Making a Difference, One Small Step at a Time!

Students in middle school are working hard to learn information that will help them as they become adults.  But that’s not the only thing they are doing.  Students are finding that Service Learning Projects are a fun and exciting way to learn and give back to the community.  Wait a minute!  Learning isn’t supposed to be fun... or is it?

Part of creating a Friends of Rachel (FOR) Club, is for students to identify projects that they are interested in creating. The FOR Club believes that big changes occur through the effort of a series of small acts – or projects. Esmeralda Villasenor, 7th Grade student at Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Madera Unified had this to say about Service Learning, "It made me think that we should all care for each other just as Rachel did for her classmates." By planning these projects, students apply the skills they are learning at school during the day, while building their leadership skills after school. Daniela Espinoza at MLK in Madera Unified said, "It was nice to break the ice and work with people I didn't know." At Desmond Middle School in Madera Unified, the students in the FOR Club have established a student group that has been proactive both in Club Yes and on campus in introducing themselves and sitting with new students.  They also work to introduce the new students to others and in so doing extending friendship while working to create a welcoming environment.

In recent years, we have learned that there are many benefits to students participating in Service Learning Projects. Service learning helps students see the relevance of what they are learning in the regular day program when they use those concepts and strategies to solve school or community problems in which they are interested. Students learn to collaborate with others, persistence and responsibility as they see themselves as active citizens. Service Learning Projects have been found to increase motivation in learning, the development of critical thinking skills and the improvement of communication skills.  All of these abilities have been identified as key factors for success as this generation of students prepare to enter a global workforce. 

The next time you wonder who is making the great changes you are seeing in your community – take a closer look at home.  It just might be your student!