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Providing invaluable community service
January 26, 2011, Wednesday
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JOHN Cucinello is the community service leader for the secondary school of the Western International School of Shanghai (WISS).
After 16 years as a school teacher in New York and two years in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as a teacher/administrator, he joined WISS in 2008. Here is an interview with him.
Q: John, you are the leader at WISS for the community service ...
A: I am sorry to interrupt … Well, I suppose you can say, I take the lead on service projects but it is certainly not exclusively my domain. All the WISS community is very involved in the service projects.
Q: How would you define the WISS community?
A: In our school, the community spirit is very strong; we have a very diverse and compassionate community. This is one of the first things you feel when you visit WISS. For community service, we encourage all staff, students and parents to act on their desires to bring aid and comfort. I support anyone who has an idea. We support each other. Service projects come from all parts of the learning community.
Q: Is service work part of your curriculum at WISS?
A: Absolutely. At WISS all secondary students keep a reflection journal. Reflection is the key. Reflection is the process that turns life circumstances into real experiences. We live looking forward but we learn looking back. They also must complete 10 hours of service work a year. It is not that much and so many students do a lot more than that.
Q: Could you give us an example?
A: On Saturday mornings we run a WISS English-language program that is free to the local children, both migrant and Shanghai residents. We have been running this program for three years and it is sustained primarily by student and parent volunteers. That program runs from 10am to 11:30am every Saturday. Student volunteers acting as teachers usually work one-on-one with a young Chinese person using English-language texts. We also have a Wednesday night school that provides English-language instruction. It is led by a WISS parent volunteer and student volunteers.
Q: Why did you start this WISS language program?
A: We have to give back. We make a very good living in Shanghai and we know how hard the local people work and how little they earn. In many ways WISS is a symbol of the new China; the open and rapidly modernizing China. Good neighbors care for each other. We ask the young people to reflect upon the privileged lives they live and give back to the local community and they do it willingly. They are beginning to develop their capacities; to understand their responsibilities to the local people.
Q: What is the key to a successful service project?
A: The WISS philosophy is "We are here to bring aid and comfort and when we do that, we help ourselves as much as the people we are supporting." That is at the core of a successful service project. Service projects must be meaningful and exciting.
Q: What do you do to keep them "exciting?"
A: As I said before, it is a two-way relationship: "I give and I receive as much as I have given." When our students teach, they are learning about themselves, facing fears and overcoming. I have had fourth graders teaching adults and that's really exciting to them! I have had students who have difficulty speaking in class or in front of a group and yet when they teach on Saturday mornings they overcome their fear and deliver the lesson brilliantly.
Q: Could you tell us more about the WISS actions for Couleurs de Chine?
A: Couleurs de Chine is a French non-governmental organization that provides an invaluable service to the Miao and Dong ethnic minorities in Danian area eight hours by car west of Guilin (capital city of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region). We have several fundraisers throughout the year to support the efforts of Couleurs de Chine. Our recent Christmas fundraiser has provided them with 55,000 yuan (US$8,354). Additionally we try to support Couleurs de Chine with fellowship. I visited them last August to see first hand their efforts and to do a risk assessment for our students to visit in the future. On January 31, I am returning to Danian with students and parents to create a photographic essay of Couleurs de Chine and the Miao and Dong people and to experience their unique way of celebrating the Spring Festival. One of our parents is a professional photographer and will help us exhibit the work and raise more money for Couleurs de Chine as well as raise the consciousness of the community as to the plight of these people.
After 16 years as a school teacher in New York and two years in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as a teacher/administrator, he joined WISS in 2008. Here is an interview with him.
Q: John, you are the leader at WISS for the community service ...
A: I am sorry to interrupt … Well, I suppose you can say, I take the lead on service projects but it is certainly not exclusively my domain. All the WISS community is very involved in the service projects.
Q: How would you define the WISS community?
A: In our school, the community spirit is very strong; we have a very diverse and compassionate community. This is one of the first things you feel when you visit WISS. For community service, we encourage all staff, students and parents to act on their desires to bring aid and comfort. I support anyone who has an idea. We support each other. Service projects come from all parts of the learning community.
Q: Is service work part of your curriculum at WISS?
A: Absolutely. At WISS all secondary students keep a reflection journal. Reflection is the key. Reflection is the process that turns life circumstances into real experiences. We live looking forward but we learn looking back. They also must complete 10 hours of service work a year. It is not that much and so many students do a lot more than that.
Q: Could you give us an example?
A: On Saturday mornings we run a WISS English-language program that is free to the local children, both migrant and Shanghai residents. We have been running this program for three years and it is sustained primarily by student and parent volunteers. That program runs from 10am to 11:30am every Saturday. Student volunteers acting as teachers usually work one-on-one with a young Chinese person using English-language texts. We also have a Wednesday night school that provides English-language instruction. It is led by a WISS parent volunteer and student volunteers.
Q: Why did you start this WISS language program?
A: We have to give back. We make a very good living in Shanghai and we know how hard the local people work and how little they earn. In many ways WISS is a symbol of the new China; the open and rapidly modernizing China. Good neighbors care for each other. We ask the young people to reflect upon the privileged lives they live and give back to the local community and they do it willingly. They are beginning to develop their capacities; to understand their responsibilities to the local people.
Q: What is the key to a successful service project?
A: The WISS philosophy is "We are here to bring aid and comfort and when we do that, we help ourselves as much as the people we are supporting." That is at the core of a successful service project. Service projects must be meaningful and exciting.
Q: What do you do to keep them "exciting?"
A: As I said before, it is a two-way relationship: "I give and I receive as much as I have given." When our students teach, they are learning about themselves, facing fears and overcoming. I have had fourth graders teaching adults and that's really exciting to them! I have had students who have difficulty speaking in class or in front of a group and yet when they teach on Saturday mornings they overcome their fear and deliver the lesson brilliantly.
Q: Could you tell us more about the WISS actions for Couleurs de Chine?
A: Couleurs de Chine is a French non-governmental organization that provides an invaluable service to the Miao and Dong ethnic minorities in Danian area eight hours by car west of Guilin (capital city of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region). We have several fundraisers throughout the year to support the efforts of Couleurs de Chine. Our recent Christmas fundraiser has provided them with 55,000 yuan (US$8,354). Additionally we try to support Couleurs de Chine with fellowship. I visited them last August to see first hand their efforts and to do a risk assessment for our students to visit in the future. On January 31, I am returning to Danian with students and parents to create a photographic essay of Couleurs de Chine and the Miao and Dong people and to experience their unique way of celebrating the Spring Festival. One of our parents is a professional photographer and will help us exhibit the work and raise more money for Couleurs de Chine as well as raise the consciousness of the community as to the plight of these people.
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