Orientation: Characteristics of the Aging Person
Duration: One 45 minute class period

Purpose:
In April, social workers from Judson Retirement Community visit with our eighth graders to discuss ways of connecting with an elderly person who is likely to be somewhat hearing impaired and perhaps physically infirm in some other way. Students learn about many of the characteristics, physical, mental, and emotional of an aging person. They are instructed in the best ways to approach someone who is in a wheelchair and is likely hard of hearing.

Objectives:
The learner will:

• Familiarize himself/herself with expected problems in communicating with an elderly person.
• Practice his/her best manners in initiating a conversation and introducing himself, his/her teacher or a parent to their resident

Service Experience:
Preparation for lesson 2

Materials:
None – the lesson consists of discussion and Q and A with Judson staff and the students.

Instructional Procedure:
Prior to matching a student with a resident, prospective Judson participants and each eighth grade student complete a written profile indicating interests, background, and other information, all of which assist the Ruffing teachers in making appropriate partnerships.  Under the guidance of a social worker and a volunteer coordinator from Judson, students first learn what to expect from their first encounter with their Judson partner. It is made clear that the resident has volunteered for this project and has, in many cases, taken part in prior years. After general guidelines and a question and answer session, the Judson staff will go through the class individually and make known to the students any anticipated problems with a particular resident. These may include something as simple as “Mrs. X can’t hear you if are on her left” or “Mr. Y will not be able to leave his room to meet you in the lobby” to more nuanced advice about a possible shyness or negativity on the resident’s part.

Assessment:
In the days following the Judson staff visit, teachers give each student the data sheet from Judson on his/her resident and review the gerontology information that was presented,. Students practice formal techniques of social interaction that they will employ at Judson.

                                              
Lesson Developed By:
Middle School Staff: Christopher Ackerman, Kathie Freer, Ed Kerekes, and Cary Seidman, Ruffing Montessori School, Cleveland Heights, Ohio   
 

Lesson Two: Meeting and Interviews
Duration: Five Friday Mornings, allowing about 2 hours per day, including time for transportation and logistics at Judson Retirement Community.

Purpose:
Over the course of five consecutive Friday mornings, the eighth grader and his/her Judson partner spend time together at Judson. Students often spend the morning in the apartment of their senior partner, with discussions often centering on photos and other objects of importance to the resident.  As the weeks pass, students frequently bring pictures of their own families at the request of their partners. By the end of the project, all students write a detailed, formal biography of their Judson residents.  Inevitably, the biography component of the Judson visits becomes just one aspect of a close, often long-lasting relationship between a senior citizen and an adolescent. The interview process, designed to flow from the student to the resident, often turns around, as the residents develop an interest in their young person’s academic progress, family life, extracurricular activities and ambitions.

The Intergenerational Project fits seamlessly into the Montessori philosophy, and more specifically into the goals of the middle school. Montessori philosophy rests on the concept of “planes of development”. Adolescence, from approximately 12 to 18 years if age, represents Montessori’s third plane. The elderly residents of Judson, of course, are in the last of the planes, and Montessori pedagogy encourages contact and mutual learning among the planes. As a middle school, we seek to develop English skills in our students so that will leave us after eighth grade as clear, concise, and expressive writers. The Judson biography is one of two final writing projects for the eighth grade year. Students usually meet with at least two of the middle school teachers for help with editing. Typically, the biography will undergo at least three drafts before it is ready for presentation to the Judson partner. 

Objectives:
The learner will become familiar with the life history, personal characteristics, and opinions of their senior partner at Judson.
                                                                                   
Service Experience:
The staff at Judson reports that the Friday morning sessions with adolescents are important for the participating residents. They enjoy and feel renewed by contact with young people. We find confirmation of the significance that residents attach to their new friendships. Eighth graders have invited their residents to the June graduation ceremony at Ruffing, and several have attended over the years. A number of students have maintained contact with their Judson partners well into students’ high school years.

Materials:
Students need to bring their question packets and a notebook.

