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Youngsters pay it forward

Oct. 21, 2009

BU students teach the art of giving through Halloween pastime

Courtesy Photo Students accept canned food donations from a family Wednesday. A group of Baylor students put together the "Trick or Treat So All Can Eat" drive to help students learn to give. The drive donated all canned goods to Mission Waco.

By Melissa Perry
Reporter

For most middle school students, trick-or-treating is an opportunity to collect as much candy as possible for themselves.

However, for a group of students from the Academy for Creative Learning's after school program, a trick-or-treat expedition held Monday was all about giving instead of getting.

"Trick or Treat So All Can Eat" was sponsored by seven School of Education students enrolled in a class that focuses on teaching middle school grades. As a part of the class, the students are required to complete an advocacy project for young adolescents.

In an effort to encourage students to find fun and creative ways to serve their community, the trick-or-treat project was born. Instead of collecting candy, the students collected canned and non-perishable food to donate to Mission Waco.

The goal of the project was to show how young adolescents, despite their age, can still be contributing members of the community.

"It is important for adults to see that these kids can do good in the community," said Keller sophomore Jessica Roberts, who was one of the project coordinators. "At that age you think you can't do anything because you are young, but even just getting cans from people can help a lot."

Katy sophomore Priyanka Mathews, who also helped organize the project, said the students were pleasantly surprised to discover they could have fun even if they were not receiving candy.

Mathews said it also gave the community a chance to see middle school students acting as a positive influence in the community, since they are often stereotyped as an age group that does not have a good attitude about community service.

The project was also an opportunity to recognize October as the "Month of the Young Adolescent" which, according to the National Middle School Association's Web site, was established to encourage community organizations to focus on the needs of young adolescents.

The Web site states that one of the key goals of the "Month of the Young Adolescent" is to realize that middle school is a formative time in life and their education and experience will contribute, in large part, to the future.

The Teaching for the Middle Grades class echoes this goal by emphasizing the fact that middle school is an important time in an adolescent's life.

Mathews, believes taking the class helped change her perspective on teaching.

"At first I wanted to teach high school, but after taking this class I learned a lot," Mathews said.

"At that stage [adolescents] are going through a lot of changes, and I like to be a part of that and help them grow."

For Roberts, being an advocate for middle school students is more than teaching curriculum.

"I remember being in middle school and going through stuff," Roberts said.

"A lot of kids in Waco don't have solid role models. [As a teacher] you don't just have to be an academic adviser, but you can also be a role model."

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