Senior Project Proposal

Proposed Topic in the form of an  Essential Question:

Will visiting and entertaining lonely, old people in nursing homes help improve their health? (make them feel less lonely and more happy..)

Rationale for Choice

What about this topic appeals to you? Why did you choose it?

I've always like helping people or making them smile and I've always wanted to go visit strangers in nursing homes and get to know them better but I never really made time for it. I chose this because I think it's the perfect opportunity for me to actually go visit people and help them keep the smile on their faces.

What do you already know about this subject?

I do not know much about this subject besides the fact that most of the people in nursing homes are lonely because people, including their family members, rarely visit them. However, I also know that most nursing homes take great care of their people.

What are you hoping to learn about the subject?

I am hoping to learn if I can make them more happy just by visiting them a few times and I would also like to know if they would want me visiting them even after just a few times.

What are you most interested in regarding the topic?

In regarding this topic, I'm most interested in going to the nursing homes and getting to know the people and learning about their past lives. I'm also interested in the stories they have to tell, if any.                                                                                                                                                

What potential risks or challenges do you foresee for your project?

Potential risks or challenges I see are finding out what makes them happy. What if they don't want me to visit them? What if I have a hard time making them smile? 

"I Believe Statements"

1. I believe that everyone should pay better attention to poverty.
2. I believe that those who get bad grades in college should not get financial aid.
3. I believe that young students should be given priority over adults to get into the classes they need in college.
4. I believe that if you give you will receive. 
5. I believe that lonely, old people in nursing homes should have support even from strangers.

5. Although they might be getting better care at nursing homes, their loneliness causes people in nursing homes to feel isolated. With family members not having enough "time" to visit them, many feel unwanted. This isolation can not only cause physical problems, but can also lead to geriatric depression. If we visit a few people and make a few more friends at the nursing home, we can help bring more excitement to their lives and give them more reasons to smile than to frown. We should visit them a few times a week and help them fight boredom by reading them books or ask them about their interests or even play a game of chess or checkers with them. We can learn something new not only from them but with them as well. All in all, if we don't take care of the elderly, then we cannot expect to be taken care of when we get older.