These Learning Links provide ten quick-and-easy, five-minute mini-lessons to promote student thought and dialogue about service and civic engagement. You may use as many of them as you wish, and in whatever order best meets your needs and the interest of your students. The purpose of these mini-lessons is to provide a deeper understanding of philanthropy (the giving of time, talent, and treasure for the common good) and to reinforce the lesson focus. These Learning Links also promote the development of character traits, civic engagement, and student leadership. As appropriate to your grade level, it is recommended that students play an active leadership role in presenting these mini-lessons to their classmates.

1. Read: Drivers are usually surprised to find out that most accidents do not occur in high speed traffic. Most accidents occur on busy street corners in town and cities especially if those intersections are regulated by traffic signals. Each year crashes caused by running a red light results in nearly 1,000 deaths and about 90,000 injuries across the United States. The percent of these types of careless crashes are increasing at an alarming rate mainly because thousands of drivers each day disobey traffic signals and fail to stop at red lights. In our elementary school years, we all learned what red, yellow and green meant when it came to traffic lights, and yet thousands of drivers, everyday either have forgotten or just chose not to stop when signaled to do so. The excuse that is most often cited by those who live to tell about it is "I was in a hurry!" This sense of entitlement--my time is more valuable than your safety--combined with a low expectation of being caught, seems to be responsible for the rampant disrespect for the rules of the road.
   
   Discuss: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a day in which we reflect on our rights and responsibilities as citizens of our school, community, state, nation, and world. What excuses do you hear when people are not tolerant, respectful, and fair with others? How does one find justice in being a victim of another’s carelessness? How might we encourage others to see that “our time is not more valuable than being tolerant, respectful and fair in our dealings with others”? How might our service event reflect tolerance, respectfulness and fairness?
   
    
2. Read: Since its founding in 1850, Hiram College located in Hiram, Ohio has ranked among the country's most prestigious liberal arts institutions. One of the unique challenges Hiram College President Thomas V. Chema makes to each college student beginning the new academic year at Hiram is to grow up and it is expected that their parents will let them. The college’s argument is that parents too often come to the rescue of their kids; that they feel it is part of their job. In the most read newspaper in Ohio, The Plain Dealer, on August 27, 2007 President Chema mused over all the stuff that he sees coming out of cars and rental trucks and trailers as students move into their dorms in preparation for the start of the new school year. When asked what a first-year student should bring with them to college, his responses is, “Students need a commitment to confront their own problems, responsibility for the choices or decisions they make, and an open mind and willingness to negotiate with others. The stuff these young adults really need -- responsibility and resiliency -- is not for sale in local retail stores or malls. For 18 to 22 year-olds, college is a time to begin to grow up. For parents, it's time to let them have that chance.”
   
   Hal Reichle was a 1986 graduate of Hiram College killed in 1991 in a helicopter crash during Operation Desert Storm. Hal left behind a legacy of performing anonymous good deeds for total strangers. He performed these “random acts” simply for the joy of spreading goodness and kindness. Hal’s family and friends established the Hal Reichle Memorial Scholarship as a way to remember Hal’s spirit and love of life and to reward Hiram students for exemplifying the same qualities that made Hal such a memorable person.
   
   Discuss: How might Hal’s education at Hiram College have helped contribute to his growing into being someone who loved life and randomly shared his joy by spreading goodness and kindness? What qualities do you think someone has to have in order to approach life as Hal Reichle did?  How might we show responsibility and resiliency during our service activity? How might making these commitments help us to grow up?
   
    
3. Read: Entrainment is a quantum physics term used to point out of our natural tendency and need to “vibrate in harmony” with others, to fit in, to be included. In his book entitled POWER, FREEDOM and GRACE Deepak Chopra shares the scientific experiment where five pendulum clocks were set to swinging at different times and after about four hours or so, the pendulums all started to swing in sync with the same rhythm. This same tendency, doctors tell us, holds true for a parent and child, who when in close proximity, find that their hearts will eventually begin to beat in rhythm, which is so important in the further development of human relationships for both the child and the parent.  In fact, a 1940 study by psychologist Rene Spitz discovered that babies isolated from human contact could not maintain their resistance to diseases. Even though they were given food, shelter, warmth and hygiene, but were not held, they had an abnormal tendency to die, in some instances over 90%! Growing older does not make the need for acceptance go away. Psychologists say that those who do not feel accepted; those who feel they are not included or that they are isolated tend to develop a hard exterior of indifference: an exterior that masks hurt, anger, and loneliness.
   
