Guideline to What Are Old People For?: How Elders Will Save the World Paper
This assignment combines an interview with an older person and your own reflections. Dr.
Thomas presents innovative thoughts and strong personal opinions about what it means to be
human with advancing age. As you are reading please note THREE topics or quotes that peak
your curiosity, formulate questions based on these topics and elicit responses from an elder either
through letter writing or an interview.
Outline for reader response and interview based on “What are old people for?”
1. Briefly describe the interview setting and your informant while observing rules of
confidentiality. How old is your informant? Why did you choose this person? (.5 page)
2. 3 quotes and questions (1 page each): Each 1-sentence quote must be from a different one
of the 8 main chapters of the book. Summarize the author’s intended meaning. Formulate
a one-sentence question to allow your informant to reflect about the topic. Summarize
these reflections. Did Dr. Thomas’ theories ring true for this informant?
3. Summary (1.5 page): What developmental tasks is this person grappling with? What does
“home” mean for this person? How well does our current approach of mitigated aging
work out for this person?
I would like the papers to be 5 pages long, double spaced with 12 point font.The paper will not require any additional research. It only requires careful reading of What are old people for?” and thoughtful response to the questions asked.
Last Completed Projects
| topic title | academic level | Writer | delivered |
|---|