14-06-2025
Why talking to a 90-year-old should be part of every school's curriculum
Wednesday is a special day at Whiddon Easton Park Nursing Home. It's the day that children's giggles cut through the air, sticky fingers proudly show off artworks and stories are shared. It's the day the schoolkids come.
Twice a week, for the past seven years, pupils from Glenwood Public School have walked over to the nearby nursing home to visit their 'grand buddies': elderly residents who have become stand-in grandparents for children at the school, which has a high number of migrant families.
'We are aware that some of our [pupils'] families are refugees and don't have that wider family connection due to the fact their grandparents are living in a different country,' Glenwood Public School principal Jay McInney said.
'There's wonderful stories of students going and visiting their buddies at Christmas and bringing their whole family. It really is something that is authentic.'
He remembered two pupils who learnt their buddy had Parkinson's disease and could no longer play chess.
The children researched the condition, then worked together to 3D-print chess pieces with handles designed for people with the degenerative disease that affects motor skills.
'Our children are connecting their time here at school with the real world, that there is purpose beyond the classroom ... They share other people's experiences, they understand things have changed.'
It's changed the culture of the school, says teacher Charmaine Harper, who helps run the program. The children are more empathetic and look forward to learning from the elderly.
'A classroom is so isolated from outside the gates,' she said. 'This gives them a real experience we often can't give them.'
