Friendship and Quality Time: Teresa and Destiny
While classroom instruction is the foundation for these classes, one-on-one time is where the learning really happens.
That’s where Cyber Seniors teen mentors come in.
Teen mentors guide their assigned students as they practice and offer encouragement.
“Meanwhile, the teens and seniors are chatting. The seniors talk about their lives, the lessons they’ve learned, the failures they’ve endured,“ Oliver said. ”For a young person, there’s a wealth of knowledge and experience they can draw on. You actively see different generations learning together.”
Teresa and her teen mentor, Destiny A., had a great time together.
Mentoring wasn’t new to Destiny. As a student at Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School, she serves as a teaching assistant and mentor to her fellow students. After she spoke with Marian Christmon about Cyber Seniors, Destiny knew it was the perfect fit for her.
“I’ve always been interested in technology, and I really want to share the knowledge and skills I have,” Destiny said. “Teaching seniors is a very rewarding experience, because it taught me how to accommodate different abilities.
“With high school students, you can just tell them something and they’ll go do it. With seniors, you may be dealing with arthritis, so you give them a stylus. You may be dealing with hearing loss, so you have to repeat things several times. It’s something, as a teacher, you have to accommodate.”
Over the course of one month, Teresa and Destiny — and the other seniors and mentors — practiced everything that had been taught in class. Sometimes the going was smooth; sometimes it wasn’t. But they stuck through it, together.
“I loved working with Destiny! She made everything so much fun, and she’s very observant and attentive. When the light was too bright from the sun’s glare, she pulled the blinds so we could see, without anyone telling her. She always made me feel comfortable while I learned,” Teresa said.