Traveling through time and space.

Chapter 245 The Reflection of Taoist Culture in the Curriculum of Senior Citizens’ University

Mu Yang took a break from his busy career in brain science research at a biotech company. While the progress in brain science research and its applications was inspiring, he remained focused on the diverse developments in the cultural field. With senior education booming, he viewed the integration of Taoist culture into the curriculum at senior universities as a profoundly meaningful act of cultural heritage and educational innovation. Filled with a sense of mission and satisfaction at the inclusion of Taoist culture in the curriculum, Mu Yang enthusiastically approached the university, determined to open a door to the wisdom of Taoist culture for the elderly students.

Mu Yang walked into the Academic Affairs Office of the Senior University, where various teaching materials and curriculum planning documents were piled high. The staff were gathered together, enthusiastically discussing the curriculum plan, their eyes revealing a sense of mission and responsibility for this work.

"Hello everyone! I am here today to discuss with you the specific planning of Taoist culture in the curriculum of our senior citizens' university. Taoist culture has a long history and contains rich health wisdom and profound cultural heritage. It is very suitable for our elderly students to learn." Mu Yang's voice was full of energy, injecting new enthusiasm into the discussion.

Director Zhang from the Academic Affairs Office greeted me with a smile. "Mr. Mu, you've arrived just in time. We've also been considering how to integrate Taoist culture into the curriculum so that students can benefit from it. We initially plan to offer courses on Taoist health preservation and Taoist cultural appreciation. However, setting up Taoist cultural courses requires a considerable investment of resources at the Senior Citizens' University. Hiring professional teachers or Taoist cultural researchers will cost an estimated [X] yuan per person per semester; compiling specialized teaching materials will cost approximately [X] yuan; and organizing relevant extracurricular activities, such as exhibitions and performances, will cost [X] yuan per event. These investments are somewhat inconsistent with the participation and learning outcomes of senior students. If student participation is low, these resources may be wasted. Furthermore, there is competition among different courses over the allocation of resources at the Senior Citizens' University, such as the allocation of classroom space and teaching equipment, as the leaders of other courses also hope to receive more resources."

Mu Yang pondered for a moment and then said, "Director Zhang, the issue you raised is crucial. In terms of course promotion, we can first conduct a small-scale publicity campaign, inviting some students to try out the course, so that they can experience the charm of the Taoist culture course firsthand, and then make adjustments and optimizations based on their feedback. Regarding resource allocation, we will establish a fair and reasonable evaluation mechanism to allocate resources based on factors such as the popularity of the course and teaching results. At the same time, we will communicate with other course leaders to let them understand the unique value of the Taoist culture course and strive for everyone's understanding and support."

To ensure the quality of the course, Mu Yang communicates with teachers and Taoist culture researchers. In a quiet office, Professor Li, a senior Taoist culture researcher, is concentrating on organizing teaching materials. He is full of professionalism and enthusiasm for teaching.

"Professor Li, thank you very much for coming to teach our elderly students. Taoist culture is profound and extensive. During the teaching process, how do you think we can help elderly students better understand and accept it?" Mu Yang asked humbly.

Professor Li pushed his glasses up and said seriously, "Mr. Mu, the learning abilities and interests of older students are different from those of younger people. We need to adopt teaching methods that are easy to understand, lively, and interesting. For example, when explaining Taoist health-preserving exercises, we should demonstrate more and slow down the movements so that students can follow. In the Taoist culture appreciation course, we should use modern life cases to guide students in discussing the enlightenment of Taoist thought to modern life. However, modern elderly education culture focuses on practicality and scientificity, which differs from the ideological concepts embodied in traditional Taoist education culture in terms of teaching content and methods. Some abstract concepts and philosophical ideas in Taoist culture may require more time to explain and guide students to understand."

Mu Yang nodded in agreement. "Professor Li, you're absolutely right. In your teaching, you can incorporate more practical examples to closely connect Taoist culture with the daily lives of elderly students. At the same time, we will also organize teacher training to help everyone better understand the characteristics and needs of elderly education and bridge the gap between the two cultures."

