Charity
April, 2019
Giving students the opportunity to work towards giving is an important part of education.
Our school had a charity week to provide students with opportunities to learn about giving. In preparation for the Fun Run, students participated in a Terry Fox-inspired fundraiser for a community that provides schooling for those in foster care. They raised money to later on buy school supplies.
The students went out into the community and had individuals pledge a certain amount of money for every kilometre the students ran (up to 5 km). Amazingly, each individual student from JK-grade 5 ran the total 5 km (to emphasize the impressiveness of the feat, understand that the school is situated on a mountain).
Students started to think more about the members of their community. One student in my class in particular started volunteering at an organization that housed individuals with mental disabilities every week! Seeing students become autonomous in their desire to become involved in their community is a blessing which can only occur when they are taught about charity and partake in the act of giving.
A Look into the City (as Mayor)
March, 2019
At our school, we had the rare opportunity to get a visit from the mayor of the city. In order to prepare the students for the visit (where students and teachers would get the opportunity to ask questions during a panel), the teachers had students prepare a list of questions. This process was valuable as it had students in my class thinking about the city (i.e., its roads, streetlights, public facilities, and so on) and how the mayor play a role in what goes on in the city.
Additionally, students asked about everyday activities such as “What kinds of food do you like?”, “What do you want to do after your leadership ends?”, and “What days do you get time off?”. I believe students asked these types of questions when they were able to identify the mayor/ government as people as well: people who have things to look forward to, desires, and hobbies.