6th Station – Drops that make the ocean
Set up:
You need to be online (with audio) to watch some video clips and do some online research. You will also need the A Spirit of Service in Me worksheet that you completed at Station 1. If you have not completed Station 1 you can Download resource here>
Have a pen and paper to hand to capture your thoughts. You will also need the Drop in the Ocean Worksheet which you can download here.
Download the Drop in the Ocean resource worksheet here>
Introduction:
Sometimes service is about working with a community, perhaps in a group, to address a collective need. But Service can also be a very personal and individual experience. Sometimes it is intentional – a deliberate act of kindness – but at other times it is an unintended consequence of doing something that just feels like the right thing to do.
Watch and Learn: Explore some of the TED Talks listed below. As you go consider the following questions (and make notes).
- Do you think that Mr Jensen could have foreseen the impact of his response to Clint?
- What power does Paz tell us collective kindness has?
- If kindness is service in its simplest form, what might be the outcome if we all remembered to be kind to one another?
- What examples of that are we seeing throughout the world right now
- Is being part of a community a choice or a fact?
- How can we ensure that as communities we remember to be kind to one another, not just at times of adversity, but in everyday life?
Clint Pulver: Be a Mr Jensen
Motivational Speaker, Clint Pulver has appeared on America’s Got Talent and in several different Feature Films with actors like Jack Black (School of Rock) and John Heder (Napoleon Dynamite). He was named one of Business Q Magazine’s “Top 40 Under 40” for his work in helping corporations elevate their “WHY” of mentor-ship. In this film he shares a story about the teacher, who one small act of kindness, made a huge difference to his life.
Paz Parel-Sewell: A Hot Dog for Kindness
A message of kindness from the eyes of a fourth grader. Kindness is as easy as sharing a hot dog. It is universal across languages, beliefs and cultures.
Ngee Ann Poly: The Why Behind Service-Learning
Me. You. Them. We might think we stand apart, but we are connected. This short, animated film illustrates what it means to be part of a community.
Consolidate with a task:
Consider the themes that were explored in the films. What role does kindness play in creating community and building a sense of shared responsibility? Ask yourself: is it always the biggest and most complex actions that have the biggest impacts or can our lives be changed by the smallest of interventions? Think about the small interventions you do – and could – make that might change someone else’s life for the better?
Take a look at the “kindness costs nothing” list below and consider what you might do for others. Note down other things you would add to the list:
- Send a supportive message to someone you know via email or social media
- Find a way to bring a smile to the face of someone that is sad
- Offer practical support to a neighbour in need
- Check on family members you haven’t spoken to for a while
- Get back in touch with friends you have lost contact with
- Take the time to talk to someone that is lonely or feeling isolated
- Share skills that you are learning or work you have done
- Promote local small business
- Be accepting and sympathetic of others’ situations
Now consider what acts of kindness, generosity and community you have heard about in recent weeks. What have you seen or read in the news? What has popped up on social media feeds?
Now gather together your A Spirit of Service in Me worksheet and your copy of the Discovering a Spirit of Service resource sheet from Station 1 (or download them now if you didn’t stop there) and consider the final column: “How I will use?”
When we involve ourselves in Service Learning we make a range of personal Discoveries about ourselves and the world around us – things that you might not expect – virtues and qualities you didn’t think you had; skills and knowledge you hadn’t learnt or hadn’t tested yet. This is what we gain from Service Learning. But we also have a responsibility and an opportunity to use those Discoveries to have an even bigger impact next time.
Think about the service learning projects and partnerships you have already been involved with as well as any new thoughts you want to include about acts of kindness or opportunities to be of service to others in your everyday life. Use column three on your A Spirit of Service in Me Resource Sheet to record your thoughts as to how you might use each of the RS Discoveries in doing this e.g. you might use communication skills to send a message of support to a friend or compassion in comforting an upset friend (you can leave one or two of the boxes blank if you can’t think of anything).
Be a drop that makes an ocean:
Consider these two quotes that highlight the importance and power of individual actions:
“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito” Dalai Lama.
“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop” Mother Teresa.
Consider a small act of kindness that you will undertake this week as a service to someone else and capture it on the water drop. You can write it as a simple statement of what your will do, or a call to action if you would like to encourage others to do the same.
Cut your water drop out, decorate it, stick it on your window (facing in). Let’s see if with our water drops we can make a puddle, pond, lake, sea, or ocean of kindness across the Round Square world?
Sharing your drop in the ocean:
You are invited to post a photo of your drop in the ocean and tag us using @RoundSquare or #RSocean.