by Nancy Merz Nordstrom

Another link between lifelong learning and community service is mentoring. It has been said that one generation’s philosophy becomes the common sense of the next. That being the case, helping younger generations is one of the more valuable roles older lifelong learners can play in our society. 

Older adults who belong to lifelong learning institutes often work with college undergraduate and graduate students. They also reach out into the community to work with elementary and high school students as mentors. 

Older learners many times initiate such programming, working together with community agencies and organizations.  By matching older adults with schoolchildren, these two generations share activities and in the process many stereotypes are broken down.

Older adults benefit from this work in that they develop a greater sense of purpose and more self-esteem. Being so involved in the community also leads to more life satisfaction. At the same time, those being mentored learn more about getting older while increasing their own self-esteem, knowledge, skills, and motivation. And they also gain role models with incredibly valuable experience who can guide them into maturity. 

Intergenerational programs also benefit the entire community. Participants pool resources and engage in creative problem solving to tackle social issues. Along the way, they find that respect for diversity and each other’s generational traditions has been growing. 

Intergenerational community service work is so valuable to our society that The Center for Intergenerational Learning at Temple University seeks candidates to be trained to join its Intergenerational Training Experts Network (ITEN). The goal of the network will be to help build the capacity of nonprofit organizations to infuse intergenerational approaches into their programs and to engage more older adults in meaningful volunteer roles.

Mentoring can take place almost anywhere, in the home (children often listen to their grandparents more than their parents) in the workplace through in-house workshops run by experienced co-workers, and in the schools.  There is a desperate need for school mentors in all grades. In fact, this type of mentoring has become very popular. 

The role of a mentor is not to impose your thoughts and beliefs on the person you are mentoring. Instead, the goal is to get them to reveal their own thoughts and beliefs, using gentle encouragement throughout the process. Successful mentors point out the importance of developing the ability to listen while using appropriate questions to further aid the process. This ensures both the mentor and the mentoree are on the same wave length and that both will benefit from the exchange of ideas.

Mentors gain an infusion of vitality and energy from the youth they are mentoring, while the mentoree gains valuable perspective and knowledge about the larger world they may not have had the chance to explore yet. Successful mentors don’t try to impress, nor do they impose their own belief systems. Instead, they try to bring out the mentoree’s own innate sense of knowledge.

Respect the fact that they are unique individuals with as much right to their own beliefs as you are. Remember to listen to their concerns before attempting to share your wisdom. Recognize that successful mentoring takes time.

Make sure you ask yourself some important question prior to embarking on this adventure.

Why do you want to be a mentor?

What knowledge do you want to pass on?

Prepare an inventory of your skills, knowledge and your life experiences. Determine who would most benefit from your experience. When you have these answers, then you can begin to make a difference in someone’s life. 

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Intergenerational mentoring is truly one of the most valuable methods of community engagement. Mentoring helps combat family dysfunction, drug addition and abuse. It’s a wonderful feeling knowing you’ve helped the next generation. --- Nancy Nordstrom is the author of, “Learning Later, Living Greater. ”She also directs the Elderhostel Institute Network, North America's largest educational network for older adults. She offers counseling to new programs, and provides resources and facilitates communication among 400 lifelong learning programs across the U.S. and Canada.