This isn't a bad idea, but it may not work all that well in the real world. First, there is the generation gap. Most kids don't really like old people and don't want to have to spend time with them. Also many, if not most, of the people in retirement homes are not in good enough shape either physically or mentally to be effective tutors.

In some cases, this might work. It might be worth a try. If you want to see it happen, go a retirement home and talk to the residents. Ask them if they would be interested in tutoring. Then, go to your local school and tell them you have free tutors available. Then, tell us how it goes. Good luck.

Dwane's comment about kids not liking old people deserves it's correlary--old people often blame all of the ills of society on the youth.

In fact, I have a daughter that works at an assisted living home--she started with trepidation, but she and many of the residents get along fine.

Unfortunately, by the time an old person is in an institutional setting, they're usually not in any position to show a teen how to do quadratic equations or balance chemical formulas--these are the things people hire tutors for.

I've seen that High school final exam from 1895--those people were definitely smart, but they learned very different things than we teach kids now. http://mwhodges.home.att.net/1895-test.htm

Discussion of history is an area where even less-keen elders may participate. They may remember the sufferage movement or WWII in a first hand way. Unfortunatly both history and social sciences are selectively taught to sway students politically.