Doing Good to Do Well
The recent headlines are not good for educators. Our schools and our teachers are "flabby, inefficient and outdated" according New York Mayor Bloomberg (as reported in the Wall Street Journal). A report by the Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce calls for the "overhaul" of the U.S. education system. Indeed, it's tough to find good news these days.
And yet there is plenty going on in our schools to cheer about.
One area that appears not to grab headlines is the philosophy of most schools that doing good is an important part of doing well.
- Students at a middle school in Seattle have sent over a thousand letters to military personnel serving overseas.
- Students at a high school in Chicago take turns on Saturdays reading to children at a day care center near a homeless shelter.
- Students at an elementary school in Nashville pay a visit to local nursing homes for an afternoon every month.
It's not just the student council and the honor society engaged in these activities: "almost all of our students are involved" according to one principal. "Once we had to encourage them, but now it seems to have taken on a life of it's own. It's snowballed to the point where we have to schedule our visits so as not to overwhelm the nursing home." Another principal agreed, "one Saturday we had 31 students show up to read to 18 children.... that's when we decided we had to channel their activities."
Unfortunately, these types of activities often do not make headlines. Mayor Bloomberg does.
When students become involved with "doing good" the results are threefold:
- The community is benefited by the student/school effort
- The school is benefited by the positive impact of the effort
- The student is benefited by an increased feeling of self-worth
Too often this last result goes unrecognized. Students who help others tend to be better behaved, better motivated and higher achievers. The benefits of "doing good" can have a wonderful impact on school environment.
Think about it:
- Over 5.9 million teens volunteer for community service activities.
- Over 90% of teachers surveyed saw volunteering as a means of enhancing students attitudes and motivation.
- More than twice as many teens volunteer to help others than do adults.
How does a school get started on a plan for doing good?
One good place to start might be the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse. This organization has a set of resources to help schools organize and develop their "Service-Learning" curriculum. Material for all grade levels can be found including many good ideas and examples of what other schools have done.
The Corporation for National and Community Service is another fine resource. This organization is committed to help educational institutions at all levels increase volunteer and service-learning opportunities for youth. Their goal is to have 50% of all K-12 schools incorporate service-learning into their curricula by 2010.
The Advantage Press, Inc. publishes a number of behavior packets that can help students assess their own social and emotional problems. You are welcome to try our free samples.
The Advantage Press is pleased to make available a new program designed to easily fit within the school week and provide all students with the tools necessary to make better eating choices. Healthy Food of the Week is a nutrition program designed by Blue Ribbon Award Winning PE Educators. It has been tried and tested in a number of diverse schools. It encourages students, parents and the school community to make healthy food choices a part of their daily routine.
This newsletter is freely distributable.