Instructional Procedure:
Prior to each visit to Judson, students are assigned the task of reviewing the questions they plan on asking their resident and to phrase the questions in a manner that is comfortable for them. Under no circumstances are they to read the questions to their resident. Starting in mid-April, each Friday, teachers transport the students to the lobby of each of the Judson facilities (Judson Park and Judson Manor, located just a few minutes apart and close to our school). There, unless other arrangements have been made, students are greeted by their resident-partner and they are on their own for the next 60 to 90 minutes. Teachers stay on the grounds in case of a problem, but the time between the student and his/her resident is private. The questions contained in the attached handout form the backbone of the biography, but this is by no means a limiting document in terms of content or focus. Students plan for the next Friday session by agreeing with their residents on a meeting place (such as the lobby, resident’s apartment, or  Judson library) for the following week.

Assessment:
After the third visit, students start work on their biographies. These are under continuous scrutiny for three weeks and are subject to numerous revisions. Two teachers, and sometime three or four, will read each biography with the student present to provide suggestions and help in editing for content, grammar, and style.  During the course of the five weeks, the Judson staff monitors the project as well, speaking to the residents about their interactions with the students, and providing the teachers with any suggestions as to how the Friday mornings might work more productively if there is a problem in any of the teams.

Attachment:

Intergenerational Learning Project
Lesson 2 (to be used over five interview sessions)
Questions For Discussion With Resident

PART 1 – Early Life

1. When and where were you born?
2. Did you and your family live anywhere else?
3. What were you parents’ names (include mother’s maiden name)?
4. What do you remember best about your parents?
5. What values did your parents passed along to you?
6. What influence did they have in your life in general?
7. How did your parents instill these values into you?
8. Did you have any brothers and sisters? What were their names?
9. What do remember best about growing up with them?
10. What were the names of your grandparents on both sides of the family?
11. What do you remember about their lives?
12. How much contact did you have with them?
13. How did they influence your life?
14. Where was your first home?
15. Where did you grow up and describe your neighborhood is detail
16. How, when, and why did you and your family (if applicable) come to Cleveland?
17. What were your first impressions of the city?
18. If you moved to Cleveland from someplace else, how was it different from your previous home or country?
19. Outside the influence of your family, what events or people shaped your early life? When and How?

PART II – Family

1. What did your parents do for a living?
2. What were the hardest economic times for your family and how did you get through them?
3. What was your parents’ nationality and how did that shape their lives in the United States?
4. Describe any customs, food, clothes, traditions, attitudes, etc.) that you feel were shaped by your parents’ nationality.
5. Was there anything special or unique about your home?
6. What language(s) did you speak at home?
7. Did you associate with other nationalities or races? Describe your experiences in this regard.
8. Did you encounter any prejudice? Explain how, when, and why.

PART II – Church and School

1. Can you describe your religious upbringing and the influence on religion in your life?
2. Was your family active in the church? Describe.
3. How important was the minister, rabbi, etc. to your family?
4. What holidays were celebrated in your home? How?
5. How did your family deal with the death of relative? Describe a typical funeral.
6. Describe in detail social functions, clubs, neighborhood celebrations, etc. that were organized through the church.
7. Describe your elementary through high school education (where? public, private, or religious?)
8. Did you have any especially memorable teachers? Explain.
9. How much importance did your parents place on your education?
10. Did your view differ from theirs?
11. What were your plans for your life while you were in school?
12. Did those plans materialize?
13. Did you attend programs at a neighborhood settlement, such as Alta House, Phyllis Wheatley Association, etc.?

PART III – Growing Up

1. What were your family’s biggest problems while you wee growing up?
2. What did you perceive as your biggest problems?
3. Describe how you received help with these problems.
4. Describe any jobs you had as a young adolescent.
5. Would you say that work was valued more than school attendance or studies?
6. What are your fondest memories of your childhood and early life?

