Gutmann- Gee

Gutmann- Gee

Gutmann- Gee was born in a humble, middle-class family with limited resources to finance her education. At her young age, her parents were unable to take her to school due to the limited resources at home. At the age of 16, Gutmann-Gee qualified for Oxford University. However, the stock market crash of 1929 made her drop out of school. The crash in the stock exchange market led to depression and the high cost of living in England. Most banks were collapsing, making it difficult for her to acquire loans to finance her education.

Moreover, the stock market crash led to increased unemployment, which did not allow her to get an alternative source for her education. She did not have the luxury of education and to get out and work at whatever she could. These led to her early marriage locking her out of school at her youthful age.

However, these challenges did not stop her from schooling. After her retirement in 1979, she enrolled in the Open University’s degree program. She challenged the myths of declining mental capacities with age and faced ridicule concerning her ability to succeed and the accusations of wasting her time in study. She was determined, and her independent learning program motivated her to complete her Master’s program in Women’s studies. Besides, Guttmann-Gee was confident in her abilities to pursue her education. The power of determination, confidence, and motivation upheld her throughout the traumatic experience and enabled her to complete her education at an older age. Gutmann-Gee’s story is consistent with what we know from research on older adult learning because most adults are focused, have experience of what life holds, and they don’t easily give up.