   Discuss:  If we all naturally seek to fit in and be included why is it so difficult for some and so easy for others? As we plan our service event what can we do in an attempt to make everyone feel included and a part of it? What is there about our service event that promotes compassion and kindness toward those who typically are not “included” in school? In our community?
   
    
4. Read: Webster defines “tolerance” as recognizing and respecting the opinions and rights of others; sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own. As we read in our daily newspapers and see in televised and Internet news bytes, we might identify with the cry of a victim of a hate crime, “There ain’t a whole lot of tolerance going on in this country!”
   
   Published annually since 1992, Hate Crime Statistics is the byproduct of a joint effort between the FBI and law enforcement agencies. This publication identifies and reports hate crimes. The reason for this publication is to raise the nation’s awareness about the occurrence of bias-motivated offenses and stimulate advocacy for those individuals and groups who are persecuted because of their skin color, the personal decisions they make, their spiritual beliefs, the private and political organizations they belong to, the way they look and choose to dress, and so on.  In 2004 the Hate Crime Statistics identified 7,649 criminal incidents motivated by a bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, having resulted in bodily injury or death.
   
   Discuss: Why do you think in the land of the free hate crimes still exist? What do you think has to happen in order to reduce the number of hate crimes or eliminate them altogether? How might our service event help to reduce intolerance in our school, in our homes, in our community, and in our world?
   http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/hc2004/openpage.htm
   
    
5. Read: The Nobel Peace Prize is a prestigious international recognition that is awarded annually on the 10th of December in Oslo, the capital city of Norway. Its founder and funder, Alfred Nobel, stipulated in his will that the Nobel Peace Prize should be awarded each year "to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity (brotherhood) between the nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”. Many historians claim that Mr. Nobel’s generosity resulted from his efforts to “compensate for his inventions of destruction” as Mr. Nobel is also credited with the development of dynamite and ballistite (a smokeless propellant made from two high explosives, namely nitrocellulose and nitroglycerin.) The selection of Nobel Peace Prize winners sometimes causes controversy, as well. Since 1901, the list of winners includes people who formerly used violent methods of problem-solving, but then later made exceptional concessions to non-violence in the attempt to achieve peace.
   
   Discuss: Why do you think Mr. Nobel chose to bequeath his money in this manner? What do you think he was hoping to accomplish by establishing the Nobel Peace Prize? During our service event what are some attitudes we are hope to reinforce? To change?  Some people were/are critical of Mr. Nobel’s motives and some people were/are critical of the prior motives of some of the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. In what ways might our service event be a “fresh start” or a “change of heart” or a “new beginning” for some?
   
    
6. Read: Recently the world paused to recognize a hero by the name of Jackie Robinson who burst onto the Major League Baseball scene in1947, breaking baseball's color barrier for the very first time and bringing the Negro baseball leagues' electrifying style of play to the major leagues. Mr. Robinson entered the all white world of Major League Baseball while the entire rest of world looked on. In the fish bowl of athletic competition, his every move was watched and scrutinized. While having to continue to tolerate much of the racial bias of that time, Jackie persevered and soon he became baseball's top drawing card and a symbol of hope to millions of Americans. Those who wrote about him were quick to say, he was an extremely talented, multi-sport athlete and a courageous man. On the diamond, he electrified the crowds with his speed, fielding agility, and power. He dominated games on the base paths and irritated opposing pitchers with his uncanny ability to drive in runs. But Mr. Robinson’s story of “having been there and done that” does not end with his collection of trophies and plaques.
   