PART IV – Coming Into Adult Life

1. Where and when did you start living away from your parents?
2. Where did you live? What kind of ethnic community as it?
3. How did you support yourself?
4. Where and when did you get married
5. If married, what did your spouse do for a living
6. How did you and your spouse meet
7. Did your family influence your choice of a spouse
8. Describe your marriage ceremony and any special family customs?
9. If you have married children, how did their marriage ceremony differ from yours?
10. Did you have any children? If so, how old were you when they were born?  Where were they born (city) and under what circumstances (hospital, home?)?
11. When you had children, did you and your spouse live independently or with one set of your parents?
12. How (if at all) did your parents and grandparents help to raise your children?
13. How were births and birthdays celebrated? Has this changed over the years?
14. Describe your neighbrhood and your best memories of it
15. When and how did your neighbors help you and your family?
16. What ethnic traditions (food, language, customs)  and holidays were celebrated in your home?
17. Were these different from what you experienced growing up?
18. What values do you believe you have instilled in your children?
19. In general, how was your family different from your parents?
20. What did you and your spouse like to do on your leisure time?
21. What did you and your children like to do?
22. Describe a typical dinner in your family.
23. What are your best memories of your life and career before retirement?
24. What were your main problems as a parent?
25. What (or who) helped you survive as a family?
26. What were the hardest economic times you and your spouse encountered?
27. Other then you and your spouse, to whom did your children turn for help? Describe.
28. What were your hopes and expectations for your children?
29. What were your children’s most challenging problems?
30. Was their experience in dealing with prejudice and bigotry similar to yours? Explain.
31. What careers have your children had as adults?
32. Did they fulfill your expectations and hopes?
33. What were the main areas of conflict, if any, between your children and you?
34. How did you try to resolve them?

PART V – Retirement

1. When did you and/or your spouse retire? Why?
2. Did you move after retirement? Where?
3. How have your living arrangements changed since retirement?
4. How have you adjusted to the changes?
5. What do you miss most from your old neighborhood and home?
6. Have you kept ethnic traditions alive? How? Why? What has changed?
7. Describe the major changes with aging in the following areas: a) change in attitude or emotional life, b) marital situation, c) physical and/or social isolation, d) loss of old friends/relatives, e) loss of job, f) change in income, g) change in frequency of of contact with children, h) changes in health or physical status, i) activities you used to be able to enjoy biut can’t do now, j) other problems.
8. Have any of the following helped you to deal with changes or problems of aging (if so, please explain): a) ethnic group, b) religious group, c) friends, relatives, spouse, or children, d) support groups for the elderly, e) retirement groups, f) others.
9. Have you made new friends since you retired?
10. Have you become closer to your children and/or to other relatives?
11. How have friends and relatives helped you?
12. Have you continued with your career in any way, or have you continued to work at all?
13. What new activities or interests have you enjoyed since retirement?
14. How and why has retirement allowed you to try new activities?
15. What other positive changes or benefits can you identify in your retirement?
16. Do you see the world differently now that you have retired?

                                               
Lesson Developed By:
Middle School Staff: Christopher Ackerman, Kathie Freer, Ed Kerekes, and Cary  Seidman, Ruffing Montessori School, Cleveland Heights, Ohio

Lesson Three: Culminating Session – The Judson Tea
Duration: One Friday morning session: allow 2 ½ hours, allowing time for preparation, transportation, and clean-up at Judson.

Purpose:
This event is a celebration of the five weeks of discussion and the student’s work in preparing and writing the resident’s biography.

Objectives:
The learner will:
Bring the Intergenerational Learning Project to closure by presenting his/her resident with a completed biography which is based on the five weeks of interviews and discussions.
Arrange with his/her resident opportunities for future contact, such as an invitation to the eighth grade graduation.

Service Experience:
Students have the option of extending their relationship with their elder partner by arranging for future visits. Over the years, a number of our students have aintained their relationships with their Judson partners long after eighth grade graduation.

Materials:
Students bring their finished biographies, any materials they need for a talent show, and refreshments for the morning tea.

Instructional Procedure:
On the sixth and final Friday of the program, eighth grade students and their parents attend a tea at Judson. Students introduce their parents to their residents, converse at beautifully set tables, stage a talent show, and enjoy refreshments provided by the students.  Ruffing teachers work with the students to prepare a written program for the morning.  Most important, each student presents his/her resident with the finished, bound biography which most residents immediately begin to read.

Assessment:
After the teachers have worked on the biographies with the students, the Judson residents have their turn. Although the reaction is almost always positive, many residents participate in the project year after year, and they will compare the biography to those they have collected in prior years. Since residents almost always begin reading the biography immediately upon receipt, students receive immediate, generally favorable, feedback on their work.

School/Home Connection:
Parents accompany their eighth graders to the Judson Tea, creating another connection with the elderly resident. Students sit with their parents and their partners for the morning.

                                               
Lesson Developed By:
Middle School Staff: Christopher Ackerman, Kathie Freer, Ed Kerekes, and Cary Seidman, Ruffing Montessori School, Cleveland Heights, Ohio