You can even go back to school at 90 and Signor Guido, who attends the Grandparents On-line programme at the Liceo Scientifico Marconi in Milan is proof of it.
Guido is the eldest student at the Liceo Scientifico Marconi in Milan. He is 91 years old! His teacher, Tommaso, is 17. They meet every Wednesday for the “Grandparents On-line. Everyone’s Young at the Post Office” course. And every week, the former teachers, employees and managers take a step further into the digital universe. The team of tutors is a group of year 3 high school students.
“I have learned a lot in 90 years,” says Guido, an enthusiast of modern and contemporary art, but evidently knowledge is never enough if he is back in school.
He worked at the Italian National Electric Company, ENEL, as a technician and retired 35 years ago. “I was born in the country near the Po River, where there was no light,” he explains. “I have seen all sorts of innovation.”
He is enchanted in front of Google, e-mails and Skype video calls. “The Internet is something I never imagined might exist.”
Even seventeen-year-old Tommaso agrees. “Even since I was born, I have seen many technological changes.”
How not to agree? Keeping up with technology is a challenge for everyone, a challenge that is easier if confronted together.
It was the first day of the course when Cecilia Stajano (FMD School Innovation Manager) met with Guido and Tommaso. Towards the end of the interview, Guido revealed that his cell phone has become an indispensable tool for him. It allows his wife to reach him wherever he is. Who knows if Tommaso will manage to teach Guido about the many other uses of a smartphone, such as sending registered mail or paying bills without having to queue at the post office (see the Ufficio Postale App). We’ll discover that soon enough.
