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Introducing the story of a three-year pilot intergenerational school program...
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I learned elders can teach
you most anything. It was wonderful. Having
elders in our classroom was like a big brain trust had joined us. It was a great experience
getting to know the young people of today. One thing these programs
did for me proved I could try something new and succeed at it. |
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Photograph and comments are from the booklet, "Learning
and Growing Together" The booklet describes how
the intergenerational program came about, its creation and development
and the successful outcomes. The 43-page booklet, richly illustrated
with pictures of 1998 classes, is available for $8.50 (includes
shipping and handling) from the |
Learning and Growing Together grew out of thoughts Dr. Susan J. Eklund, Associate Director of IU's Center on Aging and Aged, shared in a Center staff meeting - concerns about the "scarcity of contacts across generations" and the "eroding sense of community between young and old." Her wish was to address these concerns in a school setting.
Thus in 1995, Learning and Growing Together was born, an intergenerational curriculum-based program initiated by Center on Aging and Aged staff members, Cathy Siffin, M.A., M.S. and Stephanie Bales, with volunteer teachers at St. Charles School. St. Charles is a private elementary and middle school in Bloomington, Indiana whose principal, Mrs. Virginia Suttner, invited and supported innovation in the school.
For three years, Cathy and Stephanie piloted the intergenerational program and found that its name was quite correct. Learning and Growing Together is exactly what happened when young students and elders shared intergenerational learning.
Elders and students shared knowledge, skills and values. They recognized both similarities and differences in their ages. They became friends. Students, who can look forward to long life, encountered positive ideas about aging with real, live elders and narrowed the generation gap between their two generations. Elders experienced what children and their school are like today; they demonstrated that learning does not end with school, but goes on throughout life. Elders formed bonds with the students and with the school. Teachers engaged in creating new experiences for their students, were flexible, welcoming and enthusiastic about their intergenerational classes.
