Goodrell Students Learn About the Power of One
Students in Bill Flesch’s class at Goodrell present what they did with a dollar to make a difference.
We’ve reported here before on a project at Merrill Middle School called Dollar Doing Good. It was developed by science teacher Blake Hammond as a community service prompt for students. Every 6th grader gets a dollar from the PTA and parlays it into some greater good.
Well, it’s not just top secret classroom notes that get passed around in schools. So do good ideas.
Hammond’s counterpart at Goodrell, Bill Flesch, was so impressed by the results at Merrill that he decided to give the idea a try across town. He’s calling it The Power of One and whatever you call it, it works!
Throughout the day Tuesday at Goodrell 6th graders reported in Flesch’s classroom on what came of their lone greenbacks during the month of December.
Some were simply pitched into the red buckets of the Salvation Army or passed on to homeless, hungry panhandlers. Others were used as conversation starters at neighborhood churches and became the seed money for grander fundraising campaigns, like twigs kindling campfires that lots of people gather around.
The Goodrell Foundation provided $144 for Flesch’s contingent of novice Samaritans and it turned out that The Power of One was more a hint about individual potential than a project budget.
A few students offered free babysitting services. Others wrapped holiday gifts at community agencies. One girl bought a cheap toy for a dog named Oscar at the Animal Rescue League and stayed to play with him for hours. Monday’s snowstorm was opportune for procrastinators who might have otherwise had little to report on Tuesday. Instead they proudly recounted helping to push stuck cars and shovel neighbors’ driveways.
The dollars were just the beginning and that of course was just the point of Flesch’s assignment which, by the way, was not graded.
“I wanted the 6th graders to at least dip their toes into the concept of service to others,” he said, “because service learning will be an important component of their IB curriculum as 8th graders.”
There was nothing scientific about the science teacher’s homework but it did serve the purpose of a good lesson in multiplication.
The kids got so infected with the notion of volunteerism that Flesch didn’t have to make them come forward in front of the class and give their summaries; many of them could hardly wait for their chance to stand and deliver.
Ben Tillotson of the foundation was on hand to see what became of the group’s investment.
“You all did things of value to others,” he told Flesch’s last class of the day. “Hopefully you got an idea of your own value and your own power to have a positive impact in people’s lives.”
Though the deadline has passed not all of the projects are finished. Kenna and Kaytlin got some matching funds to buy materials to make and sell bracelets on behalf of the ARL @ 50 cents; 75 for “fancy” ones. They haven’t quite reached their goal of $100 and don’t plan to stop until they do.
That’s the power of a couple of ones.
