Story and photos by Lisa Carolin
In 2017, Beach Middle School teacher Amy Doma and Chelsea Senior Center Assistant Director Jennifer Smith started a collaboration between sixth-graders and senior volunteers. It ran for three years, took a hiatus during the pandemic, and on Dec. 7, returned to the senior center.
Small groups of sixth-graders met with seniors for up to 45 minutes to ask the seniors about their lives. It’s called the Generations Project, and it combines Global Studies and ELA (English Language Acquisition) classes.
“Our guiding question for this project is, ‘What can we learn from older generations to help us make responsible decisions now and in the future?’” explained Doma. “In the next four weeks, we will be practicing: active listening / presentation skills; interview skills / introducing yourself confidently; life themes / ‘character development’ of our seniors; map making and more. Our biggest goal is to practice really listening and learning from our older generations.”
Senior Sheila Cumberworth brought photos of herself from when she was the same age as the students.
“I’m a writer and have written memoirs,” Cumberworth said. “It’s a generous thing to be able to share with others.”
Senior Daphne Hodder also brought photos of herself and was happy to have the chance to share her history.
“I think it will be fun,” she said.
Sixth-grader Willow Walther has enjoyed learning the communications skills that are part of the Generations Project, and maintained good eye contact and a smile during her interview.
“It’s interesting to learn these skills and can make people feel better when you talk with them,” said Willow.
“It’s challenging to come up with all the questions,” said sixth-grader Gavin Heinze, who used several follow up questions during the interview. “It’s important that you have something to say.”
Smith is a big supporter of getting the two age groups together.
“I love the energy and the sharing of wisdom, experience, and learning that goes both ways,” said Smith. “Pairing the two groups is an amazing resource.”
The students will now have a formal project to do based on the interviews and will invite the seniors to Beach Middle School in January or February to show them their school and to share some of their presentations.
