Category: Service

A New Year Begins…

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, I spent the winter break with my family and took a break from work. I pretty much unplugged (from email, blog, twitting, etc.) for the duration of the break. I’ve never really unplugged before and I’m surprised how much I enjoyed it. Of course, I’ll be catching up for a while, but it was well worth it. Anyway, that explains all the silence here on the blog.

Here are some notes to help us catch up.

  • Our presentation proposal for NECC was accepted. I’m very excited about attending this year’s conference.
  • Merry Christmas – We celebrated 4 different times. That’s actually a low number for us.
  • Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. I heard her speak once and was impressed.
  • The Bulldogs won in the Liberty Bowl. The SEC went 7-2 in bowl games and even captured the national championship.
  • Happy New Year – I remember ringing in 2000 just like it was yesterday. I can NOT believe it is already 2008!!!
  • Each of us in our family made resolutions for 2008. Did you?
  • A line of tornadoes ripped across Central and North Central Mississippi. One tornado in particular tore through the little community of Caledonia. You can read about the devastation and recovery efforts here and here.
  • The Cowboys, Titans and Colts have all lost. I don’t really care who wins now as long as it’s NOT the Patriots.
  • Our new semester begins today. I’m excited about the courses I’m teaching.
  • The Australian Open has gotten underway. I’m pulling for Djokovic and Davenport, but predicting that Federer and Henin will win.
  • The Bulldogs are now 2-0 in the SEC. Tomorrow night’s game against Kentucky will be on ESPN.

Random Notes from Clif

Joe Namath graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in interdisciplinary studies today, 42 years after leaving Alabama to go pro. Great story!!!

Have you ever seen The Human Clock? Be sure to also check out The Human Calendar!

I don’t think that I’ve ever mentioned Modest Needs. It’s another good source to get involved with charity work/ service education. The slogan, “Small Change. A World of Difference.” says it all.

OLPC Extends “Give One, Get One” Program

I recently mentioned that OLPC had kicked-off a fund-raising drive that allowed consumers in the U.S. and Canada to acquire an XO laptop of their own. It was announced today that the deadline to participate in this opportunity was extended until December 31, 2007. Here’s the announcement from the OLPC website.

Since November 12th, OLPC has been offering a limited-time Give One Get One program in the United States and Canada. During Give One Get One, you can donate the revolutionary XO laptop to a child in a developing nation, and also receive one for the child in your life in recognition of your contribution. Thanks to a growing interest in the program, we are extending Give One Get One until the end of the year. You also may donate laptops via our Simply Give and Give Many options. Though the increasing public interest in OLPC, we hope to give many more children the opportunity to grow, explore, learn and express themselves.

THE CHALLENGE to All Educators 2007

I recently wrote a post encouraging educators to get students actively involved in service education. In it I provided my rationale for implementing service activities in the classroom and suggested some resources to help you get started.

Your feedback has caused me to decide to take this a step further. Now, rather than simply encouraging teachers (in general) to do this I’m now challenging you (specifically you) to start a service activity in your classroom. The holiday season is upon us, so I think it’s a perfect time to talk about service and initiate a project with your students.

Here’s THE CHALLENGE.

  1. Kick-off a service activity in your classroom.
  2. Make us, the readers of this blog (there are hundreds of visitors on a daily basis), aware of your project before you begin. I’ve dedicated a new section of the blog to this activity and added a permanent link titled The Challenge to the main menu. This allows us to to share information, provide links to personal/ class blogs, wikis, websites, etc. where we can learn about each other’s projects and share resources and ideas. You can post your information by a) leaving it in the comments in The Challenge area, b) emailing me a link to your project blog, wiki, site, etc. that I’ll add to The Challenge area, or c) emailing me your information, files, links, etc. that I’ll post in The Challenge area.
  3. Keep working on your project and enjoy all the wonderful things that will surely come from it.
  4. Share. Share. Share. Let’s provide updates by which we (including our students) can all follow each other’s progress. Again, you can do this by clicking on The Challenge link in the menu, or by emailing me links, information, files, photos, etc. that I can post on Clif’s Notes for you.

Let’s make the world a better place. I CHALLENGE YOU!!! 🙂

Resources

Here are some great resources to help you get started.

OLPC: Give One, Get One

OLPCFrom the One Laptop Per Child site…

“The mission of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is to empower the children of developing countries to learn by providing one connected laptop to every school-age child. In order to accomplish our goal, we need people who believe in what we’re doing and want to help make education for the world’s children a priority, not a privilege. Between November 12 and November 26, OLPC is offering a Give One Get One program in the United States and Canada. During this time, you can donate the revolutionary XO laptop to a child in a developing nation, and also receive one for the child in your life in recognition of your contribution.”

WAIT, that’s not all. 🙂 You also get one year of complimentary T-Mobile HotSpot access for FREE.

Order you laptops, now.

Kiva.org

I recently learned about an online non-profit organization that is trying to alleviate poverty all around the world. Kiva allows you to lend money “to a specific entrepreneur in the developing world–empowering them to lift themselves out of poverty.” It has received great reviews and endorsements from notable organizations and individuals that lead me to believe that this is a trustworthy cause.This would be a very easy way to get students involved in service. It requires minimum effort to get started and provides the opportunity for you and your class to keep up with your grantee’s progress.

We’d all enjoy hearing your ideas and experiences related to this topic.

Kiva - loans that change lives

Service Education

Of all the educational curricular areas and ideas service education and moral education are my favorites. Of course I became a teacher to help students become literate and knowledgeable and to assist them in becoming excellent mathematicians, scientists, etc. I think that is all very important. However, my primary motivation for becoming a teacher was and is that I want to encourage students to be “good people.” I think it is important to teach students the value in being kind, respectful, caring, and giving. I’m a big believer that actions speak louder than words. Students often learn more by watching what we do rather than from listening to what we say. I also believe that learning is enhanced when the learner is actively engaged. Service projects provide excellent opportunities to combine all of these elements into experiences that can have great, great benefit. Who knows, you might even end up encouraging your students to start their own projects just like these kids have done: Common Cents and PurBlu.

Here are a few trustworthy resources to help you begin using service projects in your classroom.

  1. Kiva
  2. Modest Needs
  3. Touch A Life
  4. Hurrican Katrina Recovery in Pascagoula, MS
  5. Ryan’s Hope
  6. Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation
  7. Children for Tomorrow
  8. Cancer Related Charities – The Breast Cancer Site, American Cancer Society, Relay for Life, Live Strong, Susan G. Komen
  9. Access even more resources by clicking on the Service tag on my blog and bookmarks.

Would you please share your service project ideas, experiences, and resources with the rest of us?