When President Obama gave his annual “Back-to-School” address in 2011, he praised three extraordinary high school students for giving back to their communities. One was Jake Bernstein.

Jake is 17, [pictured at left] who volunteers with Autism Speaks and co-launched StLouisVolunteen.com with his sister Simone. He is also on the Youth Advisory Board of generationOn, a national effort to inspire, equip, and mobilize youth to change the world and themselves through service. The President urged students to become engaged in their communities, saying “America needs your passion, your ideas, and your energy….Nothing inspires me more than knowing that young people all across the country are already making their marks.”

What the President did not say should come as no surprise to educators. Teachers play a significant role in fostering the passion, ideas, and energy that motivates students to become engaged in their communities. This meaningful and important work happens every day in and outside of K-12 classrooms. read more »

Eden Eskaros is a 10-year-old who had an eye-opening experience on her first visit to Mexico last year.

She was struck by the fact that children lived in dismal situations, using cardboard boxes as beds and walking on the harsh earth with no shoes. Eden was moved to help these children by making a commitment to bring back 100 pair of shoes on her next trip.

She returned home to New Jersey and enlisted the aid of a local shoe store and her church. As a result, she’s prepared to send over 1,000 pair of shoes to her new friends in Mexico.

Eden’s story is a great example of how children are often transformed by face-to-face interactions with people living in poverty.  Clearly, Eden has developed the ability to empathize, to put herself in the place of another.  Most children develop this capacity by the age of six and are capable of taking action to help people in need. They particularly benefit from seeing the direct benefits of their actions. read more »