Each year, every advisory at MMU spends a half of a day doing community service. One of my senior advisory members has invited us to help her family out at the dairy farm they have in Jericho. It's one of the only working dairy farms in Jericho and they are a family that has gone through a lot of hardships in the last year and a half. Clarissa lost her brother to a car accident and months later her dad was diagnosed with cancer.
We went to the farm last year and it was clear to me that many high school students have no understanding of what it means to help others in their community. We stacked about four cords of wood for the family (they go through 25 cords a winter) and I was also shocked by how little some of my students do in terms of physical labor. There were strong boys who appeared to have never lifted more than a pen or a computer.
I want Cally and Hazen to understand how important it is to be a part of a community and give to it.
We had a great time stacking wood, weeding, and feeding the baby cows. The big kids were so nice to the kids, including Zac, who is a 20 year old boy with down syndrome who participates in my advisory.
It seems fitting to add Auntie Cara's birthday to our post about community service. Cara and Tom are amazing people who do wonderful things for the world through their work. They make the world a better place. Here's to role models and opportunities that give these guys a sense of worth and helpfulness.
