VICTORIA—‘Back to school’ means something completely different for students who participate in the Meadows School Project, an intergenerational immersion initiative.
For seven years at Kidston Elementary in Vernon, British Columbia, kids aged 9 to 14 moved into a makeshift classroom at a chapel in nearby Coldstream Meadows Retirement Community.
There, in addition to their regular classes, for eight weeks during the school year the students interacted with the seniors, joining in games, going for walks, painting nails, running errands, massaging hands—all the while learning and forging relationships.
The kids also had required hours of community service in the residence, which involves chores such as setting the dining room tables and replenishing bird feeders, and one-on-one sessions provide an opportunity for both generations to “buddy up.”
“Kids and seniors have so much in common—it just blew me away,” says Sharon MacKenzie, the Kidston teacher who started the project in 2000.
While Kidston discontinued the project last year, the new Meadows School Project will start at Godson Elementary at Mennoplace in Abbotsford in September.
For seven years at Kidston Elementary in Vernon, British Columbia, kids aged 9 to 14 moved into a makeshift classroom at a chapel in nearby Coldstream Meadows Retirement Community.
There, in addition to their regular classes, for eight weeks during the school year the students interacted with the seniors, joining in games, going for walks, painting nails, running errands, massaging hands—all the while learning and forging relationships.
The kids also had required hours of community service in the residence, which involves chores such as setting the dining room tables and replenishing bird feeders, and one-on-one sessions provide an opportunity for both generations to “buddy up.”
“Kids and seniors have so much in common—it just blew me away,” says Sharon MacKenzie, the Kidston teacher who started the project in 2000.
While Kidston discontinued the project last year, the new Meadows School Project will start at Godson Elementary at Mennoplace in Abbotsford in September.
Unhappy with the impact of occasional visits to care homes with her students—“it just seemed to me that everybody was on their best behavior or else really nervous”—MacKenzie hit on the idea for the project after her neighbours bought Coldstream Meadows.
With her neighbours in agreement, MacKenzie set about getting the school administrator, the parents, and the kids onside. Six months later, everything was in place.
“I went there thinking that I wanted to build respect for the seniors of the children, and the children of the seniors, and break down the stereotypes—that was sort of my first goal,” she says.
“But what happened was, we hadn’t even made it through our full time there when I began to realize that I had just started a ball rolling that was unbelievable.”
Everybody blossomed as socialization and learning opportunities abounded, says McKenzie. The seniors’ attitudes and emotional health improved, and the students learned tolerance and empathy. The students also developed a sense of responsibility through caring for the seniors.
“What I saw was magic, and I’m not the only one who is affected that way. The parents, the staff—there’s hardly a person involved in that project in one way or another who doesn’t become very emotional over the whole thing.”
The Meadows School Project has garnered acclaim across the country. It has been chronicled in the documentary “Whose Grandma Are You,” been featured by the CBC, and showcased in the B.C. government’s report on active aging.
MacKenzie’s approach to learning encompasses a number of other aspects, many of which include getting out of the classroom and into the community.
“I do a lot of community-based work with my kids in school. I believe in that.”
This year, MacKenzie formed the i2i Intergenerational Society and started the Meadows School Intergenerational Literacy Project. She just finished writing a book on intergenerational learning.
Also this year, she developed a toolkit to help educators start their own programs, and has been travelling the country promoting intergenerational learning, talking to government officials, teachers of all stripes, community groups, healthcare workers, and religious institutions.
“But what happened was, we hadn’t even made it through our full time there when I began to realize that I had just started a ball rolling that was unbelievable.”
Everybody blossomed as socialization and learning opportunities abounded, says McKenzie. The seniors’ attitudes and emotional health improved, and the students learned tolerance and empathy. The students also developed a sense of responsibility through caring for the seniors.
“What I saw was magic, and I’m not the only one who is affected that way. The parents, the staff—there’s hardly a person involved in that project in one way or another who doesn’t become very emotional over the whole thing.”
The Meadows School Project has garnered acclaim across the country. It has been chronicled in the documentary “Whose Grandma Are You,” been featured by the CBC, and showcased in the B.C. government’s report on active aging.
MacKenzie’s approach to learning encompasses a number of other aspects, many of which include getting out of the classroom and into the community.
“I do a lot of community-based work with my kids in school. I believe in that.”
This year, MacKenzie formed the i2i Intergenerational Society and started the Meadows School Intergenerational Literacy Project. She just finished writing a book on intergenerational learning.
Also this year, she developed a toolkit to help educators start their own programs, and has been travelling the country promoting intergenerational learning, talking to government officials, teachers of all stripes, community groups, healthcare workers, and religious institutions.
“I’ve just been a Fuller Brush salesman of intergenerational awareness,” she jokes.
MacKenzie’s work has been nominated for the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prizes, an award for outstanding achievement in the fields of the arts, the humanities or the social sciences.
She was the 2009 winner of the B.C. Premier’s Award for Teaching Excellence. This has helped boost things along, she says.
“One of the groups that’s been the hardest to convince has been the educators themselves, and when I received the Premier’s Award—that was a real stamp of approval, from both the Ministry of Education and the Provincial Government, towards this kind of learning—that it is valid. I was very thankful for that.”
MacKenzie says come September, she’s going to need help with the “several project starts” being initiated across the country.
“I have a kind of plan of attack, it has seven aspects to it, and I’m looking to find more help. So I’m really going to be looking at the retired teachers and retired care workers and anyone who is interested and able-bodied who could assist us in getting the word out there and supporting this initiative.”
MacKenzie’s work has been nominated for the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prizes, an award for outstanding achievement in the fields of the arts, the humanities or the social sciences.
She was the 2009 winner of the B.C. Premier’s Award for Teaching Excellence. This has helped boost things along, she says.
“One of the groups that’s been the hardest to convince has been the educators themselves, and when I received the Premier’s Award—that was a real stamp of approval, from both the Ministry of Education and the Provincial Government, towards this kind of learning—that it is valid. I was very thankful for that.”
MacKenzie says come September, she’s going to need help with the “several project starts” being initiated across the country.
“I have a kind of plan of attack, it has seven aspects to it, and I’m looking to find more help. So I’m really going to be looking at the retired teachers and retired care workers and anyone who is interested and able-bodied who could assist us in getting the word out there and supporting this initiative.”
