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Intergenerational Friendship Photo Album
Mary T. Purcell
Ocean City Intermediate School, Ocean City, New Jersey
Subject: Science/Human Growth
Grade: 8
"All students responded with such tremendous depth of feeling
that I realized that if there is a need for educational reform,
it must include more interactive motivational experiences such
as this, and less text and memorization."
Purpose and Description of Project
Mary Purcell and her 12 art students regularly visited a local
nursing home to learn more about the problems and rewards of growing
old. The students used the
camera
to "express their feelings
and communicate their ideas about the topic of gerontology,"
explains Purcell. They also kept journals about their experiences
with their photographic partners at the home. Both students and
residents learned about photography and compiled their photos
and thoughts in "photographic friendship albums."
Purcell's goal was to have the youngsters acquire "respect
for an individual's life experience and gain insight into the
positive aspects of the aging process and an awareness of the
negative factors." At the same time, she felt that taking
pictures would help make the students more visually literate and
more aware of how photographs can capture and communicate emotion.
Activities
The class began by reading and discussing a short story about
the events that motivate a teenager to visit an elderly nursing
home resident. The teacher then instructed them in the operation
and handling of simple cameras and introduced them to
the idea of keeping a journal of their thoughts and feelings during
the project. The youngsters began the journal by writing about
their responses to the story and to the idea of the project. They
were also visited by the activities director of the nursing home,
who explained the nature and purpose of the home and its daily
routines, and by the school psychologist, who discussed "ageism."
Students devised and filled out "introductory awareness"
cards to help prepare the senior citizens for their first visit.
Students' first visit to the home was spent getting to know their
resident-partners and working with them to create original designs
for their photo albums. The covers were then laminated and pages
of tag paper inserted by the students for their own and their
partners' albums.
As the students and residents visited together on subsequent occasions,
both took photos and mounted them in their books. The students
wrote captions for their photos either during the visits or back
in class.
Materials, Resources, and Expenses
"The most valuable and delightful human resources" for
the project, stresses Purcell, were the senior citizens who volunteered
to share this photographic experience with the students. Also
assisting were the home's activities director, the school's psychologist
(also a human development instructor at the community college),
who spoke on ageism, and the school social worker and counselor,
who helped Purcell develop an attitudinal survey for the students.
Outcomes and Adaptability
Purcell says that the students became more knowledgeable about
gerontology, including both the physical and mental aspects of
the aging process; clarified their own concerns about aging; and
were able to verbalize their experiences and reflect on them by
use of their journals. They also learned about photography and
how to make their pictures expressive, and sharpened their observational
skills. Their attitudes toward elderly people also changed significantly,
according to the pre- and post-surveys filled out by students.
In short, says the teacher, "the children grew emotionally
during this project."
Purcell also feels that this project would be relevant for all
grade levels and that "this interpersonal/intergenerational
exchange contributes to the overall personal growth and development
of students that is interwoven into all curricula."