8th Grade Service Overview

Instructors: Patty Armstrong, Beth Schaffner, and Karen Bowman

Class Page

The 8th grade Service Learning program, "Bridging Generations", is designed to develop appreciation and respect for the elderly, along with a sense of empathy and concern for human beings, regardless of their position in life. The service learning activities are student driven, providing an opportunity for the development and practice of planning, organization, and collaboration skills. While creating a friendship and learning about history through the life stories of a resident at the Brian Center in Mooresville, they become more aware about the community in which they live and about who they are, exploring further the guiding question, "How did we get here?" Activites throughout the year include empathy training to prepare them for their experiences, oral history and black and white photography portraits, hand-made gifts for the residents such as wheelchair bags and quilted lap blankets, a holiday talent show that encourages the residents to join in, and a senior prom.

As we grow in our understanding of the roles cast upon the aging in our society, we explore the complex world in which the “old” must learn to live. We closely evaluate the misconceptions and labels that are often tagged to the elderly. In doing so, we begin to look at our own prejudices. Through reflections, class discussions, a look at other cultures, and visits to the Brian Center, we consider a wide range of questions:

• How did we get here (in terms of, how did society become fragmented in its care of the elderly)?
• Why is our society xenophobic?
• How is being old like living in another country?
• What makes a “good” old person in today’s society and how does that differ from what makes a “good” young person?
• What does our current view on the elderly tell us about our society?
• What can you, the young, do to bring the two ages together?

This class uses Another Country: Navigating the Emotional Terrain of Our Elders as its literary resource. Guest speakers from Lake Norman Hospice and the community speak to the students on ageism issues.

ASC Grant Requirements to fullfill during the 2008 school year:

Students photograph residents in ways that best portray the written piece that accompanies the photos. Students write first person vignettes that include interviews, their own personal observations of old age and living as an old person in the style of author Mary Pipher. Vignettes are collected and assembled in a book at the end of this year’s service. The photographs, along with student-generated words that best describe the positive and negative aspects of living as an elderly person, are emulsified onto white t-shirts. These t-shirts travel in an ongoing exhibition throughout community centers around the area with the students as presenters.

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