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_©® Warming the hearts of children 3 Â¥ | j f By Terry James ‘both male and female and | has their own transportation $ou 3 k. e O e e â€" Chronicle staff writer _ from all walks of life, work or is within walking distanâ€" ‘‘When they asked me to work in a school I was fasâ€" cinated by the idea of Alexâ€" andra because it was a downtown school and was an old building."" said Mrs Lewis. "I wondered how they were adapting. It was a staff member at the Waterloo Adult Recreaâ€" tion Centre who first apâ€" proached Ruth Lewis with the idea of becoming a voâ€" lunteer in a city school. Being a rather outgoing perâ€" son she decided to give it a try. Today, three years later. she has become the teacher‘s "right hand girl" and has worked her way into the heart of every child in Jan Wilson‘s special educaâ€" tion class. Initially Mrs. Lewis was prised by the idea that chers were actually askiâ€" ng for retired and parent voâ€" lunteers. She said that when her children were young she always had the impression that the further the parents stayed away the better. The school was the teachers‘ ‘"‘"reserve ‘. Ruth Lewis, a senior volunteer at Alexandra Public School, helps the children with remedial reading. A volunteer at the school for the past three years, she glaims she has ‘"never done anything more rewarding."‘ Retired volunteers 124th Year No. 5 Giving of themselves and enjoying it Mrs. Lewis decided to make the move from a grade two class to the speâ€" cial education class where she felt she would be of more benefit. She finds that these students show so much more interest than other children and are much more outgoing. During her first year the volunteer spent three mornâ€" ings a week lending a symâ€" pathetic ear to children with remedial reading problems. This year she has cut her time back to two mornings a week. Helping children through their problems. whether in reading or mathematics. helping with drama ideas. taking the children on exâ€" cursions to McDonalds or a swimming class are all I was just amazed at the colors and the art murals," she said. ‘*The only thing they really lack is a large assembly area." It didn‘t take her long to realize that, old building or not, the staff and students were adapting beautifully. Wednesday, January 31, 1979 Ms. Wilson has worked with retired volunteers beâ€" fore and she believes there‘s nobody better for the job. ‘‘I‘ve had good experienâ€" ces with them. They are moâ€" tivated, get right in and beâ€" come a part of the class. The kids love to have them come. They‘ve (the volunâ€" teers) had a lot of interestâ€" ing experiences. After all they‘ve raised a family of their own."" said Ms. Wilson. ‘‘I am sure there are more people who would enjoy doing this type of work,"‘ said Mrs. Lewis. ‘"It‘s an education in itself and it‘s one of the more rewarding things I do."‘ areas where Mrs. Lewis finds she can be of help. According to Ms. Wilson her time spent is well worth the effort. The children liâ€" terally cheer when she walks in the door and ‘‘"Grandmaas she is affecâ€" tionately called, takes an inâ€" terest in the children and gives a lot of herself. James Ribey. principal of Alexandra. heard about the For some time Northdale has also made use of volunâ€" teers from the community. Three parents and six stuâ€" dents are presently involved in the school‘s activities. As far as Mr. Lewis is conâ€" cerned. they serve two main purposes. Volunteers help to lower the pupil to teacher ratio and a child has the disâ€" Formally the program of recruiting retired volunâ€" teers has only been in exisâ€" tance for three years. Once, occasionally twice a term, inâ€"service meetings are held at both the Rockway Garâ€" dens Senior Citizen‘s Centre in Kitchener and the Adult Recreation Centre in Waâ€" terloo. People who are already taking part are evaâ€" luated and a slide show and discussion are designed to get more people involved. Having retired volunteers in the classroom makes chilâ€" dren realize that senior ciâ€" tizens are productive perâ€" sons who have a lot to conâ€" tribute."" he said. Ms. Hofmeister said that there are no formal volunâ€" teer programs as such in the classrooms. The volunteers, effectiveness of the proâ€" gram from other schools and since then he and his staff have made full use of all volunteers, retired or otherwise. ‘‘Being involved with the senior citizens on such a poâ€" sitive basis makes the stuâ€" dents aware of the value of senior