These Learning Links provide ten quick-and-easy, five-minute mini-lessons to promote student thought and dialogue about service and civic engagement. You may use as many of them as you wish, and in whatever order best meets your needs and the interest of your students. The purpose of these mini-lessons is to provide a deeper understanding of philanthropy (the giving of time, talent, and treasure for the common good) and to reinforce the lesson focus. These Learning Links also promote the development of character traits, civic engagement, and student leadership. As appropriate to your grade level, it is recommended that students play an active leadership role in presenting these mini-lessons to their classmates.

1. Read: Carmen and Sophie lived in the same neighborhood. They started out as friends, but now they fight more than get along. Carmen was quiet and did not like to get into arguments; she thought they should stop being friends. Sophie liked to tell her point of view, and did not mind getting angry and then making up; she wanted them to remain friends. Feeling frustrated about not getting along, Sophie started to gossip about Carmen to Carmen’s school friends. Carmen felt very hurt and sad, but she didn’t say anything to Sophie. Carmen started getting stomachaches and worried that her school friends would start believing Sophie and stop being her friend.
   Discuss: Sometimes it seems like friends can speak different languages. They say one thing, but the friend hears it a different way. How can Sophie and Carmen show kindness and respect for each other? How could Carmen’s friends respond with kindness and fairness to the situation? Why is it important to speak directly to a friend you have an issue with rather than being silent or talking to other friends?
2. Read: In some developing countries, life is especially hard for girls and women. Women do most of the farming work, but not many of them own the farm. Girls work to help support the family, and many do not go to school or have the same rights as boys. Some organizations, such as UNICEF, recognize that life is not fair for women. These organizations provide money and training to help women and girls get education and resources so their children are healthier and have more opportunity for the future. They know that women make decisions for their families that improve the lives of children.
   Discuss: What is does gender inequality mean? Are girls and boys treated alike in our school and/or community? How do you think developing countries will change in the future if girls go to school and college? In what way is gender inequality an issue of justice.
3.  Read: In the book The Giver by Lois Lowry the characters live in a world where there is no conflict. Everyone is completely equal, and all expectations are spelled out for each year of everyone’s life. Sharing feelings and apologies are a regular part of each day. It sounds like a perfect world, doesn’t it? But there are problems. When everyone is the same and there are no surprises, life can be pretty dull. In order to remove all unpleasantness, the community over time has removed all the joy and creativity of life.
   Discuss: We would like to live in a perfect world, but that isn’t a world in which everyone is the same. Our differences may cause conflict, but they also give us strength and creativity. Why is it important for the world to be made up of people who have different perspectives and strengths? What challenges result from differences? What benefits from differences do you see for our community?
4.  Read: Have you heard about Habitat for Humanity? “Habitat for Humanity believes that every man, woman, and child deserves to live in a simple, decent, and safe house”. Habitat for Humanity gathers volunteers and donated supplies to build inexpensive houses for families in need. So far, Habitat for Humanity has built over 300,000 affordable homes all over the world. However, the house isn’t free for the partner family. The new homeowner must pay a monthly payment for the house and agree to help build other Habitat homes. 
   Discuss: How is building a house for a family in need an act of justice or fairness? Why do you think Habitat doesn’t just give houses away for free? Why is having a safe house a basic right? In what ways is Habitat for Humanity good for communities?
5.  Read: Martin Luther King, Jr., in a speech called “The Drum Major Instinct,” made the following statement: “If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That’s a new definition of greatness. It means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.”
   Discuss: How do you think serving others makes you great? When you look for opportunities to be kind, are you thinking about greatness? Why or why not? What is the reason that most people choose to be helpful and kind? When you do something kind for someone else, what good things happen to you?
6. Read: His classmates called Aaron, The Turtle. For the most part it was just some friendly kidding. After all, Aaron’s hands were usually buried deep in his pockets and his head deep inside the hood of his dark green windbreaker looking a lot like a turtle pulled back into its shell. To see his face was like looking down a long dark hallway. Besides that he seemed basically shy and didn’t move very fast. During gym, when the class was directed to choose sides for a free throw shooting contest, Aaron was usually one of the last children selected. When it came to any running games he was the last kid selected.
   It wasn’t until Mr.Aloffs, our school counselor, came to the classroom to talk about “bullying” that Aaron's classmates began to understand how much their calling him The Turtle might be hurting his feelings. Mr. Aloffs said that “bullying” occurs anytime someone intentionally or unintentionally teases, makes fun of, or ridicules another person. He said that people who are bullied usually react in a number of ways. They can fight back, they can laugh it off, they can chose to ignore it, but most people suffer silently and go deeper into their shell. Everyone thought of Aaron.
   Discuss: No one likes to be called names no matter how tough they are or how much they laugh it off. While some nicknames can be fun, they also can be hurtful. How can we tell the difference? Our Martin Luther King, Jr. Day event is all about fairness, kindness, justice, thoughtfulness, and common decency. How might putting an end to bullying or name-calling be a part of our planned event? How can we help people, who might be hurting, come out of their shell?
