Project ELI: Exploring Life Intentionally: “…then Eli ......making of those connections. Then,...

HankBarnes,KallieBrook,KatieChancellor, MattCrawford,SharonDay,KaDariusGriggs,DariusJordan,

CoreyMorgan,AnnaMorman,JessicaMorton,LaurenVenters,AstiWhite

Citations Journal of Undergraduate Research © May 2017, Vol. 14

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Project ELI: Exploring Life Intentionally:

“…then Eli perceived that God was calling the child…” - I Samuel 3:8 Servant Scholars Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Jack Slay Abstract This report describes the efforts put forward by the fourth cohort of the Servant Scholars

Program towards their senior capstone project, Project ELI. This project was primarily aimed

toward making an impact on youth in the public school system. It was the idea of the Scholars

that we could fill the gaps left by public education by engaging students with lessons on topics

not covered in the classroom. The main concentration of Project ELI was at Franklin Forest

Elementary School, where the Scholars taught lessons on bullying, teamwork, and understanding

the environment through learning experiences in the school garden. In order to influence the

future of some elementary school students, the Servant Scholars chose to bring students from

both Hollis Hand Elementary School and Hogansville Elementary School onto LaGrange

College’s campus. This was done in an effort to show students what is possible for their futures

and prove to them that with hard work and determination they can follow their passions into a

career. In addition to working with elementary students, the Scholars were able to impact both

the young and the old with a Fall Festival for the residents and family members of those at

LaGrange Health and Rehab. Finally, in keeping with the traditions started by the first cohort of

Servant Scholars it was the decision of this cohort to continue to serve at Our Daily Bread in




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order to meet a need in the community. By remembering the commitment of previous Servant

Scholars, and adding our own goals, the cohort was able to meet the needs of different age

groups, different regions, and different backgrounds across the LaGrange community. Project

ELI represents the effort of the fourth Servant Scholars cohort to go beyond the fundamental,

academic education of elementary students and move toward a more well-rounded, intentional

learning.

Introduction

Actress Marla Gibbs once said: “The reason most of the children are having problems in

any inner-city neighborhood is because they don't see enough positive role models in their own

environment” (BrainyQuote). As a cohort, the Servant Scholar class of 2017 proposed a project

that touched on the issues that children face and allowed the group a chance to give back to a

portion of the community that would benefit from it the most. While volunteering during their

junior year at various service sites like West Georgia Star, Franklin Forest Elementary, and The

Boys & Girls Club from the past year, it was realized that being a mentor to children is a

beneficial way to give back to the community.

Project ELI (Exploring Life Intentionally) can be described as a project that enlightens

youth, educates, and gives back. We found a beneficial way to give back to the community

would be to partner with the Title I school Franklin Forest Elementary, Title I meaning “schools

with high numbers or high percentages of children from low income families” (U.S. Department




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of Education). After having a connection with Franklin Forest Elementary from the past year, the

cohort decided what better way to explore project ELI than here. Talking with the principal,

Lindsey Barnes, and the school counselor, Lindsey Morris, we were able to find out problems

that the faculty currently faces with their students and what the students needed the most. Mrs.

Morris added “A need for extra hands for love. A need for the children. The teachers here at FFE

want a class for their students that accomplishes the same goals that we have”. After observation

and input from the counselor, we realized that students lack authoritative figures in their life and

positive role models. We figured without these key things in their lives it affects their behavior in

and out of school, how they look at themselves, and how they may treat others. With that in

mind, we began to create a curriculum that would touch on all those points but at the

same time create a fun learning experience for the students. With a 12-week lesson plan, we were

able to introduce topics such as teamwork, gardening, environmental science, and bullying, all of

which were able to work hand in hand. We found that Project Eli is a great way to meet the

wants of the faculty while simultaneously meeting the needs of the students.

