Article September 30, 1991 Issue

POSITIVE PRESS

"Young and Old Mull Tomorrow And Tomorrow"

by Andrew H. Malcolm—March 12, 1991

The New York Times

"[Teacher] Sheila Henry has a trio of new students in her honors Shakespeare class at Wilton [, Connecticut,] High School .

"They are not teen-agers. In fact the combined ages of these three students is 218. They are part of a new effort to bridge a big gap between generations. . . .

"What emerged in this community of 16,000 seems amazingly simple: Let older citizens become students in . . . regular high school classes. People with the same homework assignments tend to band together. . . .

"Said Helen Murray, who is 69 years old and has two grandchildren she rarely sees, '. . . These young people are surprisingly pleasant. They don't fit my image of modern teen-agers. . . .'

"Perhaps the greatest impact comes outside class. Mrs. Murray was sitting with several friends at a deli . . . when she noticed [teen-ager Jeff] Agostin walk by .... 'Hi, Helen!' he said. 'See you Monday.'

'As one, the tableful of senior ladies turned their heads back toward their friend. 'Oh,' said Mrs. Murray .... 'He's in my Shakespeare class.' "

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