Friends for Life

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For the past 14 years, Sherry Power, a teacher at Hillside Elementary School in Brookfield, Wis., has integrated an intergenerational program she calls "Forever Friends" into her 2nd grade curriculum. Early in the school year, she introduces the children in her class to residents of St. John's Tower, a retirement center in Milwaukee, about 20 miles away. For the rest of the year, including summer break, a lively exchange takes place between the children and the older adults they have chosen as their friends.

The elders visit the school throughout the year, participating firsthand in the students' studies and activities. They share oral histories, favorite memories and stories, and introduce the children to their talents and hobbies, such as photography, playing musical instruments, and collecting coins and model trains.

To encourage her students to think about age issues, Power leads a discussion on the question "What is old?" To prompt further dialogue, she uses an attitude survey she devised about perceptions of older people. The survey includes simple questions such as "Are old people strong?"; "Are they sick a lot?"; "Do they like to have fun?" Then she introduces children's books such as Miss Tizzy, Song and Dance Man and other non-ageist literature (see Resources).

Power incorporates the intergenerational theme into many aspects of her classroom curriculum. For instance, she uses math to dispel myths about older adults. Working in small groups, the children are given buttons and asked to guess the number of people in the U.S. over age 65 who live in nursing homes. Most groups estimate 80 or 90 out of 100 people. A more accurate count is 5.

Several other joint activities during the year strengthen relationships between the older and younger friends:

• Together, they attend plays and visit the children's hospital and art and science museums. One field trip the children especially enjoy is touring a restored one-room schoolhouse and hearing the elders describe what it was like to attend one.

• Students become teachers when they invite their senior pals to the classroom to see paintings they created based on the work of Monet, da Vinci, Michelangelo and Georgia O'Keeffe, all of whose careers continued into their 80s and 90s. After the children describe the artists and their artwork, they invite the seniors to render their own interpretations of the paintings.

   

• At the end of the year, the children put on a musical review for their parents and older friends that incorporates original poetry, songs and a play. At the end of the program, the seniors join the children on stage and perform four tunes, including "Forever Friends," which Power wrote especially for the group.

   

• Power says that fostering relationships between her students and older people has added a special richness to her teaching experience. "The seniors have warmth and wisdom and experience. Children have the energy and enthusiasm and freshness. They bring together everything that's important in life."