Without a mandatory retirement age, Rose "Mama G" Gilbert is still getting a kick out of teaching at the age of eighty-eight. She is a full time literature teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Although she is the oldest teacher in the district, there are two eighty-seven year olds also teaching full time.
Ms. Gilbert gives it her all in her AP English literature class. "I want them all to just live literature, love poetry and love life -- not just get caught up in grades," Gilbert says. She introduces her students to poetry with love poems by E.E. Cummings. "It's very sexy," Gilbert says.
"Mama G's energy is infectious," said Masha Elakovic, a 17-year-old senior who's had Gilbert the past two years. "She comes in, she is really pumped up," Elakovic said.
Ms. Gilbert is not teaching for the money. Her husband left her millions when he died. She just loves what she does. All of this suggests that we should do what we want to do as long as we are able to do it. The funny thing is that I can't decide if Ms. Gilbert makes me feel young or old.