It is inevitable for all. As educators, we must be concerned with the stereotyping of the older generation. Through reading, the basis of all curriculum, we can confront this problem, for literature is an important means through which the attitudes and values of a society are transmitted to its members. Yet, an analysis of past and present literature shows that the aged have been stereotyped and portrayed negatively. This term is currently being used to refer to discrimination against older persons.
Senility is considered to be synonymous with old age.
The aged are pictured as sitting in rocking chairs or engaged in passive roles, such as storytelling, fishing, or housekeeping. To confront the issue of ageism in literature and to determine its extent, we visited public, college, and school libraries, as well as bookstores. Approximately eight hundred books from the kindergarten through adult levels were investigated. The following conclusions were reached. Insignificance of Older Adults Currently in America, men and women, aged sixty-five or older, represent over eleven percent of the population.