Literature Review

When choosing what to read and research, we wanted it to all be centered around our

upcoming work with the students of Franklin Forest, specifically the fourth and fifth graders. As

stated in The Road to Character, “We live in a society that encourages us to think about how to

have a great career but leaves many of us inarticulate about how to cultivate the inner life”




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(Brooks, 2015). Seeing this as an issue, we set out to create a class that covered many different

aspects of life that were not being sufficiently covered in the classroom. This project stemmed

from the needs we saw at our Junior year service sites. Through our service with students, we

noticed that students are losing the ability to converse well with others. The Adolescent

Development, Relationships, and Culture proposed that this could be due to the increased use of

internet at younger ages. Dolgin found that 60% of juveniles connect with internet at least once a

day if not more (Dolgin, 2011). This, combined with our connections with Franklin Forest,

sparked the focus of Project ELI.

Our main goal was to build relationships. We wanted to not only build relationships with

the students, but create a “joint venture” between our cohort and Franklin Forest Elementary

(Rickett, 2002, pg. 22). This venture is to create a curriculum for these students where they can

learn about relationships through lessons on teamwork and bullying and learn about their

environment through hands on learning in the Franklin Forest garden. Another major part of our

venture was to give students a little more individual attention. We did this by having multiple

scholars present during every lesson. Rotbart says, “If you don’t listen to your kids, really

listen, your time is wasted” (Rotbart, 2012, pg. 39). Although Rotbart’s statement is directed at

the parent-child relationship, it is also extremely applicable to our project. With more Scholars

being present, we could break off into smaller groups, and this allowed students time to speak

and be heard. In Raising Confident Boys: 100 Tips for Parents and Teachers, Elizabeth Hartley-

Brewer proclaims that you can know what is happening inside a child’s mind by listening to how

they speak about themselves and others (Hartley-Brewer, 2000). This tip was extremely




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important when approaching topics such as bullying and cyberbullying. Our small groups gave

us an opportunity to use this tip. Students were able to open up about experiences in a safe and

nurturing setting.

With our backgrounds as Scholars ranging from English to Theatre to Chemistry, not

many of us had any experience working with students, and only one or two of us had experience

working with older elementary students. This meant that we as a cohort had to really learn how

to interact and understand the students with whom we were working. Many of our books gave us

insights and strategies on how to connect with these slightly older students. In the Middle, by

Nancie Atwell, taught us by putting students in small groups we can expect them to be more

productive. She also said, “…demonstrate what’s possible, teach what’s useful, establish the

conditions that invite engagement, and support the hard work of the students” (2015). This is

what we strived to do with each lesson. All activities were hands on and had a very large student

work aspect built into the projects. Feinstein in Secrets of the Teenage Brain also supports this

engaging lesson style with her book. She says “Our first objective as teachers is to capture

students’ attention. If we don’t gain their attention, the chance that they’ll learn anything is

remote at best” (2013).

As we were planning the lessons and the structure of the class, we found ourselves

looking for help and advice from people in the community. Everywhere we looked, we found

people ready and willing to help us create a class that embodied community. James Vallbracht’s

book, Stopping at Every Lemonade Stand, gave us a guide on how to reach these students and the




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community they are surrounded by. Just as his book outlines, we started with the individual

students by building relationships and just showing up and showing interest. By planning

activities that focused on specific things that the students needed, we started off strong in the

making of those connections. Then, we connected our project and the school to local “assets.”

(2001) With our garden activities, we wanted to connect the school with a community garden

expert. Doug Roberts is a local farmer that we connected with to gain advice about the

gardening lessons. He gave us insights into how to run a sustainable garden and make it fun for

the students at the same time. It is this connection between a school and an outside partner that

Kretzmann and McKnight speak about in their book, Building Communities from the Inside Out

(1993). While pursuing the garden, we leaned on The Book of Gardening Projects for Kids

(Cohen, 2012). We used this book combined with the teachings of Doug Roberts to create

lessons where students could be actively involved and take ownership of the projects happening

in the garden.

