Community Service
In correlation with Dewey, community service would be a great way to help create a community of learners. Students live, play, and work out in the community and should be happy to make it a better place. If this idea could be instilled at an early age, students would grow with the idea that their involvement is necessary and appreciated. They could take what they know about there own community and use it in the classrooms.
For example, one form of community service that I did in high school was helping out with activities at a local nursing home and visiting with the residents. We were able to see how a nursing home was managed and the necessary work it took on the part of everyone involved to keep the residents happy and healthy.
Using this as an example, students can incorporate a nursing home into all areas of the curriculum including mathematics (expenses of a nursing home and how many residents per room or activity), reading (reading to residents), science (doctors and medications), health (special diets or types of exercise and physical therapy), and history (stories from older people who have lived through the wars or depressions). Any type of information they learn is extra because they would not have known it unless they out involved in the community. They probably do not realize how much they are learning until it can be tied into what they learn in school. They will be more invested in the education because they are activity involved in it. What they are learning affects more than just them. Their presence and help at the nursing home also affects lives of the residents. This gives their community service a purpose.
Another example of a community service project would be building a house for Habitat for Humanity. By doing this you could incorporate a lot of different classes such as: wood shop, electrical class, architecture, and some business classes. All of these classes would contribute to the overall product of designing, and building the house.
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