Service Learning at Austine School
By Sharon Johnson; Teacher at Austine School
Middle School students in the Enrichment class at the Austine School for the Deaf experienced the joy of giving this holiday season.
Back in November, on Veteran’s Day, the students read about America’s Service Men and Women and the sacrifices they make for our country.
One sacrifice is being away from home for long periods of time and missing important family events and holidays.
The class learned that the Dollar Tree store in Brattleboro is a site for “Operation Homefront.” Operation Homefront supports troops and their families.
One way they do this is by giving gifts to children whose parents are on active duty during the holidays. The students decided to raise money by having a bake sale during a basketball tournament. They spent the week deciding what to make, searching for recipes on the Internet,filling out permission forms and writing shopping lists, writing letters and making posters.They measured and mixed and baked a delicious collection of goodies. They counted the treats and calculated how much to charge in order to make an adequate profit. On the day of the sale they interacted with customers,collected money and made change.They understood that they were missing the basketball game because they were doing a good and important thing.
The students earned enough money to buy eight toys each. They chose carefully, considering which toys would bring the most happiness to the recipient. They paid for the gifts, attended to the cashier, counted out the money and got their change. They proudly put their purchases in the toy box and left the store empty handed.
Service learning experiences like this one help students learn positive character traits,while integrating learning activities with real life experiences. Students learn civic responsibility and have an improved sense of community.Service learning is proven to enhance self esteem and increase leadership and communication skills. With service learning, everyone wins!
