Mariposa students learn compassion by visting local senior citizens

GENERATION BRIDGE—Sadie, a 7-year-old student at Mariposa Elementary School, visits with Helen, a 100-year-old resident at Sunrise Senior Living in Westlake Village during the school's monthly Bingo Bridge visit. The program is designed to teach students compassion and social skills, including active listening. Kids can learn a lot from their elders. Bridging the generation gap at the Mariposa Elementary School of Global Education is as easy as eating lunch and playing bingo.

Students at the alternative school, which moved to the campus of Sumac Elementary School in Agoura Hills this year, are developing friendships with a group of elderly people living at the Sunrise Senior Living home in Westlake Village.

Each month, men and women living at the center take a short bus trip to visit the children at Mariposa. They eat lunch together, sing songs, play bingo and learn about each other's lives through lively conversation, said school coordinator Jeff Lough.

The buddy program fits with the school's philosophy of teaching children about compassion and helping them grow beyond academics into socially conscious, emotionally secure teens and adults.

"One way we try to meet those needs is to give them experiences where they can share compassion with people in the community," Lough said.

The program was dubbed "Bingo Bridge" by Kelly Radinsky, the school's community outreach director.

"We wanted to integrate (the Sunrise residents) into the school community and bring the generations together," Radinsky said.

The program teaches children many skills in a natural setting, but the overriding goal is to bring people together, Radinsky said. Children learn to be "active listeners" and gain an appreciation of "how powerful it is to really be heard," she said. The kids also hear firsthand accounts of history.

Helen is 100 years old. At first she didn't speak much, but during the last visit she opened up and talked about her life as a teacher and how much joy she felt being with the children each month, Radinsky said.

Sadie, 7, said she enjoys talking to her new friends. "It's just cool what they say about what they did when they were young. The littlest children and oldest senior . . . they hold hands and hug and stuff," she said.

Another Sunrise resident, Roger, shares stories about his experiences in World War II and as a landowner— he still owns 4,000 acres of farmland in the Midwest. Roger told the children that his father invented the incubator. Although this fact could not be verified, fourth-grader Trent loves to talk to Roger talk about his family history.

In a letter to Roger, Trent wrote that he was happy to have met someone so "famous."

"I felt I had the best senior citizen in the whole multipurpose room," Trent said.

Jane taught math at Agoura High School before she retired. Connie, a retired Spanish teacher, belted out a "lilting love song" in her native language during the recent visit.

"It was just so beautiful," Radinsky said.

Radinsky said the program's goal is for the children to build long-term relationships with the group of Sunrise residents. The experience lends itself to one of life's most important lessons— compassion, she said.

"I would love to see this program become a model for schools throughout the state," Radinsky said. "The joy I see between the younger and older generations—it has really exceeded my wildest dreams."