Dear Mrs. Hunt,I had a wonderful time being with you. I just wanted to thank you for being such a great buddy for the trip. I will treasure that day not only for the great time I had, but because I met you. Someday I might have a part-time job there! See you soon!Sincerely, Vanessa (Your buddy from Bell Atlantic)P.S. I hope you haven't forgotten me!
I am a manager at Bell Atlantic. I am also an elementary education student at Trinity College in Washington, D.C., planning to make a mid-life career change from business to teaching. Through Bell Atlantic's “Partners in Education” program, I tutor once a week in a 4th grade class at Pinecrest Elementary School, located not far from Bell Atlantic in Montgomery County, Maryland.
May 17, 1994 was “Take Our Daughters to Work” day at Bell Atlantic. It started me thinking that it would be a wonderful experience for my Pinecrest friends. And so I planned a trip for a group of 9- and 10-year-olds.
I had no problem arranging tours—everyone was more than happy to spend a half hour or so demonstrating their jobs to 4th graders. But I wanted the experience to be special. I knew that most of the children I worked with were in need of adult attention. Why not pair each child with a co-worker for lunch and a visit to the co-worker's work station?
Most of my colleagues were not only willing but enthusiastic about acting as a buddy for a child. I created a questionnaire that the children could fill out while interviewing their buddies.
Information Service
One week before the big day, I explained the trip to the children. They were excited about having lunch away from school, but had two main questions: (1) What's on the menu? and (2) Would they have to pay for it?
Some children seemed apprehensive about meeting their buddies: “What will my buddy be like?” was a common question. I explained that the buddies would include both men and women and that I would assign them randomly. In truth, I was nervous myself. What if some buddies didn't show up? I asked several people if they would be willing to take two children if the need arose, and they agreed.
I also fretted about how interesting the tour would be. Our big office building has won architectural prizes but would it fascinate 4th graders? I considered all the possible points of interest, and the employees involved agreed to help. The day before the trip, I confirmed the tours to make sure no one had forgotten.
Equipment Inspection
The 28 children arrived at Bell Atlantic promptly at 10 a.m., and I was there to greet them, as were five chaperones. We handed out name tags, with both the child's and the buddy's name on them.
First on our itinerary: the building control center, which proved as fascinating to us grownups as it did to the kids. Chief Engineer Bill Keane, our tour guide, let us use the remote control cameras to zoom in on cars in the parking lot and people coming and going around the building. He demonstrated the computer that controls heat, lights, and elevators, and shows the electric power grids. He also showed us a scale model of the building.
We then divided into two groups, one going to the mail room, the other, to graphics. In the mail room, the children saw the modern equipment used to process mail for more than 3,000 employees—Herbie the robot, a mail sorting machine, and an electronic mail scanner, which they got to try themselves.
In the graphics department, the staff used a computer to generate posters showing pictures of different countries, then affixed the final products to poster boards using a hot press. The children were clearly interested, but they also were clearly ready to eat. In the cafeteria, a sea of adult buddies were waiting for us and whisked their charges off to lunch.
About an hour later we began drifting into the video teleconference center. On two of the screens, the children could see themselves. On the third, they could see and talk with Susan Doyle, an employee in the Philadelphia office. The kids clowned around a bit and took turns at the microphone, asking Susan questions about video conferencing technology.
From what I saw and heard, however, it was the buddies' work spaces that most intrigued the youngsters. Most of them filled out the interview sheets and still had time to experiment with the software on their buddies' computers. Dear Mr. Sawiki,I want to thank you for the food that you bought me. Thank you for showing me your office. I would like to tell you that your office is neat. I learned how to send messages to people. I think that when I grow up I would work in a office as neat as yours.Sincerely, Nelson
Friends and Family
One o'clock came too soon for everyone. A few speeches were made in the lobby. I was surprised by how emotional the parting was. Both the adults and the children felt the closeness of a shared experience. Several days later, when I returned to the classroom with my pictures of the trip, I found the children still glowing from the experience. It obviously had been a highlight of their school year. By the following week, many children had written letters to their buddies. Dear Ms. Peele,This note is a thank you note for buying me candy and lunch. I hope you had as great a time as I had with you. You are kind and fun. I learned that you can send messages on the computer. I hope I see you soon.Sincerely, Nguyen
The students very much wanted to continue the relationships. But the adults had moved on in their busy lives and did not keep in touch.
Still, I believe such experiences are important to children's social development. They need to understand how they fit into the community and what investment the community has in them. Adults, in turn, need to understand the needs of the children and the schools. If we could encourage more people to participate in the education of kids in their community, we could improve the quality of education overall.
Dear Mrs. Becker,Thank you for showing me around your work.... Do you think we can come back to your work? Please come and visit my school. Just like Mrs. Green, you'll have a great time. I promise. Our school is real big. I will give you a tour of my school just like you did me. So are you going to come?Sincerely, Sheena
