[originaltext] After retiring from 30 years of teaching, Ethbell Pepper coul

After retiring from 30 years of teaching, Ethbell Pepper could easily have decided to sit back and relax and enjoy a peaceful retirement. But that kind life is not for Ethbell Pepper. “I just wanted to do something different. If you are going to participate in life, do it. Don’t just sit down and look out the window.” She says. At 68, she decided to become one of the pioneer participants in a program at the University of California. The program offers campus housing and classes to people over sixty. She enrolled in a class called Human Relationships in a Diverse Society. “I taught minority students in my English and Drama classes in high school for 20 years. But in this course, I found out a lot about other cultures that I didn’t know then. One of the most important lessons that I’m learning is to perceive, not to judge.” Older adults can add to the educational resources of the university by bringing with them a lot of valuable experience. Their presence on campus helps break some working believes about aging. Young students may have fears of growing older. But that kind of fear can be reduced as they see that older people can be active, healthy, and continue to contribute to society. The younger students can begin to see aging as a natural part of living.