Social Responsibility Projects

Social Responsibility is the central theme in our school and as a way to teach our students about what it means, my Cooperating Teacher and I worked together to create two projects that were shared in our classroom and around the school. 

Our first project was taking on the issue of bullying.  We brainstormed and created instructional videos of where we can be bullied in the school and what we could do as a response.  The students then went to each classroom around the school, presenting these videos and leading discussions around these scenarios.  This was a great opportunity for the students to be leaders in the school and to develop empathy and compassion. 

Our second project was taking on the issue of homelessness.  At Christmas time, we tend to take advantage of the important things in our lives and we wanted to teach our students about appreciation, empathy, and altruism.  The students had to raise money by doing chores around the house, and whatever they raised it would go to feeding the homeless at a local shelter.  We also held a luncheon for all the staff in the building and we encouraged them to donate as well.  The students did a majority of the work and we, the teachers, filled in the gaps when needed.  In the end, we raised over $1200 and the students raised most of that money on their own. 

These projects were amazing to be a part of as I saw tremendous growth in my students and it taught me that teaching is far more than just the curriculum, it's about the impacts we make in the lives of our students.