Self Worth and Service

We are often wondering how we can help a child develop self esteem and self worth.  Often times we find ourselves when we lose our selves.  It's kind of ironic, but so true!  When we give and serve we find out who we are and the worth we have as an individual.  Kimber can help with that...

#4—Self-Serving Homework Assignments Can Transform into Service Projects

People all over the nation are becoming alarmed by the low self-esteem among our children. Why don’t they like themselves? Often parents and teachers turn to excessive praise and adoration to help the children think well of themselves. But we found that this usually has the opposite effect on the child’s growing personality. Here is what we discovered and integrated into the Kimber language arts curriculum, and what is now being recognized in many parts of society:

Community service is a great builder of self-esteem for children of all ages. In recent years, student self-esteem seems to have had almost too much emphasis. Yet, parents and teachers watch with increasing alarm as the children get more and more depressed, turn to drugs, contemplate suicide, and fall into the abyss of immorality. Today we even read of children murdering each other at school. What is happening?

Many feel that the cause for this low self-esteem -- or as we like to put it --low self worth, is because most learning methods direct children to think inwardly. They are encouraged to satisfy their every immediate desire--and “self” is Number One.

In contrast, we all know there is a better way. Teaching the child to think outwardly towards serving others--becoming concerned about the welfare of the other person--helps keep the child’s focus away from himself and his own problems. As Jesus said: “He that findeth his life [in self-service] shall lose it; but he that loseth his life for my sake [by serving ‘even the least of these’] shall find it.” (Matthew 10:39)

An article from USA Today displayed this headline: “Giving to Others to Give Kids Compassion.” The January 29, 1996 article reads in part as follows:

“Deborah Spaide of New Canaan, Conn., is still glowing from a holiday success story. Children from her area stuffed more than 1,000 shoe boxes with little goodies for homeless and needy children in three states .... ‘The kids were creative with what they put in the boxes,’ Spaide said. ‘It’s a simple project and they really got into it. It made them feel empowered to touch somebody else’s life.

“From this experience, she says the children learned an important lesson: Caring for others makes you feel better about yourself. But many kids today aren’t learning simple lessons of caring and charity. And one reason is there aren’t that many opportunities out there for them, says Spaide, 36 .... Spaide has written a new book, Teaching Your Kids to Care: How to Discover and Develop the Spirit of Charity in Your Children, ... which lists lots of creative ideas for charitable opportunities for kids.

“ .. .It all started because she wanted to make sure her own children developed compassion for others .... So she started looking for activities for her children. The first thing they did as a family was go into a disabled woman’s home and paint the walls and clean the apartment. Her kids started telling their friends what they were doing, and the friends wanted to come along to the next activity. Spaide found that kids were ‘starving for these kinds of opportunities.’

“ .... Spaide and her husband, Jim, say that they’ll know they’ve succeeded if their kids grow up and measure success in terms of the people they touch and help, instead of in terms of money or material gain. …We have nothing against money, but it’s an empty value,’ she says. ‘No matter how much you have, you never quite feel content. While charity, even in small doses, leaves you feeling satisfied and whole.’“

Parents can give their children “free reign” to think of ways that will help their neighborhood, community, city, state and country. As families go through the Kimber language arts curriculum, they will find the weekly service projects will develop a habit of service to last a lifetime.