   While continuing to lend his name and offer his talents to civil rights advocacy, Mr. Robinson also established The Jackie Robinson Foundation which provides comprehensive scholarships and support services to minority students enrolled in colleges and universities.
   
   Discuss: What do you think motivates people like Jackie Robinson, who even though often treated unfairly, “step up to the plate” and continue to do what they can to make the world a better place? When it comes to our service event, how might we encourage our classmates to “get off the bench and into the game” even though there may be some who jeer and hurl derogatory comments “from the bleachers”?
   
    
7. Read: In her new book entitled, Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain (2007) Sharon Bagley, a science columnist for the Wall Street Journal, reports that continued research affirms the idea that the greater one’s sense of emotional security, the less likely one is to be hostile or bias against people who are different from themselves. The greater one’s sense of emotional security the more likely one is to interact with members of groups other than their own and be empathetic and caring toward them.
   
   Scientists define emotional security as feelings of comfort and interdependence with others, an optimistic nature, a realistic self-confident approach to stressful and challenging situations, an acceptance by others, a feeling of being loved by family, a sense of being safe and secure, a self-esteem that says ”I’m certainly not perfect, but I’m OK for now.” If we feel good about our circumstances, and ourselves we tend to be more accepting and tolerant of others.
   
   Discuss: Assuming that the conclusion of this research is correct, what might it have to say about those who involved themselves in activities such as our service event? How might this information be helpful as we encourage others to join with us during this event? Why is it important that we help others gain a sense of their own emotional security? How might our service event help to promote and enhance our own emotional security as well as that of our peers and total strangers?
   
    
8. Read: In the original movie, City Slickers, starring Billy Crystal, some hard working city people decide to leave the pressures of their city life and check out life on a horse ranch. They thought it would be fun and easy to become cowboys for a time. It wasn’t long, however, before they discovered that being a cowboy took hard work, perseverance, responsibility, and courage. It was this movie and hearing about the gangs and gang violence in Los Angeles California, that inspired Michael McMeel of Agua Dulce, California to do something to help out. He opened up his 10 acre ranch to give “street kids” a chance to meet the cowboys.  Over the past 15 year an estimated 10,000 kids ages 10-18 have been given the opportunity to attend Inner City Slickers camps. “For many kids, this experience has helped them to grow and become responsible young men and women,” Mr. McMeel shyly admits.
   
   Discuss: In what ways might our service event require us to be hard working and responsible? It what ways might it require us to persevere with courage? How might this experience help us to grow and become even more responsible young men and women? Mr. McMeel took on some of the toughest cases, kids who operated alone and preferred it that way and was able to get them to cooperate and be a part of a team. What strategies do you think we could use that will help everyone who participates in our service event to see the value of teamwork?
   
    
9. Read: Korina Smith graduated from High School in 2001. Prior to her graduation ceremony she had already completed 16 mission trips to Third World countries, including three "Teens for Humanity" missions she organized and took classmates to join her. At California State University, she continued to involve her classmates in this work under a more ‘grown-up’ name: INSPIRE.  Her efforts captured the attention of The Stone Soup Institute, a leadership foundation that assists people in building a more peaceful and sustainable world. She was selected as one of the world's top 100 "teen heroes." The story of Smith's passion for teaching American youths how to think and love globally through helping less fortunate people is published in Stone Soup for the Teenage World a book filled with life-changing stories of kindness and courageous acts intended to promote good citizenship and public service.
   
   "Korina is amazing," said a spokesperson at the Stone Soup Institute. "She has demonstrated over and over again how much can be accomplished when everybody pitches in."
   
   Discuss: What might motivate someone like Korina Smith to do what she did at her age? Why is it important that everyone pitch in during our service event? How will our service event be an example of an accomplishment in building a more peaceful and sustainable world?
   
    
10. Read: The Ripple Effect is a term used often in education, sociology, and economics. It depicts the impact of every single thought or act whether that thought or act is deemed extremely important or seemingly insignificant. For example, if a student is not reprimanded to correct a behavior like talking when he or she is not supposed to be talking it is likely that the negative behavior will spread like a “ripple through water”. This means that the rest of the class is more apt to engage in talking at inappropriate times. If someone is seen tossing trash out of their car window, people who observe this negative behavior are more like to imitate it.
    
