Project Generation Connections

Posted October 22nd, 2007 by Jen in education, family life, parenting

Do you sense a disconnect between generations? This report is one of many which shows a detachment of today’s young people to their heritage and history. Many factors could be at work, including the breakdown of families, loss of respect for (including neglect and abuse of) elders, an ultra-mobile society in which children, parents, and grandparents rarely live in the same town anymore, and even technology heightens the disconnect.

Grandma In my family, I try to repair this disconnect by giving my kids ample opportunities to understand the lives of their elders. Since my (nearly 79 year old) mother has lived with us for eight years now, my children are accustomed to having a senior in their everyday life.

If that’s not the case for you, try to make it a priority to include grandparents or other seniors in your daily life. I’m sure there is a neighbor, a friend’s grandmother, or your own parent or grandparent in close enough proximity to make this a reality.

My current project is a series of interviews with my mom to try to capture a bit of life in her generation. I came across a great article entitled Family History is American History which makes a positive case for this kind of documenting:

Family history is a way to preserve American history. Tapping the memories of seniors will give the young alternative ways to think about the events, issues and challenges presented in public schools.

Here is one of our recent interviews, where my six year old daughter, J, helped me conduct the interview:

J: Did you like being in the Army?

Grandma: Yes. It was just lots of fun. It was interesting. I like marching and singing songs while we marched. I liked the outdoor exercises we went through. Crawling through the woods on our stomachs to practice for a gas attack - we wore real gas masks.

J: How come you don’t like water?

Grandma: Because I’m afraid of getting drowned. Once, I was wading in the water along Lake Huron, and all of a sudden I stepped off a shelf and I sank and I couldn’t get up. I didn’t know how to swim, but someone came and pulled me out.

J: Did you play music in the army?

Grandma: Yes, I had my accordian with me. Sometimes the girls and I would sit out in front of the barracks - there was a porch across the front of the barracks - and another girl would play her guitar, Emily Lackanaria was her name.

J: Did you like playing the accordian?

Grandma: Yes, I loved playing the accordian! I just loved music.

J: How old were you in the Army?

Grandma: I think I was 27 and I enlisted for 2 years.

J: Why did you leave the Army?

Grandma: I just decided I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in the Army. I don’t know.

Grandma: What I remember about when the Second World War was going on…my Dad was in charge of two blocks for ….Air Raid Warden, that’s what he was. He had to go around and be sure everyone had their blackout curtains up - no lights showing.

J: How come?

Grandma: So any enemy airplanes flying over wouldn’t see the houses. Because we lived across the river (the St. Clair River) from a huge oil refinery which may have been a target for German planes. And my Dad worked for Mueller Brass - I guess anything that produced things for the war effort would be an enemy target.

Well, you get the idea. I like including my children in the interview process, because they will be more involved, absorb more of her life as she speaks to what they want to know about, and she will be communicating directly to them. When I teach my kids about World War II, they will already have this framework to layer the information upon - a very real, tangible fabric that brings to life dry facts of history.

Here’s a fun generation-connecting lesson to be learned from the American Crow:

It maintains a territory year-round in which all members of its extended family live and forage together.

In most, but not all, populations the young stay with their parents and help them raise young in subsequent years. Families may include up to 15 individuals and contain young from five different years.

Some roosts have been forming in the same general area for well over 100 years.

Generational connections can bring health to our extended family life, increase our knowledge of family history, and surely promote knowledge of our national history. Are your children terrified of “old people”? My kids certainly have that tendency, because our society is prone to segregating our senior citizens. I have to be purposeful about fostering these generational connections, even with Grandma living with us. Tell me if you have any ideas for a Project Generation Connections!