Professor Li was teaching in a Taoist culture class. He vividly explained the knowledge of Taoist health preservation, and the elderly students in the audience listened with great interest, their eyes revealing their curiosity and love for learning about Taoist culture.

"Look everyone, this is Taoist Tai Chi. It emphasizes using softness to overcome hardness and combining movement and stillness. It is very suitable for us elderly people to exercise." Professor Li said as he demonstrated the movements.

An elderly student raised his hand and asked, "Professor Li, can practicing Tai Chi really be so beneficial to the body?"

Professor Li patiently explained, "Of course. Tai Chi not only improves flexibility and coordination, but also regulates breathing and relaxes the body and mind. It has a very good health-promoting effect on our cardiopulmonary function and nervous system."

At this time, another student said worriedly: "I have a low level of education, and I can't understand some of the content in the Taoist classics. Will it affect my learning effect?"

Professor Li smiled and said, "Don't worry. We will explain the classics in simple and easy-to-understand language in our courses, and we will also incorporate stories and cases to help you gain a better understanding. Furthermore, when studying Taoist culture, it is important to experience its wisdom and spirit, not necessarily to fully understand every word."

As the course progressed, potential conflicts between the Daoist culture curriculum and other courses in terms of teaching focus and student attention gradually emerged. At a student forum, a student taking the painting course said, "The school has recently been heavily promoting the Daoist culture curriculum, with resources shifting towards it. This has impacted our painting activities. We also hope to have more opportunities to showcase our work."

Mu Yang quickly explained, "We value everyone's opinions. Every course has its value, and we don't favor one over another. Next, we will rationally allocate resources to provide sufficient platforms for each course to be showcased. At the same time, we can also try to combine different courses, such as holding an exhibition that integrates Taoist culture and painting art, so that everyone's talents can be displayed."

At the Senior University's activity area, a Taoist-themed calligraphy and painting exhibition is underway. Staff are busy setting up the exhibition hall, with exquisite works covering the walls. Senior students are also actively participating, some helping to arrange the works and others sharing their creative experiences.

"This exhibition is great. I found a lot of painting inspiration by studying Taoist culture," said an elderly student excitedly.

However, some problems arose during the exhibition preparation process. The staff member in charge of the venue layout stated, "The venue layout for this exhibition exceeded the budget by [X] yuan, mainly due to the high cost of purchasing decorative materials with Taoist cultural characteristics. Furthermore, different groups of elderly students had different levels of acceptance of the Taoist cultural courses due to their individual cultural backgrounds. Some students were very interested in Taoist culture and actively participated in the activities; however, some students felt that it was too far removed from their own cultural background and were reluctant to participate."

After some thought, Mu Yang said, "Regarding the cost overrun issue, we will communicate with the finance department to see if adjustments can be made within the budget for other activities. As for the issue of varying acceptance levels among students, we must strengthen publicity and guidance to allow more students to understand the charm of Taoist culture. We can also organize some experiential activities to allow those students who are less familiar with it to experience the atmosphere of Taoist culture firsthand and increase their interest."

After a series of efforts, the Taoist culture course has gradually been put on the right track at the senior university and has been loved by more and more elderly students. Students not only learn Taoist cultural knowledge in the course, but also exercise their bodies and enrich their spiritual life through health-preserving exercises.

"I feel extremely happy to see the elderly students benefit from the courses. I am full of hope that Taoist culture will continue to play a role in senior education. In the future, we must continue to improve the Taoist cultural curriculum system and enrich the teaching content and activity forms. We plan to add Taoist music, Taoist architecture appreciation and other courses in the coming year, hold more cultural activities, and make Taoist culture a beautiful landscape of the senior university." Mu Yang said proudly at a senior university work summary meeting.

In the days to come, Muyang will continue to promote the development of Taoist culture in senior citizen universities, allowing religious culture and senior citizen education culture to be deeply integrated, adding more color and wisdom to the elderly students' later lives.