    Social Psychology refers to the positive aspects of this imitating behavior as the Modeling Theory. The basis of this theory is that by observing model behavior and imitating it, it will result in desired positive outcomes. For example if someone is observed being thoughtful and kind, odds are that those who are the recipients or even those who have just been observers of this thoughtful and kind behavior will be more likely to pass it along; creating a rippling effect ever expanding to include others.
    
    Discuss: The intent of our service event is to promote positive “ripples” in our school, community and world. In what ways will the Modeling Theory play an important role in the success of our event? Why is it important to the success of our service event that we consider the impact of our behavior on others? In what ways might what we accomplish during our service event result in a flood of thoughtful and kind deeds?
     

Reflection plays a very important role in promoting student learning. The following suggested activities are ways to help students reflect on their learning after they have participated in a service event.  Choose one or more of the activities most appropriate to the service event and your students.

ACTIVITY ONE:
Tell the students that they have been asked to write a newspaper article that will tell the story of their involvement in this recent service event. Since newspaper articles are usually brief and inform their readers by answering the questions Who? What? When? Where? Why? Their article also should be brief and include answers to these five questions. When completed have the students place a symbol on their article that they will recognize as their own when the articles are returned to them. Collect the articles and randomly redistribute them so students will be able to read other student’s work. Depending on time, continue this process until each student has been able to read at least three other articles. Conclude with a brief sharing of students’ thoughts and ideas.

ACTIVITY TWO:
Review the recent service event and have students share their impressions of what took place. Assign students to groups of two and provide each group with a variety of old newspapers. Ask the groups to scan the newspapers looking specifically for articles that speak to a social/societal problem and how this problem was addressed by an individual or a group of individuals.  Have them cut out as many of these types of articles from the newspapers as the designated time permits.  Have them then select one article from among those they have identified, which they feel most closely represents the intent of this recent service project. Collect these articles, one from each group, and randomly reassign them to other groups so that no one group has its original article.  Each group is to look for the similarities and differences they see between the article they have been given and the intent of this recent service project and share these similarities and differences with rest of the groups.

ACTIVITY THREE:
Provide each student with a variety of magazines and/or newspapers and instruct the class that they are to locate at least three company logos or slogans. Give each student a copy of the worksheet (below) and instruct them to cut out and attach the three logos or slogans that they have identified to their worksheet.  After a discussion as to why companies might develop and use logos and/or slogans, have the students complete the worksheet. Then have each student briefly share the logo or slogan he/she has selected and why? Distribute a piece of white construction paper to each student. Tell the class that now the challenge is for each of them to come up with their own logo or slogan to be used in promoting this same service project next year and draw/write it on the white construction paper. Once completed, collect and display all of the logos or slogans, without student names.  (NOTE: If the actual intent is to come up with a logo or slogan for use to promote this service project next year, voting for a classroom favorite might be appropriate.)
 

Name__________________

My three logos and/or slogans:

The logo or slogan I selected as having the most public appeal (from among the three logos I have identified) is circled above.

I think this logo or slogan would have more public appeal because….

ACTIVITY FOUR:
Have students consider this scenario. During this service project, if you had been given a digital camera with which to take three pictures for a motivational presentation, which three pictures would you have taken, and why?

 

Photo #1 (Describe the photo)

Why would you choose this photo to include in a motivational presentation?

 

Photo #2 (Describe the photo)

Why would you choose this photo to include in a motivational presentation?

Photo #3 (Describe the photo)

Why would you choose this photo to include in a motivational presentation?
 

Now have each student select their one photo from among the three taken “that will be added to the class album.” Have them share that photo with the class along with the reason for why they selected it as their favorite.  After everyone has an opportunity to share, engage the students in a discussion about similarities and difference in the photos selected as favorites and the reasons for selecting it.