List of ideas:
- Reading to the elderly
- Mission trips with children
- Children reading to other children in the hospital
- Habitat for Humanity
Rationale:
When I think of children and community service I
immediately think of reading. Throughout the elementary school age I see
programs that involve reading buddies. These buddies can be anyone from an
older student in the school to a visiting dog. With those ideas the
thought of altering the project to include children reading to elderly comes to mind.
People living in the retirement homes do not always get visitors and can not help
but smile at a young child's face. I know my grandparents love to have
all the visitors they can get, especially from young children that can brighten
the room when they walk in. This idea of children reading to elderly
would not only be beneficial for the elderly men and women but for the children
as well. It would help open their eyes and learn the importance of doing
kind things for individuals.
Outline of key
points:
- Children would choose books appropriate for their reading level.
- Students would travel by bus to a retirement home once a week or bi-weekly.
- Students would share their book with their partner in a common area of the retirement facility.
- Partners would freely discuss their own experiences, likes and dislikes, and opinions about the book.
- Students and partners would be monitored by the teacher who will provide probing and guided questions to encourage participation.
How the project
is implemented in the classroom:
This project would be implemented in the classroom
through field trips and in class reflections about their community service
project. It would be a hope that the retirement center would be able to
get together with the children once a week or once every other week. This
would give the children and their partner the chance to get to know each other
and really form a bond to be able to get everything possible out of this
service project. To bring the project into the classroom there would be
individual journal writing to reflect about each day spent with their person
that they are reading to. Each day as well to increase the impact of the
project there should be a class discussion where the children share highlights
about their time that day with their person.
The effects on
Global learning:
A child reading
aloud to the elderly not only benefits those who are giving but also those who
are receiving. By volunteering it
helps a child develop tolerance towards those who are older by pointing out
strength in someone else. It also
gives the child and elder a sense of responsibility. All parties will feel useful and valued by having an impact
on each other’s lives. By having students read to the elderly they are gaining a new
perspective on life. They are
experiencing how it is to be the teacher or giver instead of receiving all of
the time. Through this new
perspective students will want to learn new and different things about
themselves and others. When
students spend time with someone that is from a different generation than they
are it will open their eyes to a new world. They will get to see how others feel and act towards things
and hopefully will become interested in getting to know that generation as well
as other people of the world. The
best effect it will have is that students get to have a new experience that
will not only benefit them but others as well. Children who can understand their own impact on something
and someone can then realize how much of an impact they can have throughout
their life.
Why it works for
the elderly:
- Gives them a sense of value to the community
- Something to look forward to
- Gives them a chance to reminisce and share stories of their own
- The child will gain respect and compassion for the elderly
- Builds self-esteem
- It increases child’s potential for academic success
- It exposes the child to new situations, and teaches them appropriate behavior
Possible effects
on the world:
Many cultures
maintain the belief that a great deal of information and knowledge can be
obtained from the wise elders of the culture. This project can demonstrate to the community as a whole, a
sense of appreciation and necessity in consideration of the generations of
knowledge that can be passed. The
students can even create a blog or discussion forum to get a global perspective
on the different value systems that include the elderly. We can extend learning by creating a
Venn Diagram of differences from culture to culture and posting it as a
discussion for international students to converse about. Values based projects can have a great
effect on students all around the world.
This is especially true when the students can verbalize where their
values stem from and learn about the values in other cultures. The students can implement critical
thinking into a project like this, and hopefully contribute to a worldwide
discussion about our differences and similarities.
References:
Lane, H.L. (2007). Maximizing the effectiveness of reading aloud. Reading Teacher, 60(7), 668.doi:10.1598/RT.60.7.