citizens,"‘ said Mr. Ribey. ‘"They (the students) love her and know she can help." Ron Lewis, principal of Northdale School in Waâ€" terloo, echoed this opinion. **With class sizes not lookâ€" ing any smaller and teachers expected to be such generalists, a number of children get no individual attention,""‘ said Priscilla‘ Hofmeister, primary conâ€" sultant with the Waterloo County board of education. **Past experience has shown that both the children and the volunteers thrive on the oneâ€"toâ€"one _ relationships which develop." Whether they answer to Grandmother, Mrs. Smith or teacher, one thing is for certain. The children who come into contact with them love them. Retired volunâ€" teers are warming the hearts of children in 13 schools in the County and the number is constantly inâ€" creasing. They are providâ€" ing a oneâ€"toâ€"one rapport with the children which teachers can‘t hope to dupliâ€" Wateriqo, Qntario While the consultant sees the need for retired volunâ€" ~teers working in many schools and in all grades, the program is confined to the primary level (kinderâ€" garten to grade 3). Shortly after the Christâ€" mas break the school conâ€" ducted a survey amongst staff who were not using voâ€" lunteers. It was unanimous. Everyone wanted one. And so it was that Nancy Josslin, a retired volunteer, came to be involved with Lois Siegner‘s grade three class three weeks ago. To date she has helped with marking papers, spelling bees and arts and crafts. _No program is without its share of problems and one of the major ones is the apâ€" parent lack of transportaâ€" tion for senior volunteers. Often they tend to rely on the teacher for a ride and this places an extra, often unwanted, burden on him or her. Ms. Hofmeister tries to make certain the volunteer tinct advantage of relating to two adults as opposed to ‘‘If the children need inâ€" dividual help I‘m availaâ€" *‘*Volunteers feel most comfortable with small chilâ€" dren and teaching is more structured," said Ms. Hofâ€" meister. ‘"In primary grades activity based pr6â€" grams allow for inâ€" dividualization. This is perâ€" fect for volunteers." The volunteers generally start off donating one hour a week. This increases acâ€" cording to the time they can or want to give. After a sixâ€" week trial run both the voâ€" lunteer and teacher can sit down and decide whether or not the program is working for them. **They can do anything from teaching a craft they are familiar with, such as knitting crocheting or woodâ€" working, to listening to reading, helping with mathâ€" ematics or just sitting down and talking to them," said Ms. Hofmeister. from all walks of life, work directly with the teacher. community calendar Waterioo at a glance historical insights comment Inside ble,"" she said. "I like giving of my free time. I wanted to retire gracefully and I‘m enâ€" joying it." Mrs. Siegner said that with Mrs. Josslin‘s assistanâ€" ce she now has more time to devote to teaching. We are with children all day and it‘s rather fun to share your experiences with another adult,"" she said. ‘*I see it as an opportunity for the children. Instead of giving 100 percent we are giving 120 per cent." The teacher also enjoys having another adult in the classroom. schools participafi'n'fj, There are definite benefits to be As an added bonus and to give the progtam some conâ€" tinuity, the consultants throw a pot luck supper for the volunteers every Christâ€" mas and this June will mark the first annual summer picâ€" nic. The consultant acts as a liaison between the school and the seniors. She is asâ€" sisted by one other person and their duties involve conâ€" tacoting seniors, principals and teachers. While it takes a lot of time to coâ€"ordinate such a program, Ms. Hofâ€" meister would like to see more retired volunteers and had by both parties. I‘ve heard so many volunâ€" teers say "I feel I get so much out of it,"" said Ms. Hofmeister. ‘"I feel more positive about life." work in. Personality conflicts beâ€" tween teachers and volunâ€" teers, although unco! $ do occur and often poor health and other committâ€" ments prevent the volunteer from coming when the class expects them. **The kids are counting on them when they say they are coming,‘* said Ms. Hofâ€" meister, ‘"‘"and when they don‘t the children are ce of the school. This is aided by the fact that the voâ€" lunteer has complete freeâ€" dom of choice when choosâ€" ing the school they wish to 10 Cents 10â€"19 icts e d volunâ€" 0 s en poor ? ommittâ€" alnmtaoar *