Show inn Landers Everybody's Grandma On Mental Health and Grandpa SENIORS IN THE SCHOOLS: They bring a bit of magic into classrooms Mental health like physical health is a dymanic condition Some days you are bound to be in better shape than others The mentally healthy preson does not the moon one day and experience wide personality swings-- on :n the dumps the next He has the qualities of sameness and predictability Mentally healthy people think well of themselves They do not waste time and energy worrying if every hair is in place or if they made a favorable impression on Miss or Mr X or if they used the right fork or wore the right dress On occasion when every hair is not in place or they may have used the wrong fork or wore the wrong dress they don't agonize over it They have a good sense of priorities and a sense of what is really important Mentally healthy people are able to accept the inadequacies and shortcomings of others They do not feel the need to overhaul everyone who does not fit into the mold they have decided is 'correct' They are satisfied to live and let live Mentally healthy people are able to accept whatever life visits upon them without going to pieces This means financial reverses illness death divorce separation unrequited love-t- he list is endless And they have the ability to withstand the cruelties and inequities of life to regroup re energize think their way through a problem and go forward in a positive constructive way PACE PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT effort for Morgan Conder but ''oachng with first graders is a once-a-weeothers volunteers help on other days and the cooperative effort makes a d Terence for these young students RSVP school volunteers are coordinated and assigned by Maurine Ottley School Volunteer Makes a Big Important Difference Because He Helps Students Learn to Read When he volunteered as a helper at Ashman School in Richfield Morgan Conder found that he was doing more than simply helping children improve their reading skills he was he ping to build bridges between generations Now the father of six grandfather of 14 and greatgrandfather of four Mr Conder lived in Austin as a child and went to school in a now schoolhose abandoned but still sanding a short distance southwest of where Monroe Elementary now stands When he came to coach Kathy Lister's first graders they read a story abo t an school which reminded him about his old teacher or school so he brought a large framed photograph of the place to show them and charmed the children with his stories Mr Conder only attended the old school for one year 1926 but he rode for four years in the old school wagon It was a that his father drove modified sheep wagon with a stove in the middle for warmth in the winter and benches around the sides for 15 or 20 children to sit They entered by way of steps into the back of the wagon With two horses pulling the Mr Conder’s father wagon drove the regular route from Austin through Washburnville and across past the cemetary The Monroe to the school elder Conder received $45 a Promote Family Reading With These Ideas Manlou Sorensen as associate professor of education at the Cniversity of Utah writes in the Deseret News that 1991 is the year to support reading The campaign with First Lady Barbara Bush as honorary chairwoman promotes family literacy programs adult literacy reading motivation projects and the needs of handicapped readers A few ideas are at the dinner table You can try Start a this at home or maybe volunteer to read during the dinner hour The possibility of at a retirement center during lunch time in a school may be interesting Serve as a volunteer in a center for English as a second language where learners could listen and participate in all kinds of reading Develop projects that combine reading and writing Some ideas to begin with: or family Shared journals" between husband-wifmembers to promote special bonding - Read editorials and respond to them a book and write to the author via the publishing company -- Read and discuss the Bill of Rights and write about what issues in life are related to one of the amendments Combine reading projects with various media Select newspaper articles about the Middle East for example to Combine these compare with a variety of magazine reprots What with a book that provides an understanding differences are found'7 can libraries authors Utah a of local list (the Develop help) and make a project of reading as many of them as possible about know them let to letters Write your projects - and at retirement Volunteer to read to shut-in- s centers This is a good project for Scouts church groups and often youth organizations (We go caroling at Christmas but fail to keep up the personal contact these people need) Plan one ’home evening' as a library visit month for driving the school wagon a job he held for five years Since his 1982 retirement from the Department of Transportation where he was a heavy duty mechanic for 30 years Mr Conder has been an He has active RSVP volunteer worked with the victimwitness and six years program for became interested in the school position when two of his grandsons