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~ At Home With Kris ~ » Blog Archive » The 95th Carnival of Homeschooling - The ABC Edition October 22nd, 2007 at 7:11 pm
[…] Jennifer shares how she tries to repair generational disconnect by giving her kids opportunities to understand the lives of their elders in Project Generation Connections. She says, “Since my (nearly 79 year old) mother has lived with us for nearly eight years now, my children are accustomed to having a senior in their everyday life.” […]
mandi October 23rd, 2007 at 1:33 pm
I love this! How wonderful to have all of this written down! My grandparents are coming for a visit on Friday and you have inspired me to have the kids help me interview them. I wish I had some sort of recording device so as to get their story in their words and their voices. I gave my Grandpa a DVD from Vision Forum a couple years ago called ‘A League of Grateful Sons’ all about WWII - it ended up being a gift back to us and he and Grandma started sharing so many things about that time and their life that we did not know! Incredible stuff!

Great post!

Warmly,
Mandi
Renae October 23rd, 2007 at 7:39 pm
My children’s grandparents do not live nearby, but we are blessed with wonderful elderly neighbors. One lady, who receives love as payment, sews clothes for my kids. My children drop everything they are doing to run to the door if she is coming, and my son always helps her into her car.

So, I guess my idea is to be friendly. :) If your children see you reaching out and showing respect to all people, they will, too.
Dana October 23rd, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Great post! And I agree whole-heartedly. There is a neat book out there, “Grandmother Remembers.” It is one of those selfish presents. You send it to your grandmother, she fills it out (it is a sort of memory book) and then you get it back full of tidbits about her life.

I need to send one off to my grandmothers while they are still living!
Jen October 24th, 2007 at 8:29 am
Mandi, it’s funny how once you open the door for the grandparents or other elders to begin talking about the war or other old memories, it just stirs the pot and suddenly they remember things they haven’t thought of in decades. My Mom came up with some other good stories I had never heard before - little details about her friends in Army life.

Renae, “being friendly” is definitely the best project! Those elderly neighbors are blessed to have you there - and vice versa.

Dana, I gave my Mom one of those books several years ago - it’s a fabulous idea! My Mom’s memory is failing so much these days, though, that she has a hard time with specific questions, but if she can just ramble on for a while, eventually she remembers.
e-Mom October 27th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
You are to be commended for providing a home for your Mom. She must be a fit and healthy 79.

This is an excellent post, Jennifer! I love the idea of interviewing the older generation, and writing it all down. It’s so important to give our kids a sense of the past, and to have history anchored in real life. Makes me think an autobiography is an excellent thing to write too.

I may link to this in a future post at Chrysalis. Well done.
Karen October 29th, 2007 at 11:15 am
I have done scrapbooking for several years, since Thomas was born. I try to include things that I wish I knew about my own infancy or that of my parents, etc.

I have also done an email interview with my dad and a “photo interview” with my dying grandmother.

It begins to occur to me that I could be a subject, too.

By the way, I really love your daughter’s interview. I think that’s a wonderful idea as they probably will ask questions that you would never think of!
Mrs. Mecomber October 31st, 2007 at 6:45 am
WOW! What a wonderful thing to do! My mom lives in Arizona (and I in New York) so interviews aren’t possible… but we used to visit an elderly couple and play guitar for them when they were sick.

God bless you for encouraging others to do this! “True religion and devotion to God is this: visiting orphans and widows in their distress, and keeping oneself unspotted from the world.” James

:)
Jen October 31st, 2007 at 7:56 am
e-Mom, yes, my mom is pretty healthy for her age. She can still hike around Smith Rock with us! I like the idea of an autobiography, too. Your blog is a good start!

Karen, I’ve been terrible in the past about scrapbooking, but blogging has worked for me. That’s why I make a point to include family anecdotes and photos here - this is partly for my family’s benefit. I think all of us Mom Bloggers who include a bit of family life have a very nice gift to hand to our children - just be sure to back up your blog, and maybe print it out periodically and store it in a Blog Notebook or something.

Mrs. Mecomber, thanks for the kind words. I am definitely very motivated by the words of James in much of what I do in my life. When I’m sick, I would love someone to come play guitar for me!

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Project Generation Connections

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