It was the beginning of the school year, and I was back at it, establishing expectations, norms, common language, and routines in my classroom. I am sure you can relate!

To help my second-grade students understand the importance of this ritual, I started with a simple question: What is a community? We then discussed the communities we are involved in at home, the classroom, and the school building, and the respective rights and responsibilities associated with each. 

But this particular year, I wanted to expand upon the idea of community by including those who are a part of our community outside of the school building. Thinking it was a bit of a long shot, I posted a request on social media asking if any local community members would volunteer to speak to my students about their careers. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I would get much of a response, and I worried that these visits might serve as just another way for students to learn about future career choices. But to my delight, the response and the lessons my students and I learned about the value of community proved to be so much more than I ever imagined… 

Our first visitor was a young man who served in the U.S. Air Force. The moment he walked into the classroom wearing his uniform, my students were enthralled. At first, they asked basic questions such as, “How long did it take you to learn to work on airplanes?” and “What is your favorite part of being in the Air Force?” But then, they began to ask questions that astounded me, such as, “How did you learn to do hard things?” and “When did you know that this was how you wanted to help our community?” 

Next, a nurse and a family counselor visited during the same week. Although their jobs were very different, they both spoke about the importance of listening deeply to people to understand and help them. They talked about how pain brings people together to solve problems and encouraged my students to look for others in their communities who might need help. 

We also had a local author share with students how she became a writer, what she writes about, and the book publishing process. Students were inspired to share their stories to help our classroom community learn and grow. Through this experience, students discovered the power of their words and the positive influence they can have on others. 

In the following days and weeks, I witnessed our classroom culture change. I heard one student say, “Well, if we want to serve our community, we need to be able to do hard things, so let’s keep working hard at this!” Another student asked a friend, “How did you serve your community today?” Our daily thought circles began to include dialogue like, “Today I helped pick up the garbage outside with a janitor,” and “I talked to a friend who was crying today at recess because they were afraid to go on the monkey bars, and I told them they could do hard things!” 

The concept of community took on a whole new meaning for my students as they also began to actively look for ways to help others outside of school. For example, one student asked his mom to help him create bags of food to give to the homeless. A group of students helped gather food to donate to our local food pantry. Another student created “gifts” to give to people who seemed sad.

Even though it required a little extra time, effort, and planning, bringing local community members into my classroom was well worth it. Hearing my students voice the importance of community and then watching them take action was priceless! Now, they truly understand that being part of a community means so much more than simply having rights and a job. They learned firsthand that being a part of a community means recognizing the needs of those around us and then using our gifts and talents to serve others and make the community a better place. 

Rebekah Hutchinson, a 2nd-grade teacher, mentor, and Christian Educators member, has been teaching for 21 years. She is passionate about making learning come alive for her students and sees every day as an opportunity to walk in her God-given identity in the classroom and beyond.