Hearts to Children: Bridging Generations
Our society is facing a communication and relationship crisis among our older generations.
Not only are they physically marginalized as they are increasingly relegated to retirement communities and care facilities, but they are socially marginalized as they are unable to keep up with the rapid development of new communication technology that has been substituted for face-to-face interaction.
We are not only isolating a huge portion of society – a portion of society we are all destined to join – but we are ignoring the most experienced part of our society!
There is something deeply wrong with a society that shuns one of its most important resources. These older couples and individuals often have stores of experience, untapped skills, and free time to help and lift others.
We have to unleash their potential for good and heal the generation gap if we want to stabilize our rapidly crumbling society.
Here at J&A Center for Social Change, we are confident that even in their latest years, individuals and families have much left to contribute to the world.
However, they need our and your help to do it. To learn more visit the Hearts to Children website www.heartstochildren.com
What is Hearts to Children?
Hearts to Children is a year long course that is currently in development whose purpose is to help the generational gap.
It accomplishes this goal by facilitating direct interaction between young adults and older adults through the course. The role of teacher or facilitator will be fulfilled by a young adult while the role of student or participant will be filled by the older adults.
Now the choice of roles might appear counter-intuitive. You might protest that young adults do not have the knowledge or experience to teach, but remember: This is a social change initiative. The purpose of Hearts to Children is not to change just the subscribers, its purpose is to change everyone in it. The old, the young, the teacher, and the student. And we fully expect that the roles of teacher and student will be very fluid.
We will justify our choice of the roles assigned in the next section.
Discussion Topics
- Managing Finances
- Family History
- Recording Life History
- Teaching life lessons
- Preparing for death
The Subscribers
As the role implies, subscribers pay for a subscription. Typically, although not always true, the older generation has more money and time to devote to a course for their own self-improvement.
Furthermore, the older generation is on the shorter end of the stick when it comes to the generation gap. They are aware of the widening gulf between them and the rest of society. As a result, they have more personal motivation to try to bridge that gap because they want to feel more connected to society.
Further, they understand that technology could play an important role in helping them reconnect with society. No one is better with technology than the young, so why not let the young teach them how to use technology?
The Facilitators
Young adults (18 – 25) are just beginning their lives. They are busy with friends of their own ages and determining the next steps in their life. They have a wealth of opportunities available to them to be connected with society and on the face of it, they have not personal motivation to bridge the generation gap.
We cannot expect young adults to buy into a social change organization like Hearts to Children…but they can be hired into it.
They need money for college or their first house or a new car. While we do not expect all young adults to be interested in this position, there will be those who do.
Basic Organization
Facilitators will be divided into groups of four as through all of the John and Abigail initiatives. In these groups, the facilitators will be trained and learn valuable people skills that will be needed to fulfill their role. More importantly, these same skills will be necessary as they move forward in their lives and help contribute to society beyond H2C.
Participants will also be organized into group of four with a single facilitator. The group will meet once a week and discussions will be centered on essential topics to the participants.
Bridging the Gap
Once we have our subscribers and facilitators organized, then the real work begins.
The facilitator will begin to connect with the participants as they practice the people skills gained in training, skills the oldest generation views like eating and breathing. Through the weekly discussion, factilitators will gain new appreciation for the participants as they hear life stories, forge friendships, and begin to view the participants as individuals instead of “old people”.
The participants will also learn and practice new skills. They will learn how to reconnect, rebuild, and even heal relationships as they learn to reconnect with family and friends by technology as well as through tried and true methods of communication. They will learn how to re-engage in society, for example, by learning how to share valuable life expereineces through social media. Ultimately, participants will regain meaning to their lives that will allow them to prepare for their final journey.
How you can help build the bridge
Hearts to Children is currently under development, and we are need of assistance from others who believe that the generation gap needs to be bridged for the good of our whole society.
Read the Latest on Hearts to Children:
Hearts to Children Articles in Progress: What do you want to know?
We are in the process of writing blog articles about Hearts to Children. Here is a list of titles we're working on: History: What happens when the parents don’t teach the children? What do older people do with their time? What do older people have to offer the world?...