As educators, we are often so focused on teaching to the standards, we forget the other lessons critical to fostering productive, caring citizens. The importance of community service is one such lesson.
As an English teacher, I am presented with multiple opportunities for encouraging my students to engage in community service. Novels, by their very nature, are reflections of the human experience, and from their themes and underlying messages, teachers can create community service projects that connect the text to the world in which students live.
But English class doesn’t have to be the only discipline in which students learn the merits of reaching out to others. There are ample opportunities in other subject areas to enlist students in projects aimed at getting them involved in their communities. Math classes studying statistics, for example, could focus on the number of families without proper food and shelter in the community, while history classes studying past philanthropists could focus on the benefits of these individuals’ work to their communities.
Regardless of the subject area educators teach, here is a community service project idea teachers can modify and adapt to connect classroom content and community involvement. No matter how teachers choose to structure the assignment, the key is to encourage community service by requiring varying degrees of involvement and participation in the community in which students live.
Reach out to strangers. Community service is not limited to involved volunteer projects. Students without transportation or with limited resources can still impact their communities positively. Encourage students to reach out to others in a number of simple ways: hold the door for a stranger, smile at someone who seems down, offer genuine compliments to others, or complete a small task or chore without being asked, for example. Small acts of kindness can go a long way.
Spend quality time with those in need. Many communities are filled with organizations aimed at helping the elderly, the disabled, or those with addictions, for example. Encourage students to visit these organizations and sit down with or write letters to individuals within them. Asking questions about their lives and listening to their stories are ways students can provide a sense of purpose and love to those in need.
Offer time and materials to those without. Volunteering at a local soup kitchen or donating unused clothing and household items is a great way to make a difference in the lives of community members. Students can learn the importance of being thankful and the joys of helping others by donating their time and their goods to people less fortunate than themselves.
There are a number of ways to incorporate community service projects into the curriculum regardless of the subject area educators teach. Encouraging students to become active, involved members of their communities not only elicits gratitude, but it also teaches students to think beyond themselves and to value giving back.
Laura Sauer is a high school English teacher in Michigan. She holds a BA in English and is pursuing her MA in Curriculum Development and Instruction.