Do the elderly learn? I'm just not sure that they do once they hit that age from what i've seen. Amusing if it is the case.

They do learn, but, because they move slower, for farming and building in particular they improve at a slower rate than before. That's why it is best to make research the third skill if possible. Villagers can become masters in farming and building while they are still young, and become master scientists last, sometimes after they've become elderly. They don't have to move much at the research table, so their age doesn't affect them so much.

I find it difficult to get people to be master builders because buildings get built and that's that. I know u can fix them and stuff but that's a lot of manual playing of the game, tedious manual playing to get someone from zero to master.. Any easy tips?

The only tip I can give is don't play the game. Builders will fix/repair the huts when the game is not running, and it seems they will do it more often this way as compared to when the game is running.

How do I get more totems? I've seen the score list, and some have 53. I have my 50, and am still getting qualified people. Any suggestions would be apprecaited.

You can't. 50 is the maximum. Some people may be lucky and get more, but it's not something you can arrange.

the people who have more than 50 have gotten specific events which can go over the limit