Encouraging community service in our schools | EduCeleb
Nancy Ekpezu
29th September 2018
I have visited and interviewed quite a lot of school leaders and realised that there is a need to create awareness about community services in our schools, hence this article.
There are quite a number of global, national and community issues, and a community service offers an opportunity for students to have projects that give back to society. It is a great way to help others and improve the community, and can also help the students gain skills and experience which may be included in their resumes and also used for college applications (for those who intend to study in elite colleges and universities in developed countries).
Community service is often done in the locality where the students live or where the school is situated, so that people in the nearby community can benefit from the project. And we must remember that in life, no act of kindness is ever wasted.
As educators and leaders, there is a need to instil a sense of service in our 21st century learners, and take some of their attention away from too much time in the virtual world; an engagement in a meaningful community service certainly affords us teachers, school leaders and students) this opportunity. It helps our students to emphasise and model empathy, compassion and service in the self-centred, social media-crazy and influenced society we have become. We need to teach children to start looking out for ways they can help others and enjoy doing so, to make deliberate efforts at improving their communities, and we need to show the way as educators and school leaders.
A school community service is simply a project the students engage in to render service to people or make the community better. It is borne out of a desire for selfless service and a yearning for a better society. It can be done at a local level, right in the community where you are, or taken to a national or global level depending on the intent, the funds available and the collaborative and networking skills of those involved with the project.
And now, you may want to know: what are the benefits of having our students participating in community service?
It helps our students to emphasise and model empathy, compassion and service in the self-centred, social media-crazy and influenced society we have become.
There are lots of community services you and your students can get involved with, and your choices would depend on your research about the needs in your community, your interest, the funds available to do this, and the willingness of your students to participate.
Here are some ideas you may wish to consider;
By the way, my boarding students will be washing cars this morning as a fund raising activity for a project. That’s what prompted this article.
Please share your community service experiences in your school.