were in first grade Even though they last year were promoted to second grade he decided to stay where he was What’s it like going back to school after all these years? "I'm learning a lot" Mr "These are Conder smiled smart kids" He noted with enthusiasm the changes that have taken place in education since the days he rode the school wagon schoolhouse in to the and spoke of the Monroe advantages children have now as they get th education Mrs Lister said one of the best advantages her students have is the influence of people like Mr Conder "I hope he never stops coming to my classroom" she said "He’s so reliable and the students love him" His quiet voice and mild manner seem to make him everybody's grandpa As for Mr Conder he thinks "it would great if lots of people" would join him as a volunteer with RSVP ir Focuses On Learning to Learn Enhancing the lives of both parents and children through improved skills attitudes values and behaviors linked to reading is the goal of the new PACE (Parent and Child Enrichment) Center now being set up in Richfield Parents with children newborn to age three who live in the tri county area are the focus of the center which is affiliated with the Adult Literacy and ESL center at the Richfield City Library Ronna Leyba RSVP director said the PACE Center is being established to give each parent assistance they may need to build their own child's knowledge base "We will focus cn learning to learn helping children gain skills" Mrs Leyba said RSVP volunteers will be with working parents to help them prepare their children to in school She be successful emphasized that this is not a program that teaches infants and toddlers to read Educators believe that the more parents can do at home before a child reaches the preschool or kindergarten age the greater chance of success that child will have in school What I spent is gone What I kept is lost But what I gave away Will be mine forever Dr Ethel Percy Andrus founder AARP Seniors Help Students Improve Writing Skills With the help of Retired Senior Volunteers Monroe third graders' arc Elementary concentrating on improving Hr c their writing skills the Through attention received Principal Ray Hunt says the aim of the SENIORS HELP WITH i n o ' WRITING volunteers work with Monroe Elementary principOl Ray Hunt on new writing project RSVP Typical Volunteer As a teacf)er Finds Joy in Work retired from the Maurine Ottley a typical teaching at RSVP volunteer finds that primary grade retirement doesn’t mean the end ievei in this of job satisfaction Bom in Redmond educated schoot for many -- in Redmond and Salina schools she married a Salina man raised three sons and learned through church and work responsibilties to deal with people pleasantly and effectively Three years after the death of her husband she married Warren Ottley and together they serve in RSVP years it is pure pieasure to again work with these chiidren as weii as the schooi personnet Maureen Volunteer Assisted Writing Program is to make a measur- able difference in neatness punctuation sentence structure spelling and organization Mr Hunt and his corps of teachers are excited about the improvement children are making and eager students are loving the help they are getting The compatibility between volunteers and students is almost immediately apparent Volunteers Help Tally What Was Accomplished We don't know how much we’ve done until volunteering the paperwork is finished and there are several volunteers in Sevier School District who help is keep track of that information The work of these ladies is greatly appreciated: Margaret Kiesel Salina EleElaine Wayland and mentary Marba Thompson Pahvant Dixie Lyman and Janet Torger-soAshman and Betty John- coordinates the activities of teachers’ helpers in Sevier —torts P Tuff Monroe son South Sevier High School District and Warren is teachers' helper at School They give their Monroe elementary information to Maurine Ottley responsible for RSVP publiwho repons the data for the city RSVP office Some of Mrs Ottley's RSVP duties include recruiting helpers and reporting their service back to the RSVP office In addition she is a member of the Advisory Council of the North Sevier Senior Center where she is an RSVP representative The Lord doesn't ask about our inabilities or abilities He only asks about our availabilities If we show our dependability He will help us in our capability —Neal A Maxwell If you continue to do what you've always done you'll continue to get what you've always got "Working with teachers and teachers' helpers as well as has givschool administrators en me a beneficial insight into the importance of proper education for our younger generation" Mrs Ottley observed "Because I have grandchildren of my own who do not live here I Find myself daily hoping that someone else is as interested in them as people in the Sevier School District seem to be" TYPICAL VOLUNTEER Maurine Ottley If you look closely you will see that almost anything that really matters to us anything that embodies our deepest commitment to the way human life should be lived and cared for depends on some form of voluntarism -- Margaret Mead |