What are some characteristics your students associate with elderly people?
Americans spend billions of dollars annually in an effort to thwart the appearance of aging. Hair coloring and cosmetic surgery, once rare, are now commonplace. We have reached the point that our prejudice against aging distorts our reality, undermines our own humanity, and ignores the value of the contributions older people make to our society.
High school is not too early to ask that essential question: Is it okay to go gray?
During class time, ask students working individually to write down some comments describing people who are old. What are some characteristics your students associate with elderly people?
Next, use class time for students to read a selection on aging, such as "Mattie's Poem" (from www.seniorsnetwork.co.uk/poetry). Ask students if there was anything surprising in the poem. Did anything catch their interest? Have students explain its main message.
Based on classroom discussions, ask students, in small groups, to do the following:
• Find articles, literature, movies/shows, advertisements, songs or other examples of how elders are portrayed and perceived.
• Explore their own experiences and conceptions on the aging process through art.
• Meet and engage with a variety of elders associated with their local Area Agency on Aging (Listings available through www.AoA.gov, www.nasua.org or www.n4a.org).
• Reflect on their findings and experiences, especially how they reconsider aging.
Students should accompany their work with a brief written caption/statement about what they’ve learned and how it connects to "Mattie's Poem."
Prior to this lesson, contact your local Area Agency on Aging (or your county office of aging, local senior adult activity center, Meals on Wheels organization or nursing homes). Invite the director of the agency to come speak with your class. If time permits, ask about bringing the class to the agency to view operations and to meet the community members who participate. An alternative would be to ask a gerontologist (perhaps through the public relations office of a regional teaching hospital) to speak with the class. Prepare the class for a visit from the director of the senior center or Area Agency on Aging. Read their website, and study why these organizations were created, what mission they serve and how they're funded. Get your students to generate questions to ask when they interview the speaker after his/her presentation.
If your schedule permits, you can develop a service-learning project addressing a problem they discover during the conversation with the agency director. This might involve:
• Socializing on a weekly basis with seniors.
• Establishing pen pal relationships to strengthen students' awareness of older people as individuals rather than stereotypes.
• Getting seniors and students to work together on a mutually identified public improvement.
Ann L. Rappoport
Director, Kids Around Town
Philadelphia, Pa.
To learn more about civic engagement with your students, go to Kids Around Town at www.palwv.org/kat/.
