It’s not every day you see a group of 10-year olds teaching a class - especially when their students are senior citizens.
But that’s exactly what happened last Tuesday morning at the Hub City Senior Center.
Twenty-two students from Noelle Brown’s fifth grade class at Tilton School helped a group of local seniors learn how to use the smart phone. At the same time, the kids learned a little local history while picking up some life lessons.
“We can learn from each other,” Sarah Flanagan told the two age groups. “We can all learn something.”
Flanagan, the head librarian at Flagg-Rochelle Public Library, is spearheading the project with Brown, who is quick to point out this isn’t a one-time thing. The groups also met right before Christmas to sing carols and decorate Christmas cookies.
“The idea is to bring two generations together and build a relationship that fosters a friendship that both generations can learn from,” Brown said, adding that it’s part of a community service project to help others.
In the past, she said, her class held programs at the nursing home, but this year partnered with the library and the senior center.
“For our seniors, the idea of using technology can be overwhelming,” Brown said. “Students can help seniors see that using technology, such as their phones, can actually make some things more convenient.”
Instead of being students, Flanagan said, the 10-year olds were the teachers. “How often does that happen?” she asked.
Besides learning a little local history from the seniors, Flanagan said they also benefit by getting to know the older generation, from whom they can learn other things.  If nothing else, how to deal with, and appreciate, other people.

As the two groups paired up, Flanagan led a discussion on different ways to use their phones. Among other things, the seniors were showed how to send an email, text, make a call, check their Face Time or play a game on their smart phone or tablet. How to use Wi-Fi was another very popular topic.
At least one senior got a lot out of it.


“I learned how to talk on Face Time,” one senior, Mary Clark, said. “They also showed me how to text.”
Like the other senior participants, Clark was very impressed with her “teachers.”
“They (the kids) are very helpful,” she said. “It’s amazing how smart these kids are.”
Although she was already well versed in the smart phone, another senior complemented all the students on how polite and well mannered they were.
The two women weren’t the only ones who were impressed.
“I thought it went great,” Flanagan said, when the program was over. “We all benefitted from this. “
“I know the kids felt empowered taking a leadership role,” Brown added.
Connie Daugherty, director of the senior center, agreed. “It went wonderful,” she said. “It was great to see the interaction between the generations.
And what did the “teachers” themselves think?
“I think it’s really inspiring to help older people with their phones,” one fifth-grader, Ava Horner, said. “
“I think it’s cool to show people what to do and show them new things they didn’t know,” another fifth-grader, Audyn Kemp, said, adding that she learned some things, too. “They have a lot of knowledge about Rochelle, and they can tell us things about what happened and what they went through, and what obstacles they had in their lives.”
Ava added that the students didn’t do anything special or have to study anything to get ready for the program. They already knew all this.
According to Brown, a second such program will be held at 10 a.m., Tuesday, April 30, also at the senior center, 401 Cherry Ave. Until she has a chance to meet with Flanagan, she isn’t sure what the groups will work on.
Like last Tuesday, whatever they do, it’ll probably end with sugar cookies and lemonade, which both groups seemed to enjoy equally.