want due to your impressive application of years of experience and skills. You may have never had the true experience of going to college in your youth, which means that taking up a full-time education course on a university campus could be something you really desire.
However, full-time education is not always for everyone and many people want their lives to slow down once they retire. Part-time or evening courses are the perfect solution for this as they do not require students to attend for all day five days a week. There are courses in a wide range of subjects and it can provide you with the opportunity to learn something you always wanted to but didn’t think would benefit you financially.
College or university campuses are usually where courses are held. However, local community centres, schools or libraries can also have courses of interest. This means that you can stay in the local community and you may even have the opportunity to get to know others in the town. Evening courses will also give you a good excuse to leave the house. This is especially important on long dark winter nights, which can be hard when you retire.
There are also lots of courses online in whatever subject interests you. These courses will either operate on a weekly basis or will allow students to work at a pace and time that suits them. This can be a great option for anyone who has a lot of other activities or commitments during the week.
Some organisations around the country have set up their own courses. The University of Third Age (U3A) offer learning and development courses and are uniquely designed for older people. They give their participants the opportunity to meet with other like-minded people and to make new friends.
The U3A offer an array of different topics and courses including arts, history and literature and language. As well as that, they offer courses in crafts, gardening, photography and computer and digital technology skills. Students will have the opportunity to visit museums, concerts or theatres relating to their course.
U3A courses are usually led by a leader or co-ordinator who has expertise in the subject. For language courses, you may have a leader with specialist knowledge or a native speaker teaching you. This can help you immerse yourself in the culture of others all while learning a language.