Part of the purpose and mission of Project ELI was to not only make an immediate

influence on the students but also to impact the futures of elementary students. This is

something that colleges all over the nation are starting to do by bringing elementary students

onto their campuses, so when we had the opportunity to bring students to our campus, we

jumped at it. “We are seeking to create an affinity for the postsecondary education at an early

age by providing exposure to our campus that is inclusive to first-generation, economically

disadvantaged, and underrepresented populations” (University of Washington, 2015).




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This statement inspired us to bring any students available to experience LaGrange

College’s campus. We found these students at Hogansville Elementary School. One of the 7

Habits of Highly Effective Teens is to magnify your talents. (Covey, 1998, pg. 41) Using the

successful tour format from a previous cohort, we were able to show the students that virtually

any passion or talent could be turned into a career path with the right work and classes. We

exposed students to as many different pathways as possible so that students would find

something to connect with.

The Problem

Franklin Forest Elementary School

First opened: August 9th 2005 80,806 square feet

38 classrooms 41 interactive smartboards

2 computer labs

Franklin Forest Elementary was selected as the main focus for Project E.L.I. because it

corresponds with goals set by the class of 2017 Servant Scholar cohort – to solve specific

problems facing the youth in our community. It is an immersive project that focuses on building

relationships to address a problem facing our immediate community.

Franklin Forest first opened in 2005; 411 students enrolled, 46% minority and 54% non-

minority. 51% of the student body received free or reduced meals; 49% paid full price. Below

you will find two charts illustrating a demographic breakdown by grade and other measurements




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of change.

As of Fall 2016, 732 students, 380 males and 352 females, occupy the halls of Franklin

Forest Elementary. The minorities have grown to majorities, and there has been a 25% decrease

of students that pay full price for their meals, as well as the increase of students who receive free




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and reduced meal prices. 12 additional classrooms were added in 2014 to lodge the increase

number of students.

Franklin Forest Elementary explained that they wanted to establish an inaugural

exploratory program for their fourth and fifth grade students in the 2016-2017 academic

year. After consulting with the school counselor, Lindsey Morris, and the principal,

Lindsey Barnes, it was decided that our cohort could step in and have as much control

over the classroom instruction as desired. In addition, Franklin Forest Elementary was

willing to let us work with After School Enrichment (ASE).

ASE is an after-school program in Troup County. It is offered at Franklin Forest for

kindergarten through fifth grade students. The purpose of ASE is to provide a safe, relaxed

environment for students to have snack, work on homework, and other supervised activities until

6pm Monday-Friday.

As a Title I school, Franklin Forest is not capable of providing monetary support to

students. Our primary role has been to engage the fourth and fifth grade students in what they

are learning through interactive lessons. Through these we aim to provide positive support and

positive life skills that will stick with these students as they progress in their education.

Observation Stage

Classroom observations have many valid and important purposes. A couple of

fundamental reasons for observing classrooms are to examine current practices, behaviors, and

issues facing the students. Before heading into the classrooms, we already had a general idea of




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the dynamic of the specific school we chose to partner with. This basically included the

background of the children that we would be working with. Franklin Forest Elementary (FFE) is

deemed as a Title I Elementary School. We knew that a majority of the students we would come

in contact with would be coming from low-income homes.

Having this background knowledge of the demographics of the children attending FFE

told us a lot. A child’s home life has a strong impact on school readiness. According to Ferguson

(2007), “Children from low-income families often do not receive the stimulation and do not learn

the social skills required to prepare them for school” (pg. 6). Ferguson (2007) concluded that

children from low-income households have said issues due to “parental inconsistency (with

regard to daily routines and parenting), frequent changes of primary caregivers, lack of

supervision, and poor role modeling” (pg. 7). This leads to the area that we as a cohort wanted to

target and help the children improve in these areas.

In order for us to have a positive impact, we had to conquer the elephant in the room,

trust. As Ferguson stated, the children hardly have consistency in their life. With that comes

mistrust. How could we expect the children who can hardly trust their own family to open up and

listen to what twelve complete strangers have to say? We made it imperative to consistently

show up to the school and classrooms during fall semester to slowly grow relationships with the

children and their teachers as well. This showed just how serious we were about what we wanted

to accomplish.




