I also remember the conversations
my family had about these experiences
at the dinner table, which helped me
solidify their importance to our values.
When I was ten, my parents found
an article in a parenting magazine,
similar to this one, advertising a
non-profit organisation for children
–
CISV International – dedicated to
building global friendship through
peace education and service-learning
activities. They took me along,
quite reluctantly I should add, to
an informational meeting, where
they were immediately struck by the
confidence and self-assurance of two
teenagers who spoke about their local
and international experiences in the
organisation. I was equally impressed,
especially by the new kids I met from
all over the city and how fun the
Keeping it real
As an educator, I am continually
shifting hats between my idealistic
service learning brain that says,
“
Tackle the big issues head on!”, and
my slightly more practical teacher
brain that asks, “Is it going to work,
and how long will it take?” I have
learned from my conversations and
interactions with colleagues and
students that meaningful service often
comes about in the most subtle of
ways. One project had us working to
create an environmental action plan
after learning about Hong Kong’s
recycling processes and landfills, and
then cleaning up two of the city’s
beautiful beaches as part of a service
learning project. Afterwards, one
child talked to me about his reason
for wanting to reduce paper usage at
home and in school. He explained that
he wanted to protect the trees because
he really cared about them and it
made him emotional to think that
they could be harmed by wastefulness.
Those are powerful ideas for any
individual, but particularly for a third-
culture child, who is new to Hong
Kong and the local environment.
The cycle of first learning
about and inquiring deeply into an
important, relevant topic and then
searching out meaningful service
opportunities that will positively
transform the topic in a small way
allows students to personally and
positively connect to other people and
issues. Harvey Milk, a well-known
American human rights activist
during the 1960s and 1970s, said,
“
You’ve got to give them hope”, when
asked about how he motivated people
to continue to stand up for a cause.
Children innately believe in hope
and the possibility for change. We, as
their mentors and supporters, have
a responsibility to encourage this
positive outlook to the future that will
belong to them.
Children can be impacted by
and begin to understand the idea of
service at a young age – particularly
the feelings and emotions connected
to helping others wholeheartedly.
Pre-schoolers and kindergarten-aged
children understand the importance
of their family community and how
each member plays a different role in
making the family happy and safe.
This understanding can be related to
I have learned from
my conversations
and interactions
with colleagues
and students that
meaningful service
often comes about
in the most subtle
of ways.
activities were. How could something
educational be that fun, I wondered.
My subsequent experiences as
a participant in CISV programmes
introduced me to service and service
learning in subtle ways, like learning
from the local police force about the
impact of graffiti on local shops and
business owners, and then helping
to design and create an attractive
mural to cover the graffiti and
prevent future vandalism. Growing
up with a mind towards service,
volunteerism and its impact shaped
the foundation of my current values
and my professional role as a teacher
and service learning coordinator
at Hong Kong Academy, as well as
my volunteer role in the education
department of CISV International.
way street experience” that results
in mutual benefit and learning for
both parties. Born in the non-profit
world, service learning has grown and
been embraced by schools and other
educational groups as a tool for deep
and authentic learning at all ages.
Once your kids understand that
serving others means both sides
benefit, they’ll then be more ready
to understand what a community is:
a community might be your family,
a play group, housing block, sports
team, dog shelter or an international
building project, and its definition can
grow and shift with the development
of the child. Since service learning is
so strongly connected to community,
the concept of community must first
be made real for the child so they can
move to finding ways to help that or
another community.
Cultivating care
My own passion for service and
community activism stems from my
parents and their connections to our
school and city. I grew up going to
rallies to save old-growth forests,
making patches for hospice quilts with
seniors, and stuffing food hampers for
holiday deliveries with my family in
our small Canadian city. While
I don’t remember the exact
organisations or even the
details of the projects,
the connections
that I easily
made with new
people because
of my naivety
and openness as
a child, made
a deep and
meaningful
impact.
December 2012
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