For the last three years, I’ve taught a class during my fifth period called the CFIS Philanthropic Society.
At my school, the teachers are given one period where we can pretty much teach what we want, just as long as we include an element of academic support. Some teachers use it as a homework class. Others use it as math support or just silent reading. I’ve decided to do something a little different.
In my class, I teach students the importance of giving back to those less fortunate. I call it the CFIS Philanthropic Society. (CFIS stands for Corona Fundamental Intermediate School).
We learn about how we can use our talents and abilities to help others who are in need.
When I explain it to my students on the first day, they have no idea what the word “philanthropy” means. Some think it’s a kind of religion.
I start the class with about 20 minutes of silent reading; then we do an activity where we learn the importance of giving back. In the past few years, my classes have been able to work on projects with the fire department, the animal shelter, the local food bank, senior centers, the children’s ward and the neonatal intensive care unit in a couple of hospitals near the school. It has been a great experience for my students and for me.
We are currently working on our biggest project yet – a 5K Walk for a child who has been diagnosed with leukemia.
Since this the first time I’ve ever put on an event of this size, I wanted to document the process and my experiences somewhere. I thought this blog would be the perfect place. I’ll be able to refer back to it the next time I do this, and hopefully, the lessons I learn will make it easier for other teachers to do similar events at their schools.
I’m going to take a break from my normal posts topics for a while, and focus on detailing the process that I’m going through while I organize this event. I would appreciate any advice or suggestions from anybody who has experience in these kinds of projects.
If you would like to donate to the cause, that also would be greatly appreciated. I’ve created a web page that has all the information here.
Subscribe to my RSS feed or follow me on Twitter, so you can join me as I go through the adventure of organizing this fundraiser.
Thanks,
Sam
Photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mkrigsman/
