In Canandaigua, retired teachers, young students make connections through learning
CANANDAIGUA — Michelle Tourje was concerned that her son Dominic was falling behind in school, which she attributes as a side effect of the remote learning caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
But then she heard about the Generations Connection program, which this summer paired up volunteer retired teachers with first- and second-graders for help with school. Tourje signed right up.
Dominic, who will be a second-grader in September, and mentor Gail Gilbert, a retired teacher who taught elementary students in Ohio, California and locally at Red Jacket, have been meeting regularly at Wood Library where he is getting reading help and making a new friend.
“The one-on-one support has been huge for him," Tourje said.
This free program is run by a board of directors that includes Sharon Gullo, a pediatric and psychiatric nurse practitioner with a practice in Canandaigua, former Canandaigua Mayor and educator Ellen Polimeni, Jeanne Guastaferro, and Bessie Tyrrell.
Starting in June – with hopes of continuing through the school year – this voluntary organization of retired teachers has been helping 24 youngsters this summer with reading, reading comprehension, math and writing.
Starting with younger kids was done by design, as Gullo said she was concerned about the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic – including the use of face masks and remote Zoom learning – has had on their emotional and academic development.
“Our goal is to take a lot of the responsibility and a lot of the tension off the teachers and unburden their load, so to speak,” said Gullo, while also giving parents and students the opportunity for more say in what and how they’re learning.
More mentors are needed, but the ones who are volunteering are proving, as Polimeni put it, “once a teacher, always a teacher.”
“I just think it shows that teachers will always be teachers,” Polimeni said. “They are always willing to be helpful and educate people.”
Gilbert said she had similar feelings about the pandemic and its impact on younger kids.
“So, I said if there’s anything I can do to help I’d like to,” said Gilbert, who also is learning herself — her career was mostly spent educating older elementary school-aged children.
Gullo said she is encouraged by the feedback of mentors and parents, and the hope is to expand the program to other grade levels.
Another positive aspect of the program is the opportunity it gives these older teachers to give back, Gullo said.
“This is our generation’s ability and willingness to step up and help the next generation,” Gullo said, while at the same time giving some of the kids who don’t have older people in their lives to experience another view of life.
“The older generation has a lot of wisdom to share and they’re willing to share it and they’re willing to get involved with a young person,” Gullo said. "One of the things that we know about living is that most of our learning is done through relationships. When you have a positive relationship, your learning ability is augmented.”
As for Dominic, Gilbert said his reading is coming along and he’s enjoying reading more. And he’s learning to interact with other people, his mother said.
“He really enjoys spending time with Gail, besides just reading,” Tourje said. “It helps make connections with different people relating to older folks. Everyone who works with him has a different style and I think it helps him."
This article originally appeared on MPNnow: Generations Connection: Retired teachers mentor young students
