Intergenerational Communication
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Thoughts and Ideas About Intergenerational Communication
Telling Our Life Stories: A Basket Full of Memories
"I must learn more about my family and friends."How often have you said to yourself, "I must take time to learn more about my grandparents," or "I have been meaning to talk to my parents about their lives when they were young. . . . One of these days I will. . . Fulfill those good intentions by interviewing someone of another generation--a parent, grandparent, great grandparent, son, daughter, grandchild, niece, uncle. Talking to each other and enjoying family stories brings harmony and richness to the educational experience. The interview can be as simple as asking a few questions or as comprehensive as an oral history interview.
We Must Rediscover Our Stories
By Richard Louv, From Childhood's Future: Listening to the American FamilyOur stories, our personal stories, our family stories, are our real gold. If we're lucky, as we age, we put our stories in the bank, where they gather interest, in deepening meaning. As I grew up, I loved listening to my grandparents' stories,: a friend, Liz, told me recently. "I was drawn to their calm and intrigued by the scope of their lives." Today Liz's family members rarely tell stories. "One evening I was baby-sitting a friend's 9-year-old daughter. This little girl loves to hear stories about her mother's life. So she asked me to tell her a story about my childhood, and I was struck with panic. I know I have stories. But here was a child asking me for something so simple as a story and I couldn't think of one. I learned two things that night. One was that I has lost touch with the stories I grew up with; and two, I'm not making many new stories."
Interview Hints
Everyone Has Memories
Whether you are interviewing a young person or an older person,
remember that everyone has memories, regardless of age. Sharing the stories
is a bountiful educational experience--one that invigorates classes, enhances
speaking and listening skills, and gives individuals a sense of connection.
Questions to Get Started
By Larry Wallingford, Chicago Department on
Aging
Start the interview with something interesting: compare your
"favorites" such as, colors, food, sports, movies, things you own, subjects
in school or a childhood memory. Another activity for getting started
is "Now and Then." Think about differences when you were both young--for
example: popular songs, movie stars, family activities, boy's hairstyles,
skirt length, weekend activities, household chores, hardest subject in
school, worst problem, favorite grown-up.
More Questions
Storytelling magazine suggests some triggers that get the memories flowing Ancestry--What do you remember about your grandparents? Housing--What are your first memories of your house? did you share a bedroom? Food--Did you help with the cooking? Clothing--What clothing did you wear as a child? What was your favorite thing to wear? Recreation--What did you do for fun in the summer? What did you do for fun in the winter? Religion--What kind of services did you attend? How did music play a part? Transportation--What was your grandparent's mode of transportation? What was your parent's mode of transportation?
Preparing for an Interview
List your questions. Ten questions will take about 30 minutes. You never know how a person will respond. Some people are talkative and informative; others will answer each question in just a few words. Help the interviewee to feel at ease and to talk freely. Create a positive communication climate, keep the questions simple, non-threatening, and encouraging. Combine questions so that the easy-to-answer questions come first and questions that require careful thinking come later.
Conducting the Interview
- Be courteous during the interview. You should start by thanking the person for taking time to talk to you.
- Develop good rapport with the interviewee, and be patient.
- Encourage the person to speak freely.
- Respect what the person says regardless of what you might think of the answers.
- Listen carefully.
- Paraphrase at key places in the interview (Paraphrase means stating in your own words what the person has communicated.)
- Keep the interview moving.
- Use positive non-verbal reactions--facial expression and gestures: --maintain good eye contact, --nod to show understanding, --smile occasionally to maintain the friendliness of the interview.
- Be prepared to show the person a draft of the interview report if you write something about it. From Communicate! by R.F. Verderber
Mutual Interviews
From Here's How, National Association of Elementary School Principals, August 1994
A mutual interview provides an opportunity for both generations to answer and ask questions. The dialogue created lends itself to mutual sharing. Ground rules should be discussed and questions selected before beginning the interview:
- Listen carefully. Give one another a chance to talk.
- Avoid judging or pressuring for information if either party seems uncomfortable about a subject.
- Be alert to, and supportive of, each other's feelings.
- Be aware of barriers to communication such as excessive noise or difficulties with hearing.
- If you use topics like those below, they should be discussed by both individuals.
Thoughts about childhood: Ask each other about childhood neighborhoods, brothers and sisters, best friends, games, treats, chores, songs, and school days.
Thoughts about history: Think about important changes in your past--major events remembered--technological advances--when you showed courage.
