Changing the World ONE CHILD AT A TIME

BY alyson aiello

If high-volume text messaging is any indication, middle schoolers are at the peak of their social awareness.

bancroft school At the Bancroft Middle School in Worcester, they've found a number of ways to direct that energy toward the greater good, including community service, cultural awareness, and character education.

Responsibility for self and others is such a big part of the school they've included it in their mission statement, which reads: "Students are steeped in a culture of compassion and respect. Through our community service program and a curriculum that celebrates world cultures, they learn to think beyond themselves and to embrace their roles as global citizens."

From the time students enter kindergarten at Bancroft's lower school - where they raise money for Thanksgiving turkeys for the needy - to the time they graduate the upper school, community service is part of the curriculum. But understanding the "big picture" really starts to happen at the middle school level.

Roger Jones, who has served as head of the middle school for the past seven years, said adolescence is a perfect time to begin opening students' minds to their responsibilities as citizens of the world.

bancroft school "Students at this age are beginning to expand their view of the world. They are expanding their group of friends, starting the process of breaking away from mom and dad, and it's a perfect time for them to be exposed to some of the problems in the world and to realize that not everyone has the same advantages that they do," Jones said.

The chief social awareness project at Bancroft is its community service program, now in its ninth year. It requires all 140 students in grades six, seven, and eight to participate in three service afternoons each year. Students, parents, and teachers work together to serve 16 different agencies throughout Worcester County.

"We go to retirement homes, food banks, inner-city elementary schools, railtrail organizations, Heifer International [to fight hunger] - to name a few. We introduce the program in assembly where we explain the importance of doing service and we explain what several of the agencies do," Jones said.

bancroft school Students then select the organization of their choice and begin work toward their service day - which might include collecting books for a school or canned goods for the food pantry.

"But, the most important aspect of our community service program is that it is not merely restricted to these three afternoons of service," Jones said.

The school hosts presentations during their weekly assembly about fundraisers for diabetes, arthritis, cancer, and more. They also raise funds for children in Tibet, and donate books and clothing. Some student clubs are geared toward service as well. One club focuses on reading to kindergartners; another donates time at the Mercy Centre, an organization that provides educational services to students with cognitive impairments. These are only a handful of the projects at Bancroft.

"Our goal is to inculcate students with the spirit of community service and to help them realize that, as Margaret Mead said, 'one small group of people can change the world,'" Jones said.

While students are at the heart of the "small group," parents are the hands, Jones said. There are nearly 50 parent volunteers who research potential service sites, gather and write information to present to students, and provide transportation on service days. In short, the program wouldn't run without them.

Susan Millette, a parent of two middle schoolers, volunteers her time because she wants to support the school's efforts to solidify the values she tries to teach at home. Part of being a good person, she said, is giving back. "And, a lot of times we don't get enough opportunities to do that."

Last year, one of Millette's sons went to Christopher Heights and entertained and socialized with the residents, while his older brother worked at a food pantry (where the family still works together during school breaks). She's pleased that the program has allowed her sons to feel more comfortable helping the needy while maintaining a sense of "alarm" at the hardships others face.

"It has allowed for great conversations at home," Millette said. "It helps them to be more respectful of different experiences outside of school and see how they can become better students of the community and better students of the world."

Another parent, Donna Wallace, said her eighth grade daughter has benefited greatly from involvement in the program. She said "learning by doing" has been the key to teaching social responsibility.

"Talking about the importance of donating to the food bank is not as meaningful as going to the food bank and helping to sort the food. Gaining an understanding of the struggles that a child with Down syndrome faces or the loneliness that an elderly resident of a nursing home feels isn't real until you spend some time with them," Wallace said.

Many students have continued working with organizations.

One former student, a dancer, had volunteered her time at a day care. Later, when she received money from her bat mitzvah she used the money to create a dance program at the day care. Another student worked with an elderly man at a nursing home and became the only person the man would open up to; the student continued visiting with the man long after the project ended.

Jones said happy endings come in large and small packages.

"I hope that the students broaden their perspective on the world - just a little - to realize that there are others in the world who do not live the same way that they live and to realize that their 'seemingly small' contribution is in fact changing the world of a person in a retirement home, or a homeless person who does not know where his or her next meal is coming from," Jones said.

Jamie Paul, who teaches English at the middle school, ran the community service project for eight years and said it inspires the children in many ways.

"They want to be adults and be involved and not be treated like little kids anymore," Paul explained. "Suddenly, they're in an environment where they can do a day's work and feel good about themselves.

Paul is also involved in teaching diversity awareness at the school.

In his English class, he teaches a unit on immigration in which students read personal accounts written by immigrants. Then, students discuss their reactions and have the opportunity to write about their own experiences, which helps them connect with the world around them.

Students who learn Spanish get the chance to practice their skills when they serve Spanish-speaking customers at the food pantry or visit inner city schools.

Advisory groups, made up of 10 to 12 students and an advisor, are yet another avenue to continue the discussion on social responsibility - but the focus is on self. During weekly group meetings students and advisors discuss age-specific social issues such as racism, media images, cliques, drugs and alcohol, and risky sexual behavior.

The work being done at the middle school gives students the tools to "up the ante" in the upper school, where they will spearhead service projects and be responsible for bringing information to students in the lower and middle schools. For example, some upper school students gather and then present information to younger students about organizations like UNICEF, the Gay Straight Alliance, and the Anti-Defamation League. In short, they become leaders, and, Jones hopes, great examples of global citizens.

Alyson Aiello is a Massachusetts-based freelance writer.