An elective course at Moorestown Friends School in New Jersey teaches high school students about end-of-life care and hospice.
Since the class began in the fall, the students have composed sympathy notes, baked for a grieving family, read poetry to seniors at a local nursing home, and a lot more.
You could call it Empathy 101, but at Moorestown Friends, they just call it Samaritan Hospice and Health Care. Started in 2004, the unusual elective teaches ninth through 12th graders about end-of-life care and dealing with death, grief, and loss.
Those can be tough topics even for older people, but the Moorestown Friends students don't shy away.
"The thing that most surprises me is that kids sign up for it," said Sally Cezo, volunteer services manager for Marlton-based Samaritan, who teaches the course with Priscilla Taylor-Williams, chairwoman of religious studies for the school. "We're talking end of life, and the fact that they're interested in these things at this young age is pretty amazing."
Over time, the students become more comfortable with grieving as part of the cycle of life.
"They become less afraid of giving support," Taylor-Williams said.
For some students, the class is a way to work off some of the 50 hours of community service required for graduation. However, quite a few are interested in health careers and consider the class good preparation. Some have experienced grief.
The course description:
This course is designed to meet three areas of concern. The first is to help Samaritan Hospice and other health care providers to promote awareness of the needs of families, patients and caregivers facing difficult health care or end of life decisions. This service includes an interdisciplinary program that takes into account the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of the ill and the dying. It also includes support for family members and community members in managing the hospitalization or grieving process. The second category of concern is for students to understand the natural processes of the end of life transition, including mourning and grieving. In addition students will understand the societal context of providing services to help families manage the grave health care concerns and end of life experience; and the tensions within society around provision of these services. There will be several speakers from a variety of local health care and hospice service providers. This is a service learning course, this means that not only will you have the opportunity to provide service but you will also spend some time reflecting on the meaning of that service for society and how it impacts you personally. You will receive 12 hours of service and a letter grade.
