Talk, talk; Learn, learn -- a two-way profit
By Paul Kusuda
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recently read or heard or seen on T.V., or a class assignment. Wonderful opportunity for intergenerational
communication! Every so often, I get thrust into that kind of experience, and it's fun to participate. Questions and answers
dredge up stuff I hadn't thought too much about. They force putting memories into the perspective of events as they once
were, rather than illuminating how much has changed over time. Sometimes, they make us wonder whether we could
have or should have done something differently. So, sometimes, we learn from our remembrances, especially when our
memory is jogged.
Earlier this year (February) I was interviewed by freshmen students from Mrs. Staley's and Mr. Mussacks' classes at
James Madison Memorial High School. Teams of three to five students interviewed five old-timers for a project that
eventually developed into an interview-report paper titled "The 1930s: An Oral History." Each of the five people was
interviewed separately by each team, so the project was labor intensive. Prior to the interview date, each student team
prepared itself by developing 30 questions that could be asked. Not all were asked, but the advance preparation helped
the process move smoothly and efficiently as the students took notes.
The five Great Depression interviewees were Fannie Hicklin, Roland Krogstad, Laura Lors, Addrena Squires, and
myself. Sometime later, Addrena and I were attending the same event, and we briefly talked about the project. Each of us
had individualized interviews with three groups of students. Now that sounds like an exhaustive time; however, each
team was so interested in the Q&A session that the enthusiasm made the time go by quickly.
Some of the questions were personal while others were broad and not truly answerable. Example: "Was your family
greatly affected by the Great Depression, the stock market crash of 1929?" My answer: "Yes. After losing their small
grocery store in Los Angeles primarily because of competition from Safeway Stores, both (my parents) had difficulty, as
did many, finding jobs. My parents were not rich, had no stocks, and suffered along with everybody else." Another
example: "How has the American culture changed over time?" My answer: "Your question is too difficult to answer." How
would you answer that question? Another question: "Where did you live when you were growing up and how is it different
from today?" Answer: "I grew up in various parts of L.A. until May 1942 and never went back except for a couple of short
visits. So, I don't really know how different L.A. is today." Other questions were like the following:
* What was the typical fashion and food in the 1930s?
* What new inventions changed life for people in the '20s and '30s and how?
* What did people do for entertainment?
* How is life in general compared to life in the '30s?
* Were you rich in the '30s?
* How many people went to your high school?
* What was the most exciting event that happened in the U.S during the 1930s?
* What did your parents do?
Although some of the questions could not be fully answered, they evoked some thought about interview questions,
interviewee ability to answer, and how to obtain desired information from questions. They learned, I learned. I also was
forced to think about personal events as they had occurred, as well as the context in which they occurred. The memory
jogs served to add rationale to remembered events. That addition helped to clarify some of the emotions that were part of
the events. The students were able to explore feelings surrounding events -- something not always available in the
academic world of learning.
Intergenerational communication projects like the one I described is a volunteer activity that is not only valuable in
providing a living expansion to academic education but also in giving the older person two rewards: satisfaction that
comes from giving, and opportunity to examine one's past and how we've affected others -- a two-way profit indeed.
November is remembered for Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and other notable dates, some happy,
some sad. But then, we remember. As we grow older, some memories fade, some change (sometimes
for the better; sometimes for the worse). Many of us, however, remember all kinds of things that
happened years ago.
Young people are sometimes curious about the old days. This curiosity may be sparked by a remark,
something