other animal families and what they
need to be safe and healthy, including
protecting their home, which in turn
creates an opportunity for service
related to an animal ecosystem
that is close to the child. In Hong
Kong, there are many opportunities
for these types of activities, both
independently and through local and
service through conversation and
questioning to heighten engagement
and excitement. The questions should
begin with the tangible and then
work towards the more abstract,
such as, “Why are dolphins your
favourite animal?”, and then, “What
do dolphins need to be safe?”. Age-
appropriate information books can
they begin to understand local and
global issues at more complex levels.
Children will identify strongly with
equality, fairness and respect. They
may start to ask difficult questions
about why some people have more
or less and then feel strong emotions
about these realities. This can be an
ideal time to introduce a structure
for categorising the issues and
what can be done. I like to use the
permaculture principles of “Earth
Care,” “People Care,” and “Fair
Share” to clarify the issue or issues
at hand and support children in
planning for meaningful service and
action. For example, if a child shows
concern for people in our city who do
not have enough food or new clothes
for Lunar New Year, they could be
encouraged to connect this issue to
the big idea of inequality or “Fair
Share”, and then prompted to explore
the factors that have led to this issue.
It’s at this developmental stage
that it becomes clearer to students that
issues are multi-faceted, complicated
and often much bigger than we
initially anticipate. However, it is
also at this point that children begin
to truly feel the impact of service
learning and, ultimately, make the
choice to be active local and global
citizens, shaping their lives and the
lives of those they meet.
Heather Goode is a Grade 3 classroom
teacher and primary service learning
coordinator at Hong Kong Academy.
In Hong Kong, there are many
opportunities for these types of activities,
both independently and through local and
global organisations like the Save the Pink
Dolphin campaign and the International
Beach Clean-up initiatives.
global organisations like the Save
the Pink Dolphin campaign and
the International Beach Clean-up
initiatives.
Parents can support their
child’s developing understanding of
support this process and encourage
independence and self-discovery.
The next level
As children grow and gain more
knowledge and life experience,
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