‘My bloke is really cool’: school project inspires

A special assignment for Year 8s at a Gympie high school paired young teens with elderly nursing home residents, and the results have been both rewarding and inspirational

A special assignment for Year 8s at James Nash State High has had some heartwarming results.

When Year 8 students from James Nash were asked to write a story for their first English assignment of the year, many said they needed some local inspiration.

James Nash SHS Head of Junior Secondary Ann Porter said students overwhelmingly wanted to visit the region’s ageing community to hear their stories and build a narrative from real life experiences.

“We gave students the option to visit a primary school or an aged care facility in the Gympie region and be paired up with a ‘buddy’ to practice interviewing and listening,” Mrs Porter said.

“The overwhelming response from the students was to be buddied up with an older person in our community who had some exciting stories to tell,” Mrs Porter said.

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Working around COVID-19 visiting restrictions, students got to know their partners over four visits in Term 1 and were selectively paired with a resident with the help of Cooinda staff.

Students were then taught the ‘Ahn Do’ method of interviewing; keeping the conversation light and informal.

“At first, the class were really worried they wouldn’t know the right things to say,” she said.

“Some of the residents were also a bit hesitant about working with teenagers.

“By the end, it was difficult to stop the conversations.

A special assignment for Year 8 students at James Nash has had a heartwarming result for all involved.

“One boy left saying ‘My bloke is really cool’.

“It was about more than stories; these young people now have the skills to engage in independent conversation with older people”.

Upon their final visit, residents were presented with a book of the students’ work.

“It was a really rewarding experience for everyone involved and we’re really grateful to Cooinda Aged Care for having us on-board”.

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Originally published as ‘My bloke is really cool’: school project inspires