American Studies: Ben Franklin Service Project

All 136 Juniors take American Studies taught by Dana Anderson, Kathleen Jones, Charlie Mellon, Rich Robinson, and Geoff Dyhrberg.   Recently they did a unit of study on the American Revolution and Ben Franklin: A Man of Many Talents and explored his diverse areas of interest and virtues respectively: Economist, Musician, Inventor, Printer, Scientist, Diplomat, Temperance, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity, and Humility. Students read parts of The Autobiography of Ben Franklin to get some background information about this renaissance man who believed deeply in philanthropy. Franklin was a prodigious inventor. He never patented his inventions and wrote “ as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by an invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously.” He wrote that his scientific works were to be used for increasing efficiency and human improvement.

Students were asked to create a service project that tied to one of Ben Franklin's diverse areas of interest or the virtues he lived by. They kept journals, wrote reflections, and gave presentations to their classmates. They performed over 900 hours of service in a 2 week span. Many are continuing to volunteer. The projects varied for example: soup kitchens, trail work, working with young children and elders, clothing and food drives, yoga instruction, building shelving for the school guidance department, writing a children's book, volunteering at local organizations and creating murals at the high school.

Some reflection quotes:

“This experience was really great. At first I thought I was going to hate this project. Once we started to plan everything I started to get super excited. Knowing that we were doing something that would make a difference to people was a really good feeling.” Heath Bach

“This was a great experience. It taught me a lot,” Gabby D.

“This experience will never be held as just a project I had to complete for school, but rather an enlightment to a whole different world of thinking.” Katie Hurlow

“ I believe that the world will be more beautiful if everyone does something to help others.” Jiao Jintao

“The most important thing I will take away from this project is how rewarding it is to improve someones life through the sharing of knowledge.” Jessica Perry

“When I first heard we were going to do a service project in class I got excited because I know from past experiences the feeling I get after I help somebody is wonderful” Naomi Williams