Years ago, before discovering RDI and becoming an RDI Program Certified Consultant, I was a fourth grade teacher in a suburban school. One year, a parent from my class approached me and was interested in working together to help the students in this wealthy district develop a greater awareness of helping others and understanding that less than 20 miles away, there were children who were homeless. I loved this idea, and we immediately embarked on this project.
Our homeless project, later named Hand 2 Hand, started small, but quickly grew to be the overarching theme of the classroom for the entire school year. To begin, we read books about homelessness, toured a homeless shelter and after school tutoring center for homeless children, and had guest speakers who spoke about the lives of homeless children and families. We all became very interested in learning about how we could help these families and children.
The principal and several families from the class generously donated money for the students to use to purchase supplies for the after school tutoring center, but in order for the students to have a substantial investment in the process, we asked various school staff if they would have a need for students to work for them during the school day. We were met with a very welcome response, and then created 'jobs' for the students, where they were 'paid' for the work they were doing."Help Wanted" posters were created, and students completed applications and interviews in order to work in various positions such as assisting the janitor with cleaning, helping the office staff with filing, serving food in the cafeteria, cleaning cafeteria tables, and working with the librarians in the library.
Students had their supervisors (cafeteria staff, librarians, janitors, etc.) complete a short evaluation of their work after each shift, and then turned in their evaluations for payment. Each week, the students received their paychecks, and recorded the money they earned in checkbook registers that were donated by a local bank. One student had the job of adding up all class earnings each week and posting our total earned amount on the classroom door, working toward our goal of $1,000.
By the end of the year, the students had earned all of the money that had been donated, and they then used a list provided by the tutoring center for homeless families to comparison shop and purchase items that they needed. When we had gathered all of the supplies, the students loaded them into cars and minivans, and we all caravanned downtown to the tutoring center to visit with the children there and deliver the supplies.
Service Learning Makes an Impact on Students
Fast forward 10 years....while shopping with my daughters, I ran into one of my former students from that class, whom I hadn't seen since she left my classroom as a fourth grade student. She is now a junior in college, very articulate and engaging. As we stood and talked, she shared several things with me that were powerful, not only because they were personally meaningful, but because they apply very clearly to the work we engage in each day in RDI.
My former student shared that her fondest memory of school was working on the homeless project and that because of the work that she did as a ten-year-old, she has always been inspired to help others. She has already completed a mission trip, and has plans to continue helping others in the future.
The other item she shared was that she couldn't believe the bond she developed with the cafeteria ladies she worked with. She developed a strong apprenticeship with the lunchroom staff during her year in fourth grade, and later, as she moved on to high school, some of the elementary lunch staff also moved to work in the high school. Katie shared that all throughout high school, she would stop and visit with these women that she had developed a relationship with years earlier.
Finally, I was also struck by the items that my student didn't share or remember as important components of the project...the class received a Senatorial Citation and a visit from a State Senator for their work on the project. They were interviewed by a local news station and were featured on the 6 o'clock news. They were interviewed by and featured by the local suburban newspaper several times. I was delighted that none of these things were foremost (in fact, she didn't even mention them) in my former student's memory of the project.
How does this apply to the work we are doing in RDI?
- The experience was meaningful; sufficient context and background knowledge were provided before the start of the project, and this knowledge paved the way for personal investment on the part of the students.
- The students each had an active role throughout the process, and were each part of the larger goal.
- Frequent feedback was provided, after each job performance, at the end of each week, and at the end of the project.
- Each student was engaged in at least one relationship with a trusted guide, working to learn a skill or process that he/she did not have prior experience with doing...and then continued this guiding relationship throughout the year, expanding roles and competence.
- External rewards and praise were not essential to the project or the success felt by the students.
There are daily opportunities for us to involve our students and children in opportunities to help others. The scope can be large and year-long, or it can be small and moment-by-moment. Pick up litter and dispose of it properly, donate to a food pantry or animal shelter, check on an elderly neighbor, engage in a random act of kindness...the possibilities are endless....
Heather Benner Ohl has been an RDI® Consultant since January 2006. She graduated from Bowling Green State University with a BS in Elementary Education and a Special Education Minor and earned a Master of Arts in Education Degree with a focus on Curriculum and Instruction from Otterbein College. In addition to providing consultation for Relationship Development Intervention, Heather also provides academic consultation for children in the school setting as well as those being home schooled. Heather also writes curriculum for homeschoolers and guides parents who are implementing a home school curriculum with their children.