Every
year at Park, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, we forgo regular classes to
participate in a half day of community service. There are dozens of options, both on and off campus that
students can choose to sign up for.
This day provides a nice break from the monotony of classes, and gives
us a great opportunity to give back to the community.
We
should be grateful that Park gives them the chance to take off school and make
a difference. Instead, many
students choose to just stay home on Day of Service. They figure it’s a good chance to recuperate, and after all
they’re “not missing anything important.”
I personally find this unbelievably selfish.
I
admit that many of the service options are lackluster. Making sandwiches or picking up trash
across campus isn’t exactly my idea of an exciting morning, but that’s not the
point. Even if your participation
is negligible in the grand scheme of things, simply skipping out on the Day of
Service is not in the spirit of Thanksgiving, or, for that matter, The Park
School.
Our
philosophy preaches positive expectations; when students are absent on the Day
of Service, teachers assume that they are gone with good reason. It is true that a lot of kids go away
to visit relatives for the holiday.
Meanwhile, other students abuse these positive expectations when they
don’t come into school, relying on their teachers and peers to excuse their
absence.
Park
students come from all different backgrounds, and everyone has their unique
concerns and problems, but something that we all have in common is the luxury
of attending a remarkable school.
No matter how we got here, we all share the teachers and resources that
compose our school. So, think
twice before you decide to sleep in Wednesday morning. Is it too much to ask that for just one
day a year, we stop thinking about ourselves and take one for the team?
Wanna explain how making sandwiches is "a lackluster activity," Honestly, I've done sandwich making every year and it is both extremely helpful for us to make well over 1000 sandwiches for homeless people, and it's a fun experience. If you're going to say that an activity is pointless than look no further than hunger breakfast where students eat rice/pancakes and talk about people being hungry and they do nothing to address this hunger such as making sandwiches.
ReplyDeleteSTOP WHINING ABOUT DUMB STUFF
ReplyDelete-Ya Boi
Pat G.-
ReplyDeleteI would argue that making sandwiches is lackluster, which means unexciting. I would also agree that it it is extremely helpful for those people and a great thing to do.
Ya Boi-
The fact that you call this dumb is proof of your ignorance and you might actually benefit from reading this more closely.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME. Next thing you're gunna tell me you hate christmas. Making sandwiches is all about helping people to get un-hungry (if that's a word) ultimately, the good activities are the ones where you're actually doing an act of service that helps someone else. If you can't do something in the spirit of helping people than you're gunna get a lump of coal for christmas #DayOfServiceRules
ReplyDelete