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12 Lessons in 12 Weeks

Leading up to the 12 weeks of lessons, the Servants Scholars were interested in sharing

essential life skills that are not often taught or practiced within the classroom. In our study, we

found students engaging and experiencing new life obstacles with a stronger mindset after the 12

week lessons. Expanding outside of the classroom curriculum, students had a spark in

enthusiasm, and the response rate to what they desired was powerful. In an effort of

accomplishing this, we thought about teaching manners, etiquette, and other important measures

for growing up. We imagined having lessons on shaking hands, looking at someone in the eyes

while speaking, respecting elders, tying a tie and much more. The formulation of these lessons

came about in a different way than we expected after we spent time building new relationships

and understanding the needs of the school community.

After a time of observation in the fall of 2016, the Servant Scholars and Franklin Forest

school counselor, Lindsay Morris, came together and organized more concrete plans that

involved the students participating in activities outside the classroom. The 12 weeks of lessons

were created to focus on three main areas. We took our observations from the fall, and we gave

attention to the challenges that students faced. Our cohort intentionally designed lessons that

would both teach and build students up in their successes and explain the importance for failures

within the classroom and academic experience. Obstacles that Franklin Forest Elementary

students were facing revolved around bullying, teamwork, and utilizing the school garden. The

environment in which the elementary students reside in for eight hours each day has a significant

influence on their long term learning. In each area of focus, we were able to facilitate lessons that




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helped students and their development in experiential learning, along with other key

developmental areas such as social, emotional, physical, and academic.

Throughout the 12-week experience, the Servant Scholars engaged the Franklin Forest

Elementary students particularly in a span of 45-minute rotation periods. During those rotations,

4 to 5 times each week, the Servant Scholars would interact with 4th grade and/or 5th grade

students from a new rotation. The lessons stayed consistent for an entire week's worth of

rotations, where the lessons would then change in a new week. The new curriculum was shared

on a rotation schedule for intentional purposes to teach new things from new perspectives each

week and keep it vivid. Each of the three main areas that the Scholars focused on had specific

lessons that were considered to be highlights for the students. It was evident that the lessons

impacted the students in such a way that they began to take ownership of the lesson and be

responsible in carrying out the lessons in their daily lives. One of our successful lessons in the

bullying category came from Scholar KaDarius Griggs, a lesson called Wrinkled Wanda.

Wrinkled Wanda provided an opportunity for the students to break into small groups and

brainstorm the array degrading comments that are said to them or their classmates. This opened

an opportunity for dialogue with students. The students wrote the negative comments on Wanda

and once they finished filling up Wanda completely, they balled this piece of paper up into a ball

and smashed it as if they were truly bullying Wanda. After passing this wrinkled, balled up,

crushed paper that we called Wanda, the students then opened Wanda up and flattened Wanda to

the best of their ability. In doing so, we challenged the students to make Wanda’s appearance

look brand new. As they flattened and smoothed Wanda out, students then wrote positive and




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upbuilding comments around Wanda. Students found how giving positive encouragement or a

compliment takes longer than spouting out degrading comments, and although it takes longer,

the students saw the power in building up their peers versus breaking them down.

Next, Matt Crawford, the Scholars gardening portion of curriculum designer, says that

“allowing the kids to plant their own plants gave them ownership of the garden at Franklin

Forest.” The lesson design explained foundational elements to gardening and the importance of

nutrients, light, and temperature. Each of these factors have an important part in the stages of life

for a plant, and the students were able to visualize that happen as the weeks continued and they

checked their plants.

Finally, we included lessons centered around teamwork and shared how necessary it is

that individuals come together to accomplish a goal. We also discussed the importance of

community. The Scholars worked closely together and found that one of our most successful

teamwork lessons came from Scholar, Darius Jordan, where he designed a lesson that enabled

the student to communicate, create, and think strategically as they solved problems. The students

had to design a free standing straw tower that held a tennis ball.

