When Earl Gibbs was growing up in the 1930s, a mouse was a rodent, a web was a spider's home, and windows were holes in a wall. But for 17-year-old Adam Singer, a mouse, the Web, and Windows are all entries into the world of computers- important tools that he's introduced to Earl and more than 40 other senior citizens at the ONEgeneration senior center in Reseda, California.

Adam fell in love with the wired world of computers when he was 7, teaching himself complex skills over the years, such as how to navigate the computer using only the keyboard and how to edit system files. The summer after Adam became a bar mitzvah, his mother noticed an ad in the Los Angeles Times: The local senior center needed volunteers to teach computer skills to its members. Cautiously, Adam agreed to help out.

His stomach fluttered as he reported for his first tutoring assignment. "I was completely nervous," Adam recalls. "I was dealing with people who were 60 years older than me and who knew so much more than I. I was freaked out beyond belief."

Surprisingly, Adam learned that most of the seniors were more nervous than he. "Many of them were terrified by computers," he says. "They would get thrown by the simplest things." So, Adam pulled up a chair next to each of his students and started teaching them the basics- including how to operate a mouse and how to open a program. By the end of four hourly one-on-one sessions, most seniors could surf the Net and send e-mail.

As his students gained confidence in their skills, Adam marveled at his accomplishment. "It gave me a warm feeling inside when I saw a senior who didn't know anything at first and then would come back in the fourth week and be able to navigate the Internet, send an e-mail, and type a letter," he says. "People don't give seniors enough credit. It is amazing how fast they learn."

Earl Gibbs, one of Adam's first students, was an amateur photographer who never tired of learning. After his four sessions at the senior center, Earl still wanted to learn more. He hired Adam to come to his home and teach him how to use a computer scanner and a digital camera.

Earl's zest for life and the other seniors' enthusiasm impressed Adam. He committed himself to helping them and returned to the center each Tuesday afternoon for three years. "These people may be elderly, but they're still vibrant," he says with awe. "They still want to learn new things, and I respect that. When I'm 70, I hope that I'll want to learn the newest technology."

Jewishful Thinking
By teaching seniors how to use computers, Adam fulfills the mitzvah of hiddur p’nei zaken, cherishing the elderly. The phrase literally means “beautifying the face of the elderly,” a term that aptly describes Adam’s work. His students’ eyes twinkle with excitement as they experience the wonders of the Web, and smiles brighten their faces when they receive their first e-mails. “Computers are the future of the world, of modern society,” says Adam. “And by telling seniors they don’t need to learn how to use a computer, it’s like saying they have no future. To deny them that knowledge is almost a crime.”