Bridging the Generations 2025

Students sometimes ask why do we need to learn about civics? Civics is how we connect to our community, region, state or nation to improve or change them. This requires all types of people to work together. As Bill McKibben said " Young people are building the world they’re going to have to live in. We want to shape the world that we’re going to leave behind. Those two things mesh up beautifully."

However, we are losing our intergenerational connections. Older generations want to share their knowledge and experience and young people want their input, but there are few opportunities to do this. "We're living in the most age-diverse society in human history and, simultaneously, one of the most age-segregated." This event is intended to break down some of the intergenerational walls and talk about the importance of connecting with our community.

I have recruited five older members of our community to represent their generation and engage in a panel discussion on their civic life in front of the eighth-grade. Students will prepare for the opportunity by brainstorming questions in class and completing the homework assignment linked below. They will then have the opportunity to ask questions. Then, to truly bridge the generation gap, Volunteers will ask questions to the eighth graders.

A select group of students had breakfast with the Senior Volunteers. Conversation was facilitated. The Bingo cards include a mix of generation-specific and timeless fun facts and conversation starters around which the students and volunteers connected. This was used during the breakfast where students and Volunteers would have liked more time. Click on the picture of the Bingo card below for a quick example of what the cards look like or use this link that explains more about the Bingo.

This is the worksheet that prompted them to reflect. Student responses can be found here or by using the button before the photos labeled "Student Thoughts on the Event After Reflecting.

Build a community of educator-leaders across the United States, bound together by a desire to teach students the importance of fact-based learning, civil discourse and engagement, and respect for viewpoint diversity. Fellows participate in deep-dive conversations with leading policymakers and scholars, attend advanced workshops on classroom application with leading practitioners, and hone their fellowship projects with mentors.

Sphere is a non-partisan organization that is the result of a collaboration between the Cato Institute and the Brookings Institution.