School Experience Survey

After a semester of observing the children of Franklin Forest and discussions with the school

counselor, the Servant Scholars of 2017 decided bullying, teamwork, and gardening would be the

focus for the next semester. A very simple survey composing of 10 questions was created to give

the students with the focus of answering three questions: 1. “Are the students of Franklin Forest

in need of our Lessons?”, 2. “Will the students be receptive to the lessons?”, and 3. “Did our




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lessons have any measurable effectiveness with the students?”. The questions were created with

the intent of being simple yes or no questions that any student, regardless of their literacy, could

answer without having to weigh too heavily on any one question.

1. Are you in a sport or club? 2. Do you work well with others? 3. Do you get bullied? 4. Is being nice important? 5. Do you call people mean names? 6. Is school fun? 7. Do you like school? 8. Do you have a best friend? 9. Do you like the outdoors? 10. Is gardening important?

The 10 questions can be placed into four categories: Teamwork, Bullying, Gardening, and

School Experience. Each of the 5th grade classes we worked with were given the survey at least

once and once more to a majority of the 5th graders. 5th graders were the only one surveyed

because of our time constraints and the choice of Mrs. Morris.

School Experience questions, questions 6-8, were used to determine the overall outlook

the students had on school and potential receptiveness to the lessons. A group of students with a

very negative outlook on school would supply our cohort with a different issue to solve, but

nearly 80% of kids liked school, about 60% thought school was fun and nearly 100% of kids had

a best friend. The students had an overall positive opinion of school, but 40% agreed school was

not fun. This fact left us with the task to make our lesson fun and interactive for the students.




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In the fall, the garden was in no shape to be used and clearly had not been utilized in the

recent years prior to our arrival. We found this as an opportunity to add fun into learning, as well

as an additional component to their learning. Gardening questions, questions 9 and 10, both had

very positive feedback. 97% of the students enjoyed the outdoors, and 78% saw there was some

importance in gardening. This led us to believe they would be receptive and excited to get

outside of their typical classroom and learn in a more hands on environment.




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The National Bullying Prevention Center states that “more than one out of every five

(20.8%) students report being bullied” (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2016). This is

an alarmingly high number, but the students of Franklin Forest report an addition 16.5% more

than the national average. One might assume kids do not see being nice as important, but that is

not the case here. Nearly 97% of the students claimed they believe being nice is actually

important, but only 19% admitted to bullying by name calling. This served as evidence that

lessons on bullying were needed, but not solely to reiterate that bullying is bad. Lessons would

need to show what bullying looked like and its physical and psychological effects.




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“Working effectively as part of a team is incredibly important for output quality, morale,

and retention”, according to Edmond Lau in “Why and Where is Teamwork Important?” by

Forbes Magazine (Lau, 2013). Teamwork is an art form that need be taught through active

learning and interactions of people like-minded and not. Of the surveyed students, 90% answered

yes to working well with others. Only 55% of the students reported to being in a club or a sport.

Clubs and sports offer kids the opportunity to work in teams to accomplish a single objective.

With most lessons being taught on a smart-board, this led us to believe students were lacking

group interactions and teamwork exercises. This fact added an additional necessity for the twelve

lessons. The lessons would need to add fun into learning, but also allow for active teamwork.




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Further research would need to be done to explore the effectiveness of the lessons.

Although the survey was given a second time, the students answered differently only by an

insignificant percentage. If the survey was given a third time, giving the survey to only students

who had received all lessons would be more ideal and could expect to receive different results

than students who had not received equal lessons. Due to the nature of school scheduling, breaks,

and unforeseen obstacles, certain classes would go a week without a lesson and not receive the

specific lesson. The nature of the questions could also be an issue to measure effectiveness of the

lessons. Lesson-specific questions or questions directly pertaining to the lessons taught could be

a promising avenue for the teachers of the school to incorporate later into the school year.

