10-12-2001
		Honors English class writes senior citizen biographies Andrew Heffner hands over the biography to his senior partner.

Lisa Ryckbost sits by her senior partner at the party celebrating the completion of the biographies.

BY LAURA HOKSBERGEN

Features Editor

Everyone knows that signing up for an honors class means extra work. Signing up for Professor Dale Brown's honor's English class, however, means a little bit more than extra work. This class is required to meet once a week throughout the semester with an elderly person who lives at Raybrook manor. At the end of the class, the students are expected to present a written biography to their partners and to their professor.

Brown had been directing the Service-Learning Center for many years when he attended a conference at Stanford, where he discovered that freshmen English classes were involved in writing biographies. The idea stuck with him, and he brought it back to the department here at Calvin.

``I wasn't teaching a class at the time,'' Brown said. ``But I suggested that someone else could take on that class. Professor Mary Walters agreed, and I only took over for her when she retired last semester. I have been interested in this program for a long time and find that it works especially well here at Calvin College, not only for the proximity of Raybrook but also because of the perspective that it gives students on life.''

The students were not quite so optimistic at the beginning, especially when Brown told them that their last paper would be approximately 25 pages long.

``I was excited at first,'' said Tim Jesurun, one of the 101 students. ``It wasn't an eager excitement, though, it was more of an excitement that I would be able to get a feel for someone else's life.''

``Honestly, I wasn't really looking forward to it,'' said Jennette Timmer, another student. ``It was just another thing to make my life busier. And it's a real risk to go out there and get to know someone else to the point that you feel you can write down their lives.''

The task is definitely daunting. The students meet for one hour a week with their partners and are expected to glean enough information for their papers from these meetings.

``I've been in service learning, so I know some of the challenges that go along with this sort of work,'' Brown says. ``Some of the residents are very private and don't tell much, others are having memory troubles, and others feel that their lives just aren't interesting enough. But college shouldn't be about hiding from the world; people who write are eventually going to run into these types of people and they need to be prepared.''

The matches between students and partners have gone very well this semester. A couple of students have found that they need to be more persistent at asking questions than others, but the relationships that have developed are generally good.

In an odd turn of events, Timmer received a partner who not only shared her exact name, but also several other characteristics.

``We like the same places, the same activities, and many of our family members have the same names, too,'' Timmer said. ``In a way, I see her as a projection of what I might be when I get older. It's rather eerie.''

``The residents are excited to see their stories in print,'' Brown said. ``One of the ladies was being visited by her children when the student arrived and now the entire family is waiting for the paper.''

This is, in fact, what most students find the most difficult.

``How do I know if I am really telling the true essence of what her life has been?'' Timmer asked. ``They are telling you parts of their lives, but there are emotions that they hold back that you can't even begin to comprehend. It's a big risk for them to tell you things, and a big risk for you to try to get it right, because you know that they are going to read it and judge you for what you have done.''

Brown understands the problems with this sort of paper. The balance lies between truth and writing for the audience.

``The writing is for a specific person and that tends to guide it more,'' Brown explained. ``There is a need to be sensitive to the audience, and the problem of information gleaned that the students don't feel they should write down. We all have a tendency to sugar-coat someone else's story. My students are going to hand in reactions to me that their partners will see, which I hope will keep the truth in the story. But the balance is definitely hard to maintain.''

If nothing else, the experience has taught the students to view elderly people differently.

``My grandfather is losing his memory and has troubles getting along,'' Jesurun said. ``It's good to see an elderly person who still is essentially independent.''

That is not the only reason for the project. Brown has larger goals in mind.

``Some of the senior partners don't feel that their lives are interesting enough to be written down,'' he said.

``I think that this project helps them focus on God's care and providence in their lives. This project not only opens both the students and the partners to this pattern, but also helps develop more thoughtful Christians.''