TEACHING GERONTOLOGY Feb. 10, 2003 H.R. Moody, Editor xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx In this issue: - Teaching Social Security - AGHE Meeting - Internet Courses in Gerontology - Grantsmanship - Pfizer Symposium - Gerontological Social Work Conference xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx TEACHING SOCIAL SECURITY I've taught Social Security for years and I'm always astonished to find out how ignorant students are about the program. Social Security is our biggest domestic government program and one of the most successful. Yet Social Security's future is clouded because of lack of public understanding and confidence. Today's college students are more likely to believe in UFOs than in the future of Social Security, as I confirm every time I teach undergraduates. How can we promote better understanding of how Social Security works? Here's one role-play exercise that I've done in class many times with great success. First I appoint several students in the class to take on roles: one becomes the Worker, another the Trust Fund, a third the Government, and a fourth the Social Security beneficiary. Then I give seven dollars to the Worker who hands it over all the money to the Trust Fund (around 7% of wages). The Trust Fund then pays five dollars to the Beneficiary, while the Government writes out an I.O.U. note and hands it to the Trust Fund, who in turn gives the remaining two dollars ("Social Security Surplus") to the Government. At that point I ask the Government what they plan to do with the money in (pay for education, buy an aircraft carrier, etc.) Next we change things and let the Trust Fund keep the extra two dollars and ask what they will do with it now. Options here include cutting the payroll tax, investing the extra money collectively, or letting (forcing?) each Worker to invest the "extra" two dollars in some form of privatized accounts. At that point I might stand up and introduce myself as Mr. Fidelity, etc. This exercise introduces lots of laughs and students come away with a good understanding of what a "Pay-as-you-go" Social Security system looks like—and why large numbers of Baby Boomers in peak earning years are generating that "extra" two dollars. Once we've completed this role play exercise I break the students up into three small work groups, each charged with coming up with a separate plan to "Save Social Security." Group one is instructed to keep the present system intact through 2050; group two to come up a plan for private accounts, and group three to come up with a way for the Trust Fund to invest the Surplus in an investment plan of some kind. When each small group gives its report back to the whole class, the group must address a series of issues such as paying for transition costs (under "privatization"), dealing with tax increases and interest rates for government borrowing, increasing national savings, promoting public confidence in the system, as well as issues of equity and adequacy for Social Security beneficiaries. There are no clear answers for what the work groups come up with. That's just another way of saying that the Future of Social Security raises controversies. But at least students can approach the controversies with a better understanding of the key concepts underlying the Social Security system to begin with. For more resources on the question of "What Future for Social Security?" see http://www.pineforge.com/moody/social.htm ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ AGHE MEETING From Mar. 6-9, 2003, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education will convene its 29th Annual Meeting and Leadership Conference at the Hilton Hotel, St. Petersburg, FL. For further information call: (202) 289-9806 or email to: aghetemp@aghe.org or visit the AGHE web site at: http://www.aghe.org/call03.htm Details on some special intensive (Institute) events are listed below. For information about registration for these offerings, visit the AGHE website. ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ INTERNET COURSES IN GERONTOLOGY Institute #1: "Expanding Business: The Realities Of Internet-Based Courses and Continuing Education Programs in Gerontology." This offering provides experienced- based information and recommendations that focus on successful provision of both academic and continuing education distance learning modalities. Session will include converting content to Internet-based distance learning delivery, faculty incentives, curricula certification standards, curriculum friendly software, developing and marketing web-based CE programs, securing CE credit, reciprocity among institutions, competency- based programs for state approved licensing programs; and descriptions of model gerontology distance learning programs. Presenters are Arleen Johnson (University of Kentucky); Halcyon St. Hill (Florida Gulf Coast University); Rod Barber and Stacy Deck Shade (University of Louisville); Sara Jane Gainor (West Virginia University); Kathryn Hyer (University of South Florida); Melen McBride and Bonnie Napier-Tibere (Stanford University). ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ GRANTSMANSHIP Institute # 6: "Grantsmanship." This offering will teach educators and students skills for securing funding for aging training and education programs, services, and research initiatives. Content includes an overview of funding sources for research and demonstration projects, steps for writing a successful grant proposal; information on the changing IRB review process; the importance of interdisciplinary exchange in the development of fundable programs and projects; web links to data and funding sources; time lines and steps preceding and following grant application preparation and submission; and tips for responding to requests for revision. Workshop leaders Iris A. Parham and J. James Cotter (Virginia Geriatric Education Center and Virginia Commonwealth University) and Gerald E. (Jerry) Calderone (Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, Washington, DC) will share specific experiences in interdisciplinary partnerships and highlight specific techniques for narrative development budget preparation. ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ PFIZER SYMPOSIUM The Pfizer Symposium at the AGHE Conference will be held on March 8, 2002 from 8:30 AM to 12:00 noon. The Symposium is in two parts. The first session will focus on the implications of progress achieved in understanding the cellular and molecular pathophysiologic mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease. Numerous clinical trails have confirmed the benefits from a variety of pharmocologic treatments and there has been important advancement in the clinical concept of early detection called Minimal Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Symposium panel will present cutting-edge information on early detection, evidence of the effectiveness of clinical treatments and the scientific and political issues involved in the development of preventive or protective treatments. The moderator is Bernard Roos, MD, University of Miami School of Medicine. Featured speakers include Univ. of South Florida's (USF) James A. Mortimer, PhD, Director, Institute on Aging and Saunders Professor of Gerontology, Epidemiology and Biostatistics and David G. Morgan, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology and Gerontology, Chief Science Officer, NeuroImaging Research along with Maria Llorente, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Univ. of Miami School of Medicine. The second part of the Symposium will focus political and educational efforts to improve the care and treatment of persons with Alzheimer's disease. Despite the progress in understanding ADRD, the disease exacts a toll in personal suffering for both patients and their families. Using Florida as a model of political activism, Natalie Kelly, MS, Director of Public Policy, Florida Alzheimer's Association will discuss the efforts to ensure that professional caregivers are required to undergo ADRD training. Mary Kaplan, MSW, Department of Gerontology, will present Florida's certification process for curriculum and trainers as well as the implications of the program. Kathryn Hyer, PhD, will describe the consortium of statewide stakeholders (providers, Universities, professional organizations and advocacy groups) and present the CD-Rom training developed to meet Florida's required training. Efforts used to create the momentum for requiring training, the State-certification process for curriculum and trainers as well as the implications of the program will be evaluated. A review of work across the state that has resulted in a consortium of State- wide stakeholders concerned about ADRD (providers, Universities, professional organizations and advocacy groups) will be discussed. The CD-Rom developed by the consortium to meet the required training will be available for review. ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ GERONTOLOGICAL SOCIAL WORK CONFERENCE The Council on Social Work Education's "Strengthening Aging and Gerontology Education for Social Work" (SAGE-SW) project, funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation, will hold the First National Gerontological Social Work Conference in conjunction with the CSWE 49th Annual Program Meeting in Atlanta, GA, from February 27 through March 2, 2003. For details, visit: http://www.cswe.org/sage-sw/whoweare/ngswc.htm ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ 4th EDITION OF TEXTBOOK AVAILABLE The 4th edition of AGING: CONCEPTS and CONTROVERSIES (Pine Forge Press, Sage Publications, 2002) is now available. The book presents gerontology through "great debates" around topics like assisted suicide, privatizing Social Security, extension of the human lifespan, and the search for meaning in later life. Details about the new, fourth edition are available at http://www.sagepub.com/book.aspx?pid=7893 Copies of AGING: CONCEPTS and CONTROVERSIES are available at no charge for college faculty to consider for course adoption. An Instructor's Manual is also available at no charge with pedagogical methods, questions for class discussion, sample tests, and other resources for teaching from the book. For questions about how to get a review copy or the Instructor's Manual, call Sage Publications for Customer Care at 1-800-818-7243 (805-499-9774 outside the U.S.) or e- mail textbooks@sagepub.com xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx This electronic newsletter, edited by Harry (Rick) Moody, is published by the Institute for Human Values in Aging in cooperation with Pine Forge Press (Sage Publications). TEACHING GERONTOLOGY contains items of interest to improve the teaching of aging. To submit items or request subscription changes, contact teachgero@yahoo.com (c) Copyright 2003; all rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx