You will use these questions to interview an elder of your choosing — a friend, family member, or acquaintance. Ideally, this person will be in relatively good health and functioning well in the world. Since there is no consensus on the age at which a person becomes elderly, the exact age of the person you select is up to you. However, we recommend that your interviewee be at least 75 years old.

Using your interview questions, conduct, record, and then listen to your interview. As you listen to and reflect on the interview, choose and transcribe several of your interviewee’s statements that resonate with your learning about wisdom.

Post three quotations from the elder you interviewed, and explain how the elder’s thoughts relate to the theories and ideas.

Think about the words elderly, aged, or geriatric. What associations do you have when you think about these words? What associations do you think the majority of people have when they think about the aged? More likely than not, most people would have negative associations. In fact, modern Western culture has tended to devalue aging and the aged, celebrating youth and the young. In this discussion, you will explore how elders themselves perceive both the experience of aging and their current capacities.