Outsource The Elderly

1. Where would you like to retire to? Do people in your country have a preferred destination for their autumn years? How is retirement regarded in the UK, do you think?

2. What challenges does retirement present for the following: the individual, families, the state?

3. What are the attractions of taking your retirement in another country? Do you know anyone who has? What is/was their experience?

4. Which countries would be particularly attractive to UK retirees, do you imagine?

Read first 14 paragraphs of article here: Outsource The Elderly

5. What are the trends that are driving UK pensioners to retire abroad?

6. There is a retirement village in the Philippines that comes complete with red telephone boxes, a pub, and British flags; do you think this appeals to UK pensioners? What cultural artefacts would you need for a retirement village abroad for citizens of your country?

7. Have you seen the film 'The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel' that the article references? There is almost a genre of films/TV shows of old people behaving 'badly' in the UK - does this genre exist in your country?

Watch the trailer to the film here: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

8. What cultural or practical difficulties, or different expectations are shown at 29 secs, 53 secs, 1.10 secs, 1.28 secs, 2.00 mins in the video? 

9. Choose between one of the following:

a) I would happily stay there as a tourist for a few weeks, but not much longer.

b) I would happily retire there.

Why? If you chose to not retire there, what would need to change in order to make it acceptable to you?

10. Is this phenomenon of retiring abroad a sad indictment of modern, uncaring Britain, or is it an inventive application of globalisation to demographic challenges?

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Situation

Your teacher wishes to move into the retirement-home sector for senior citizens. He has appointed you as his chief adviser; give him your best advice on types of home, location, affordability for pensioners, climate, and the cultural expectations of potential clients.

..........

Discuss quotes

"The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm."

- Aldous Huxley

“We have a retirement crisis in America today not from a lack of money, but from a lack of vision”

― Dave Ramsey

"The great advantage of a hotel is that it is a refuge from home life."

--- George Bernard Shaw

“Food is perhaps the most accessible way to experience another culture. It does not require you to have a friend or colleague from another culture and you don’t even need to travel outside your hometown.”

― Rohit Bhargava

“The heart beats the same way, no matter the geography.”

― Abhijit Naskar

Student Handout PDF: Outsource The Elderly

Farming

1. Rank these activities. Put the best things about

being a farmer at the top:

• Animals

• Growing things

• Driving a tractor

• Having no boss

• Healthy lifestyle

• Beautiful views

• Being on the land

• Animals

• Money

2. How important is farming in your country? Who does it? Is it principally the older generation which farms? At what age do they retire? Does your government do anything to encourage young people to become farmers?

3. Have you had any experience of farming yourself? Would you like to? Does the idea of growing your own food appeal to you? Do you have 'green fingers'? Have you ever been tempted to quit the 'rat race' and become self-sufficient?

4. At what age would you like to retire? Does the state pension provide enough money for a comfortable retirement? What do you think of the UK government's plan (see article) to give retiring farmers this large amount of money? Does it make sense? Do you think that there is a younger generation that can't wait to become farmers?

Read article here: Farming Reading

5. The UK government believes that older farmers are 'stuck in their ways' and that they are resistant to change: is that true in your country? Are young farmers in your country more open to greener farming methods?

6. Should there be an incentive for young people to become farmers as well? If all the old farmers retire, how can the government be sure that there will be another generation to replace them?

7. Could the principle of paying older people to retire early be applied to other industries? Which ones? Is there, on the other hand, an argument for paying older people to not retire early? Are there any sectors where experience is more important than youth?

8. Most farmers become farmers because their families have always farmed. Isn't this family-based system better than having the government intervene in the market?

9. Do you know any old people that are more environmentally friendly than their younger counterparts?

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Situation

It is May, 2019. You are a senior government advisor. One year ago, the government asked you to make UK farming greener. After a lot of research, you have decided on the scheme of paying older farmers to retire early. You are now meeting the Prime Minister (your teacher) to announce your plans. Answer any questions he has.

..........

Discuss quotes

“A farmer is a magician who produces money from the mud.”

― Amit Kalantri

“There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the supermarket, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.”

― Aldo Leopold

"To resist change, to try to cling to life, is therefore like holding your breath: if you persist, you kill yourself."

--- Alan Watts

"Every generation needs a new revolution."

--- Thomas Jefferson

“The young, no doubt, make mistakes; but the old, when they try to think for them, make even greater mistakes.”

― Bertrand Russell

Student Handout PDF: Farming

Photo: Nicolas Veithen