College Tours

The 2017 Servant Scholars wanted to continue pursuing kids to come on campus, so that

we could build a better connection between the college and the community. This is why we came




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together as a group of individuals to help educate Hogansville and Hollis Hand Elementary for

what kind of future they could have and obtain if they work hard in school. To do this, we

invited them to the college to learn about everything LaGrange has to offer, including the

different majors and careers they could pursue. To do this, we got help from a variety of

professors and students who helped teach about their professions. This was done so that the

students could hear from different disciplines in order to learn what might peak their interests.

We wanted to keep the students intrigued, and we wanted to make sure they knew how simple it

could be to attend LaGrange College once they were old enough.

To help engage the kids, we had a couple of the Servant Scholars set up and do a science

experiment. The experiment, called the “whoosh bottle,” had lessons in both combustion and

condensation allowing several different concepts to be explained to the kids. We also had

admissions talk to the kids about how important good grades are and how having a good GPA is

important for getting into a good school, so that they will be able to pursue what they want.

Our overall focus for Project ELI is on youth. We wanted to reach out to them and teach

them that there is more beyond middle school and high school, and we want them to think that

school is fun and exciting. The Servant Scholars worked together as a team to have this tour day

run as smoothly as possible. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience overall for both

tours because not only did we enjoy it immensely but so did the kids and teachers we invited

onto campus.




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Our Daily Bread

Our cohort decided that continuing to serve at Our Daily Bread was going to be a crucial

part of Project ELI. During Fall of 2016, we worked to ensure that Our Daily Bread continued to

operate with the same level of care as the day it was founded. Our Daily Bread was started in

2013 by the first cohort of Servant Scholars that sought to meet an immediate need in the

community. One of the Servant Scholars, at the time, realized that those in need of a meal in

LaGrange had an option to eat for free at a local soup kitchen every day of the week except for

Friday. Seeing that need, the Servant Scholars stepped up and found a way to fill it. Partnering

with Broad Street Church of Christ, in order to have access to kitchen facilities, the Servant

Scholars started Our Daily Bread. Our Daily Bread is different from the average soup kitchen;

instead of having our guests stand in line to get a plate, we allow them to be seated while we

serve their meal. In addition to serving our guests, all volunteers sit down and eat with the Our

Daily Bread soup kitchen guests. This allows the Scholars to develop relationships with the

guests that extend out from Our Daily Bread and back into the community. These relationships

allow the Scholars to get to know the day to day struggles that our guests face and offer them a

kind word through fellowship.

In the Spring of 2017 we, like all other cohorts before us, transitioned to give the junior

Servant Scholars more control over Our Daily Bread. This is done in order to ensure ownership

over the soup kitchen and that the mission of Our Daily Bread will continue to be carried on for

years to come. Being involved in the community is a key part of being a Servant Scholar.




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Proposed Solutions/What We Leave Behind

In the spring of 2016, the cohort began planning for what Project ELI would eventually

become. During the planning process, it became clear that the targeted audience of the plan

would be children in elementary school. The goal of Project ELI, as mentioned throughout this

paper, is to impact our targeted age group of kids—fourth and fifth graders. In order to impact

the learning of the students, the cohort decided to focus primarily on three different topics:

gardening, bullying, and teamwork. Our cohort knew that the lessons would be the most

impactful form of communication with the kids.

Since we knew the lessons would be something that would last long past our time at

Franklin Forest, we decided, as a cohort, to leave the lessons behind. The 12 lessons were left

with Lindsay Morris so she could use them to incorporate with her counseling lesson, or with the

fourth and fifth grade exploratory classes. Before our cohort began working with students at

Franklin Forest, there was a hope that exploratory classes could be used to do fun activities

outside of the classroom. Our presence at the school made that hope a reality. By choosing

Franklin Forest Elementary, we left behind a realistic and exciting way to address the lesson

plans for an exploratory class. We gave the school a test run of what it would be like to

implement the new system, and both kids and scholars had fun in the process. The goal of

incorporating the garden was to establish a connection between each child and the garden.

