Service learning at Colegio Gran Bretaña is so much more than donating money. Where is the learning in that? The bake sales we run to raise money are fantastic ways of bringing our community together, sharing in some delicious treats, and collecting money for a good cause. But there is no actual learning in that. We might feel a sense of satisfaction for having donated to a cause through the purchase of a doughnut – and that is perfectly valid. But where the real magic happens is where the service is two way, and learning actually takes place for our students and the people they are serving. There is some amazing research into the benefits of Service Learning. (That study was written by one of the professors on my MA in International Education, Mary Hayden).
An amazing example of this is the annual Cazucá Health Brigade. Our CAS students design, plan, execute and then reflect on the whole event. Imagine what it takes for them to run the logistics of transforming the whole Secondary Building into a one day clinic? Imagine what has to happen in order to convince medics, dentists, psychologists, opticians, ear specialists, and other professionals to volunteer their time on a Saturday? Imagine the foresight that is needed to arrange for 100 children from Cazucá to travel to CGB, knowing that some of the people on the list will come, some won’t and that others who were not on the list will appear! Imagine the skills that are needed to be able to go with the flow when the flow is good, or to use grit and resilience when things do not go according to plan. Imagine the determination that is needed to persuade as many students as possible to donate the items needed for the health kits that the children are given? Imagine the personality traits that are needed of the group leaders to build relationships with the children in their groups in such a small amount of time, to build trust so they hold their hands when having a tooth extracted. Imagine the stamina that is needed to be a group leader/big sister/brother throughout the course of the day, and that when the children have gone, to stay back and help put things back to normal. CGB students have all of these characteristics in bucketloads! They impress and amaze me every single year. And it isn’t just for the Health Brigade! They invest themselves, their minds, their souls and their hearts in so many Service Learning projects during every academic year. These students, your children, are role models for so many.
THIS is Service Learning. Thank you so much for supporting them, for believing in them, and allowing them to develop themselves in these incredible ways. While it is at the core of who we are as a school, it is also one of the IDEALS of the Round Square organisation, and of course a requirement of the International Baccalaureate’s Diploma Program. #thisisCGB#weareCGB
Robert Tomalin
Director