It has been repeated, ad infinitum, that a picture tells a thousand words. Yesterday's picture of Ruth Young with a book in her hands, surrounded by children of the Middleton Basic School in St Thomas, said a lot but, no doubt, she has painted thousands of pictures with the words she has spoken to her students (formal and informal) over the years.

It was reported that at 85 years old, Ms Young, who is on the basic school's board, still considers herself a teacher although she left the classroom in 1985, instructing and guiding the children who gather around her.

One wonders, of course, if these children get a comparable level of attention in their own homes, what with the increasingly harsh economic times causing more persons to spend extra time pursuing elusive incomes. This compounds the unfortunate fact that quite a few households are single-parent set-ups in the first place.

We have long looked at older persons in our society as storehouses of knowledge, especially oral history, which they can and are often willing to pass down to those children who are willing to take time to listen. The well-established custom of grandparents taking care of their grandchildren is also wellknown.

human capital

We do not, however, institutionalise and thereby fully utilise the huge reservoirs of human capital that willing and able senior citizens represent. This is in a situation where not only are parents often absent or simply too overwhelmed to see properly to their children's development, but also many children have lost a parent, or even both, to the debilitating violence which plagues our society.

It is not inconceivable, then, that there could be a formal arrangement in which older Jamaicans are able to monitor and mentor those at the other end of the age spectrum. This would also benefit the elderly, who would, no doubt, find renewed zeal for life in being around the young and having a sense of purpose.

Outside of the school and the Church, among the institutions through which this could be done are the Jamaica Library Service and the Social Development Commission.

It is notable, though, that Ms Young told The Gleaner that although she still loves teaching, she would not want to be in the classroom today, given the rank indiscipline which plagues schools. Still, there is a huge difference between attending school and the type of activities that senior citizens and children would engage in, fusing fun and functionalism.

With modern medical advances, more persons are living healthy, productive lives, way past the official retirement age. It is high time that we formalise use of this brainpower in the development of our nation's young. They are not only storehouses of information and tradition, they are also bridges to the young and, by extension, the future.

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