Perspective: Joy-Lily (Amend 173)

Wednesday, August 14th, SB 173 will go before the Assembly Committee on Higher Education.

 

Unless amended, SB 173 will narrow the mission of Adult Education, eliminating Older Adults and Parent Education.   Older Adults and Parent Ed can continue, at district discretion, but only if funded through alternative sources. 

 

Many (not all) in the Adult Education community, want to see 173 amended.  (Full disclosure:  I do.)

 

Joy-Lily (Martha Herman), an Older Adults teacher at San Mateo Adult School, is one such person. 

 

She shares the letter she sent to the Higher Education Committee (below).

 

You, too, can share your opinions with the Higher Ed Committee. Click here for contact info.

 

 

Dear Committee Members,

 

Please add my voice to the call to include older adult education in the plans to revamp California's adult schools.

Click the "read more" link to read the rest of Joy-Lily's letter.

Keep in mind that:

 

1. Other resources such as senior centers and recreation programs for older adults are facing cuts and elimination- so elders cannot simply use other resources for their education and wellbeing.

 

2. Keeping elders healthy and active saves the government much in healthcare costs.

 

3. Many older adult education programs at adult schools now charge their students fees to offset most of the cost of these classes, so the amount needed to run these programs has decreased considerably.

 

4. Dropping the entire older adult component of adult schools now would make it harder to re-start it in the future, when you will be older.

 

5. Healthy active seniors contribute much glue to the community in wisdom, childcare, volunteerism, civic activity. Many continue to work and pay taxes. Remember that older adults are a growing voting block.

 

6. Older adults have paid taxes all their working lives and are due a piece of the economic pie.

 

7. This question is not simply economic - it is a moral issue to continue to respect and support the people who have raised and taught us and to hold that space for future generations of elders.

 

Thank you for your attention. Please amend SB173 to keep older adult education in the adult schools beyond 2015.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

Martha Herman

 

One of Joy-Lily's beautiful quilts:  Floating Leaves

 

Thanks to Alliance for California Adult Schools for the following information:

 If you would like to send a message to the Chair of the Higher Education Committee (Assemblyman Das Williams), you can email Hillary Blackerby at hillary.blackerby@asm.ca.gov. To send an email to all committee members, contact Karen Teel at karen.teel@asm.ca.gov. REMEMBER TO PUT SB173 IN THE SUBJECT HEADER (that is “SB173 – AMEND!). To send letters via regular mail: Assembly Higher Education Committee, 1021 N Street, Room 173, Sacramento, CA 95814. If you want to email the letters to us @ Alliance4CAS@gmail.com, we can post them on the page, as well.