Molly Schmeltzer, 21, holds her charm bracelet gently in the air, explaining its significance to Joan O’Brien, 89, who sits just inches away. Joan reaches out to the bracelet, perhaps attracted by the memories of similar moments in her own life, now so many years in the past.
It is the kind of connection that rarely occurs in a classroom, and it’s exactly what Dr. Marisa Rauscher was hoping for when she launched the Legacy Lessons project. A professor of educational psychology at Neumann, Rauscher arranged for students in her Social Studies and Social Justice Methods class to visit “senior scholars” at Wesley Enhanced Living in Media three times during the fall semester.
“This project is a collaboration between each of you, our future educators, and a group of volunteer senior scholars,” Rauscher told her students in September. “With the help of our experienced partners, we will embark on a more connected, story-based/artifact approach to examining history, civics, economics, geography, and culture.”
The first step was research. Students examined Social Studies curricula at local school districts. They reviewed Pennsylvania State Standards and information from the National Council of Social Studies before their first visit to Wesley, an introductory gathering to establish a mutual comfort level.
During the second excursion, the students’ bond with their senior partners began to blossom. The Education majors prepared 4-6 interview questions to spark conversation about the older generation’s experiences. The students, most of them 20 or 21, also brought an artifact with them – an item that represents a significant element of their history, culture or character.
They shared stories about a music carousel, ticket stubs to a concert, a volleyball medal, a grandmother’s ring, a photo album, and the charm bracelet.
Legacy Lessons sparked intergenerational connections.
The experience and subsequent conversations provided the students with some valuable insights. “The thing that surprised me the most is how much we all have in common,” recalls Erica Paterson, a junior.
Kaylie Matthews vividly remembers a life lesson that one of the seniors shared: “Always remember there’s a reason someone is acting the way they are. We never know what someone else is going through.”
Shaynik Fletcher, also a junior, learned to “always stay true to who you are.”
At the third visit, the senior scholars shared their artifacts with the students and enjoyed the opportunity to tell vivid stories from their past. They told tales about a baseball, a wedding dress, a photo of Polish immigrant parents, and a hall pass carved in wood shop.
Don Ziegler, 84, brought a baseball that he caught during a spring training game in Florida, the last memory of a vacation with his wife before she was diagnosed with cancer. “Our cultural context is so different,” he noted, “but we have some things in common. Most of these kids knew Jimmy Buffet. I was surprised at that.”
Getting to know people who were strangers just a few weeks ago is good for the students, according to Donna Gevav, 85. “They’re getting out of their comfort zone and learning different ideas.”
Barbara Florio, 87, was pleased with the opportunity to share her story. When she was a youngster, her family moved from the city to the country and lived in a farmhouse where there was no running water, no heat, and no electricity. Her mother was on her own, caring for three children from Monday through Friday.
One of the students asked how living in such primitive conditions affected her life. “I told them that the experience taught me how to deal with any kind of distress or unhappiness,” she said.
Francis Rauscher, 83, (Marisa’s father) dubbed the intergenerational experiment a success. “I think that the students get a better understanding of us, of old people ... and we learned not to be judgmental of young people.”
The Legacy Lessons group.
The long-term goal, of course, is that the students will remember the impact of person-to-person learning and apply that insight in their own classrooms.
Dr. Rauscher is confident that her students will benefit from Legacy Lessons. She believes that “real, true, powerful learning starts with connection and relationship.” She has witnessed her students’ willingness to learn in new and different ways – by being more active and engaged with the community.
“I can never predict how game-changing and powerful these experiences will be,” she admits. “We are different on the flip side. So why not reach for these experiences every time we can?”