Thoughts about today: Best times and worst times--what is difficult--what is fun--interests or hobbies--spending leisure time--changes you would like to see in your neighborhood--problems of the world today--your needs.
Thoughts about the future: Exciting experiences--contributions that would make the world a better place--the major problems of aging/being a student--how students and older folks can help one another.
Resources for Intergenerational Interviews
Barbara Elleman, Editor of Booklinks, connects books to intergenerational interviews. Often preceding an interview, a story helps begin discussion or creates understanding by watching intergenerational dialogue as pages are turned. She observes, however, that most of the children's books view older people in limited fashion. "Rarely in books do children enjoy activities with more than one grandparent - in fact, rarely do they have more than one grandparent. Furthermore, though children today most likely have grandparents in the 55-65 age range who undoubtedly enjoy careers, travel, and active and productive lives, the vast variety of grandparents depicted in the books are grey haired, homebound, stooped, retired and frail. There seems to be a nary a business person, factory worker, layer, nurse, doctor, or teacher in the bunch. And, although headlines tell of today's many teen mothers, the grandparents of their children, who would probably be only 35 - 40, are not found on the page.
Despite these missing pieces, the articles provide a rich array of stories. The mythic grandparent is very much alive and well in children's books and perhaps that is the way it should be. The loving, the sharing, the memories, the passing on of stories, the appreciation of the last years of life are good for children to experience in their lives, - and to find in the pages of their books. "From the march 1995 issue of Booklinks This issue gives wonderful book suggestion and is a must for anyone working with intergenerational audiences. Try your public library or order the issue from the American Library Association, Book Links, 434 W. Downer, Aurora, IL 60503, 708-892-7465
Children's Books for Reminiscing - From Booklinks
Ackerman, Karen, Song and Dance Man
This ebullient 1989 Caldecott Medal Winner features a vivacious grandfather
reminiscing about his old vaudeville days.
Coats, Laura J., Mr. Jordan in the Park
Using Mr. Jordan's lifelong visits to the same park as the framework,
this book traces his life from infancy through old age, which can open
a discussion of a person's life cycle.
Combs, Ann How Old is Old?
Written in rhyming couplets, this book explores the relativity of the
age. Four-year-old Alister and his grandfather share the same birthday.
When Alister wonders if his Grandfather is old, grandfather explains using
examples from natural world, explains that Alister is old for a bee, while
he is young for a star.
dePaula, T., Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs
Tommy describes his delightful visits to the house where both his grandmother
and great-grand-mother live, and ultimately discovers how precious memories
are.
Dionetti, Michelle, Coal Mine Peaches,
A grand-daughter recounts the many tales her grandfather has told her,
haring the history and traditions of her Italian family.
Fox, M., Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge
Wilfred lives next door to an old people's home, where his favorite person
Miss Nancy Alison Delacourt Cooper, has four names, just like him. When
Wilfred hears the Miss Nancy has lost her memory, he questions all the
old people to find out what memory is - and then helps Miss Nancy to find
hers in a most surprising way.
Stevenson, James, That's Exactly the Way it Wasn't
Grandpa and his brother Wainey recount their childhood adventures, but
each remembers them very different.
Oral History Links:
Interviewing Older Adults
A tried and true instrument used for interviewing older adults which
includes an outline for giving an oral and/or written report. Students
get so enthused with these interviews that they beg for extra minutes
when reporting to class.
Interviewing Students
A tried and true instrument used for conducting oral history interviews with elementary, secondary and college students.Mini Interview
A shortened form for a beginning interview.
Communication with Other Generations
The following exercises are designed to increase the sensitivity to other generations and to link older adults and young people through clear and effective communication. The exercises target four themes: preparation, understanding other generations, creative thinking and speaking, and metacommunication.
Exercises to fine tune your communication with another generation.
Examples of Interviews:
Basket Full of Memories
An anthology of interviews promotes intergenerational communication and understanding.
Career Stories
An anthology of career experiences told by older adults and career expectations written by youngsters.Celebrate America!
Citizenship was the topic of Intergenerational Interviews conducted by
young and old.
The Process of Getting Acquainted
Effective communication may be the single most important determinant of a successful intergenerational program. We define intergenerational programs as social interactions based on communication between two different generations. Communication researchers acknowledge the complexity of interpersonal and intergenerational communication and yet, an intergenerational exchange may be the most simple, natural interaction. This article describes three aspects of communication; the initial contact, the evolution of the getting acquainted process, and building intergenerational communication competence for future exchanges.