7. Read: The sports world mourned with NFL (National Football League) coach Tony Dungy and his family at the unexplained death of their 18 year old son who took his own life. In his new book entitled Quiet Strength, Mr. Dungy admits that like a football, life can take some pretty crazy bounces. Bounces that call for perseverance; for staying the course; for keeping on keeping on. Fourteen months after his son’s burial, Mr. Dungy became the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl. Amidst all the clamor and celebration, Mr. Dungy notes, “Football is just a game. It lasts for three hours and when it’s over it’s over—and life goes on”. His kinder, gentler motivation style is in direct contrast to the more typical approach taken by coaches; that of an in-your-face, winning-is-everything approach. “I try to get across to my players that a lot of people will admire you for how you play, but in the long run, it is more important to have them admire you for how you live.” Such is the stuff of which Mr. Dungy is made. When asked how he would like to be remembered he says, “I hope people will remember me not as a person who developed good football players, but as a person who made an impact in the community, made the places I worked better places to live, and really helped develop young men that I worked with to be better parts of the community that we live in…. Pressing on to help others is all I can do. It’s all any of us can do.”
   Discuss: In what ways might our involvement in our service event require perseverance? According to Mr. Dungy, it seems that how you use your talent is more important than just having talent. How might this be true? What do you suppose Mr. Dungy meant when he said that “pressing on” to help others is all any of us can do”? Mr. Dungy is considered by all who know him to be a good man and a good citizen of his community. What about Mr. Dungy contributes to this evaluation of him? In what ways might our involvement in our service event and all the days that follow also lead to an evaluation of our being a good person and a good citizen?
8. Read: Lupita complained to her mother. ”All I ever hear is ‘brush your teeth’, ‘make your bed’, ‘eat your vegetables’, ‘do you homework’, ‘turn that music down’ ‘watch your brother’ and on and on. What law says I have to do all these things?” Lupita’s mother only smiled and nodded her head. She knew that Lupita was obviously upset and that now was not the time to offer an explanation. The next morning, Lupita came down stairs for breakfast but mom had not set out the cereal or made the toast which she always did. Grabbing a breakfast bar, Lupita went to find her favorite pair of slacks only to find that her mother had not washed them as Lupita had asked her to do. Putting on something she really didn’t want to wear and reaching for her books and school lunch, she realized that mom had neither made her a lunch nor set out her school books on the table near the front door as she had done almost every day since Lupita entered middle school….”
   Mom!” she exclaimed, “what’s going on, here?”
   Calmly her mother asked, “What do you mean?”
   "Well, there wasn’t breakfast this morning, my clothes weren’t washed, my lunch wasn’t made….”
   “Oh”, her mother interrupted, trying to act surprised, “I didn’t realize that there was a law that I had to do those things.”
   Discuss: A lot of us hear the same kind of instructions from our families that Lupita heard from her mom and occasionally we may have similar feelings. Sometimes there are no specific laws that govern our behavior but in most of those situations a sense of fairness exists. What lesson in fairness do you think Lupita learned? Can and do laws govern every aspect of our lives? Why or why not? In those instances where there are no laws to govern our behavior why is it important that fairness, justice, understanding, kindness, and compassion direct our behavior? In what ways does our service event fulfill a law? In what ways does it just reflect a sense of fairness, justice, understanding, kindness, and/or compassion?
9. Read: At St. Vincent - St. Mary High School, located about a mile from downtown Akron, Ohio, LeBron James was known as a hardworking student and generous classmate. It was here that he not only displayed great athleticism but also his commitment to academics. Patty Burdon, public relations director at St. Vincent - St. Mary High School says, “LeBron took his academic career as seriously as he took his athletics. Even though he was a star in high school, he treated everyone with respect. He was a great example, especially for the underclassmen. He had no problem sharing the limelight with others in the school. And when he graduated, he earned his cap and gown, because “he’s a finisher”.
   Brian Knight, the athletic trainer at St. Vincent - St. Mary High School also remembers LeBron being a generous spirit in high school. “He amazed me with how he handled a bench player, a starter, his fellow classmate,” Knight recalls. “There is not a doubt in his mind. He has confidence in everyone around him, which makes him so special.” LeBron was a fun-loving high school student.
   “He was no different than anyone else,” Burdon says. “He carried his own books, he used the same bathrooms, he joked, he laughed… and sometimes he was too funny. He sang; he was just like everybody else.”
   Discuss: LeBron James now plays professional basketball for the Cleveland Cavaliers. In 2007 at the NBA All-Star Game, he was voted number one by fans Despite his stardom, he tries hard to treat everyone with respect. In what ways might that be a “great example” for any of us? As we plan for our service event, how can we be “just like everyone else” and still be “special” in how we treat others? 
10. Read: You may not recognize the name Reymundo Shanchez. Even if you did it’s not his real name. It is a pseudonym for a former Latin King who lived and operated out of Chicago and wrote a book entitled: My Bloody Life: The Making of a Latin King. Known among his fellow gang members as Lil Loco, because of his crazy violence, he made his first hit at age 14. For much of his early life he roamed the streets of Chicago as a gang banger. Having been one of the few to make it out alive, Reymundo left his gang behind. Though it was not easy and he still struggles everyday to turn his life around, his desire was to write about his former life and what it was that brought him to join a gang in the first place.
    Like the lyrics of Johnny Lee’s song entitled “Looking for Love“, Reymundo admits that children who join gangs are looking for love in all the wrong places …looking for love in all the wrong faces…
    “Everyone wants to be accepted, loved, and honored. These are the principles that bind young runaways, outcasts, and lost kids and cause them to embrace a “gang family” that promises to provide them with these things.” He continues, “Most kids are driven to gangs not by their peers, but by adults.” They are looking into the faces of their peers hoping to be rescued.
    Discuss: Do you think Mr. Shanchez is right when he says that “Most kids are driven to gangs not by their peers but by adults”? Why or why not? Why do you think it might be difficult for some children to feel accepted and honored in our school? How might our service event be considered a “rescue” effort to accept people and honor them? What role do we have to play in this effort in order for it to be successful?