Northern School Notebook
Students learn the value of service, complete projects
FREEPORT—Juniors at Freeport High School recently studied the American Revolution and Benjamin Franklin, exploring his diverse areas of interest and virtues. By reading parts of "The Autobiography of Ben Franklin," students learned Franklin was a prodigious inventor who never patented his inventions and wrote “as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by an invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously.”
The schools service learning coordinator worked with 136 students to create community service projects in honor of Franklin's legacy. They kept journals, wrote reflections, and gave presentations to their classmates. They performed more than 900 hours of service in a two-week span. The volunteer projects varied from soup kitchens, trail work, working with young children and elders, clothing and food drives, yoga instruction, and building shelving for the school guidance department. Many students continue to volunteer.
After the experience, student Jiao Jintao said “I believe that the world will be more beautiful if everyone does something to help others.”