For today's older adults, retirement means adventure, travel, volunteering, and second careers, options that parents and grandparents never had even considered. One reason for this change in attitude is the increase in the lifespan (for both men and women) over the past decades. In 1950, for example, the average life expectancy was 70.8 years; by…

Medical Readers' Theater (MRT) is an innovative and simple way of helping medical students to reflect on difficult-to-discuss topics in geriatrics medical education, such as aging stereotypes, disability and loss of independence, sexuality, assisted living, relationships with adult children, and end-of-life issues. The authors describe a required…

At our university about 40% of the full-time faculty members are 55 years of age or older, which led me to consider what a difference they could make in this world if, upon retirement, they used their knowledge, skills, and talents to benefit others. Four dimensions that can serve to differentiate effective from ineffective educators and people…

Describes a volunteer program that uses retired people to work in their neighborhood schools. Volunteers receive training and provide an invaluable resource for students and teachers. (MD)

"Rewards of Giving" is based on interviews with 43 volunteers in Experience Corps, a national service program that recruits, trains and places teams of older adults in underserved urban elementary schools as tutors and mentors. The study offers a rich understanding of what motivates Americans over 55 to volunteer, the challenges and rewards they…

The RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) in E. St. Louis is described. How the program got started, guidelines, funding information, and testimony from the volunteers themselves are included. (CT)

RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Program) is one program of ACTION--The Agency for Volunteer Service. ACTION, created in 1971, is a Federal agency which administers a number of volunteer programs. Its purpose is to provide a recognized role in the community and a meaningful life in retirement for older adults through significant volunteer service.…

The Senior Alumni Program at the University of Western Ontario is a logical variation on alumni special-interest groups. Currently with 500 members and 400 on the waiting list, the only problem is limited staff and meeting space. The group provides the university with a talented, active volunteer force. (MLW)

Cultures differ in their models of the life course, including the number and the content of the stages through which people are expected to pass. Among those societies that recognize a period of retirement, the developmental tasks and opportunities that older individuals face are shaped by cultural ideas about morality, spirituality, passion, and…

One hundred-seventy elementary school children in Western Pennsylvania were involved in a pilot study to examine young children's views on aging and the elderly. Approximately half of these children were involved in the Senior Citizen School Volunteer Program which provided consistent classroom contact with a senior citizen resource person. The…

A unique partnership between retired scientists and elementary teachers in four counties in California provides science content knowledge to teachers and students at schools that are actively trying to enhance science in their classrooms. The program offers scientists a vehicle to continue in a field they love and an opportunity to pass on their…

Three Israeli universities have developed highly successful programs for retirees. Unanticipated results include retired student interest in opening another such program, student organization for extracurricular activities, and the emergence of new forms of retired person volunteerism. (MSE)

The trend toward the use of volunteers to assist teachers in the education of individuals with disabilities is examined, and the significant role of each volunteer group (older and retired adults, mentally retarded adults, and high school and college students) is identified. Strategies for successful volunteer programs are discussed. (MSE)

The first of two articles describes the efforts of retired University of Toronto alumni to provide volunteer assistance to their alma mater. The second article discusses a Social Studies Human Services Program that has led to improved school-community relations in Bangor, Michigan. (JBM)

The purpose of this practicum is to develop a program for the utilization of retired-teacher volunteers, the format of which was designed to provide enrichment experiences to assist gifted and talented elementary school students, particularly in the fields of oral expression and music. The data from questionnaires and evaluators suggest that…