Take One, Leave One (Make a difference!) by Jennifer Mitchell

As an educator, I believe providing students with an education is more than just academics.  Over the course of my career I’ve realized how important it is to build character education within the school.  One of the ways I try to promote leadership is by hosting an after school Service Club with some colleagues.  Service Club fosters the belief that we can make a positive impact on the lives of others.  At our meetings we ask the students how they can make a difference within the school, or the community.  We take the ideas and then vote on which ones to implement first. 

In the past, we have picked up trash around the school, collected toiletries for overseas soldiers, made Valentine Cards for the patients at Children’s Mercy, created bulletin boards promoting leadership in our school, collected money for Alex’s Lemonade stand, and the list goes on.  One of my favorite projects we have implemented is called, Take One, Leave One.  This idea came after I went to an art fair at the Plaza, in Kansas City.  At one of the booths someone had taken baseball card holders and placed tiny sketches in the pockets.  The idea was that you took one, but created one to leave in its place.  I loved the idea, but wanted to add the twist of leaving a positive message to go with the artwork.  I loved how these tiny messages could change the attitude or outlook of someone’s day.  Our Service Club placed some baseball card holders in the hall and left the first batch of positive messages.  We then left blank cards on a desk for students to create one and leave once they took one.  For me it was such a simple idea, but has instilled in our students how small acts of kindness can make a difference in your day.  

As a teacher, academics is obviously our top priority, but when students leave us with both academics and leadership skills it makes you feel proud knowing these are our future leaders!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jennifer