In addressing the question of what our cohort leaves behind, at Franklin Forest, it is first

important to take the role of education into consideration. The primary focus of the lessons was

to provide information that would not necessarily be covered in the classroom that could also be




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useful outside the classroom such as communication, listening skills, and teamwork. We taught

them how to play teamwork-based games, which corresponded with the goal of engaging the

students before the lesson because, “If we don’t gain their attention, the chance that they’ll learn

anything is remote at best” (Feinstein, 2013). Teaching trust between classmates was an

important goal that we hope remains part of the Franklin Forest curriculum. In order to make that

hope a reality, we gave the 12 lessons to Lindsay Morris to use for future teaching situations.

The true test of the long-term impact our cohort made on the students and faculty at

Franklin Forest will be evident in the future lesson plans that incorporate the use of teamwork

games or the Franklin Forest garden. Of course, the immediate impact is hopefully felt in the

relationships made with the students and teachers, but if our lesson plans stick around more

fourth and fifth graders’ education will be influenced. The goal of our cohort, naturally, was to

make a difference in the lives of the students we worked with, and the best way to do that is to

show up to the school, which we did each week of the semester.

Ultimately, we hope the teachers acquire segments of our lesson plans and implement

them in their own lesson plans during the next academic year. The longevity of our lesson plans

and use of the garden will meet the criteria for Greenleaf’s test of servant leadership, while the

relationships we formed with the people at Franklin Forest will meet the criteria of making an

immediate impact in the community.




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Greenleaf’s Test

During the creation, implementation, and concluding weeks of project ELI, our cohort

continuously returned to Robert Greenleaf’s test of servant leadership. We wished to create a

lasting impact within our community and accomplish each component of the test which states:

“The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other

people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do

those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more

autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least

privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?” (Greenleaf, 2008,

pg.15)

Our cohort was able to study servant leadership and successfully implement it throughout

the various groups we worked with. While our main focus was with youth in the public-school

system, our work within the rest of the community allowed us to make an impact on the lives of

people regardless of age. Working with various elementary schools, Our Daily Bread, and

LaGrange Health and Rehab not only showed the diverse passions of the Servant Scholars, but

gave us the opportunity to make the maximum impact in our community in the shortest time

possible.

Making the decision to continue to work with Our Daily Bread ensured that the program

would last at least another few years. The unique approach of interacting with those served at

ODB helps to feed them physically, as well as emotionally and spiritually. The college tours

expanded students’ minds and education and gave them a positive future to aspire to. Working




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with LaGrange Health and Rehab expanded our reach from the youngest to the oldest members

of our community, all of whom are equally important.

Our year-long dedication to the children at Franklin Forest Elementary had its challenges

and difficulties, but the struggles will quickly be forgotten, and the influence we had on the

children will last forever. The educational aspect has taught them to be “healthier, wiser, freer,

more autonomous” and the personal connections made between students and Servant Scholars

may be what they need to be servant leaders in their own lives. For many students, they did not

know many college students, and our positive influence changed their views on the importance

of education. Throughout our time there, we witnessed students becoming eager to learn and

experience things outside of their comfort zone.

Our twelve lessons focused on areas of need in the school and provided children with a

safe space to discuss difficult topics such as bullying and the importance of teamwork. During

our time there, we already began to notice these students influencing other Franklin Forest

students and also bringing these lessons into their own homes and communities. Faculty and

staff at Franklin Forest Elementary were also affected by our presence in the school. Teachers

will be able to take components of our lessons and implement them into their own curriculum.

It is impossible to completely measure and see the extent of our work. Each component of ELI

served a group that helps shape the community as a whole, and a slight change in each group has

the potential to change the entire community. As a cohort, we leave knowing we have been

changed, and we hope our work will continue to change the community long after we’re gone.




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Bibliography

Atwell, N. (2015). In the Middle: A Lifetime of Writing, Reading, and Adolescents (3rd ed.).

Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Brooks, D. (2015). The Road to Character. New York, NY: Random House.

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