By Jackson Kopitz
Contributing Writer
Students in Linda Gesualdi’s Advanced Placement Calculus AB class and members of the Young-at-Heart Club got to switch their typical roles in the classroom setting by becoming teachers for a day.
On March 24, students earned extra credit by assisting elderly Manhattan Beach residents with technology at the Joslyn Center. The students taught basic skills on smart phones, tablets and laptops.
“It was great to see my classmates engage with older citizens and help them with basic technology skills,” senior calculus student Katherine An said. “I found it really meaningful to work with the seniors, as they were grateful for us kids to be spending time with them and for teaching skills that they never knew.”
Students worked one to two hours tutoring the residents with any form of technology. Nearly 40 calculus students participated in the tutoring sessions.
“It was a good change in environment from the normal classroom setting,” An said. “I enjoyed being the teacher and having the opportunity to teach my skills to people who want them.”
Gesualdi set up the Young-at-Heart Club at Costa four years ago to connect senior citizens from the Older Adults Program of Manhattan Beach with high school students. When the club was not enrolling enough students for the number of seniors citizens, Gesualdi opened up the opportunity to AP Calculus students.
“We got to connect the younger generation with the older generation,” Gesualdi said. “Each generation has something to offer to the other, but often times the generations split apart and the connections are hard to make.”
The senior citizens and high school students found that the strongest connection between the two groups was technology, as the desire to learn could be fullfilled by the students work knowledge.
“It is really interesting for me to just stand back in the room when they’re teaching and just watch them,” Gesualdi said. “I watch them, and I have to have all of this faith in them. I look at them, and they solve all the problems. It gives them a chance to shine on a different level in my eyes.”
Gesualdi plans to continue the program and expand in the future. Her goal is to meet seven to eight times a year, at Costa and the Joslyn Center, to allow the senior citizens to familiarize themselves with both Apple and PC computers.
“I think when the older people connect with the younger people, it gives them a purpose,” Gesualdi said. “It rejuvenates them. It keeps them youthful.”
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