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PAGE 2B FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, November 17,2002 ACT from IB Social studies, after all, is traditionally geared to learning about the vast world and its many com plex issues. Better to learn about Gandhi and his benevolence, say some, than to spend time raking the back yard of an infirm neighbor. Better to scrutinize the famine in North Korea than to pass up weekend soccer to serve at a local soup kitchen. When Barnett kicked off her first year of teaching with an assignment requir ing students to devote themselves to recurring acts of kindness every seven to nine days for an entire school year, many balked. What on earth, queried some parents, did inconve niencing their children with regular gestures of compas sion have to do with the curriculum? Perhaps once or twice would have been fine but every week? The idea, say the students, seemed excessive and they didn’t like it one bit. “It was a lot of work and, at first, I thought it was kind of a pain,” admits Katie Fox, who chose to channel her energies toward caring for the children of Spanish-speaking immi grants at her church while their parents attend English classes. “It was just another project.” But, say many of the same students, something they did not predict began to happen. As they spent time that they didn’t neces sarily have to spare to help others, a funny thing occurred. The students, themselves, began to feel they were getting as much as they were giving and more. “As time grew and I realized the kids needed my help, it became something I wanted to do, instead of something I had to do,” says Fox. “The language barrier for the children causes them to not want to go to the normal Sunday School class and it distracts their parents while they’re trying to learn. So I’m a buddy to three of the kids and it makes me feel like I’m accomplishing some thing. “It makes you feel good about being a person who helps someone who felt left out,” she says. “It’s also helping me understand a different culture and it’s helping my Spanish.” tc Medically Supervised ■L dt*w * Full Li 9 uid Fasting Program J7 * * 52-Lb. Average Weight Loss* 9* * Other Pro 9 rams Available ’• * Over 1 Million People Trested Worldwide OPTIFAST Kflt' # Rapid Weight Loss through Liquid Diet / OPTIFAST ? "x ,H tigfQWCKSTAXT\ V I Lose up to 24 Lbs. In one month!* 1 K|£ $ -k Call Now to Schedule a FREE, W No-Obligation Consultation! ★ Our Goal at MD Weight Loss is to Improve Your Health! to (fate Ihw weight tow V 109 Canton Rd. • Cumming (770)889-5307 w T T Zach Tyler opted to volunteer at Hope House, a facility in Union City designed to give short-term assis tance to parents of children with chron ic or terminal ill nesses, such as cere bral palsy, Down’s Syndrome and spina bifida. “I thought it would be depress ing,” he says of vis iting weekly the organization he learned of through his mom’s co-work er. “But I like the kids. It’s almost an hour drive, but it’s worth it, because it makes me feel good. The most unbelievable thing about the kids are their spirits. Even though they each have a severe dis ability that limits their ability to do things that I take for granted, they are full of love and hap piness.” The experience, say some of the stu dents, is changing perceptions theirs and others. “I like doing it, because most people think 12-year-olds sit on their butts and whine,” says Eddie Giacomarro, who is helping an elderly couple in his neighborhood with chores. “This shows we don’t do that. We just don’t have this kind of opportunity to help very often. But I go up every weekend and the man, who just had back surgery about a month ago, tells me what to do and I blow off the deck and driveway or vacu um the garage or spread pine straw and help around the house.” Bryan Allen, who has befriended a nursing home resident, says that now he doesn’t want the project to end. “Robert is the most coolest guy you could ever meet,” wrote Bryan Allen in an assigned essay that recounts his budding rela tionship with the World War II veteran. “He has travelled the world because, when he was in the Navy, he worked on one of those big ships that jets take off from. “It makes me feel pretty "* Social SWies ©Have a. seat' S @Wchv l( to. J ia,3Bg I 1 . SSKSmKfSIf HRHE ' W r 1- S \ \ 2 '■'s £f ... Photo/Audra Perry Jackie Barnett, a first-year teacher, wanted her social studies students to learn and help the community they live in. Her idea was considered too radical by some parents and even some students. But students have come around to her side and are enjoying helping others. good inside to know I’m making someone feel good inside,” says Allen. “I think it would be hard to stop seeing him after the project ends. After a year, it will just seem kind of natural to go see him. Actually, I think of him as a real good friend. I know that I will never forget what he has taught and told me.” It is just as Barnett had hoped. Despite the rigors of mucking horse stalls, find ing time to pluck berries from the vine for the home bound or provide free babysitting to neighbor- More Home For Your Money Palm Harber Village Palm Harbor Village Homes 2914 Atlanta Hwy. Gainesville, GA. 800-332-2504 www.palmharbor.com GM6O7 @palmharbor.com Wlooi GREAT TOR THE HOlffiOsW Join Us At Our Open House December 10,2002 5-9 PM • botox and collagen treatments discounted 10% • all skin care products 10% off • microdermabrasion, chair massage at special holiday rates • specially priced skin care product gift sets Alexander S. Gross, M.D. y Cumming, GA hood children, students are finding inspiration and reward and, believes their teacher, character development and civic growth. “I thought it was impor tant for these kids to know about their own communi ty,” recalls Barnett of her inspiration. “Until you know about the places you live in, you can never really appreciate the places we study around the world. U. S Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District Notice of Public Meeting for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Operation and Maintenance of Lake Sidney Lanier, Georgia and Corresponding Shoreline Management Plan Gainesville College Continuing Education Center 3820 Mundy Mill Road • Oakwood, Georgia November 25, 2002 from 3:oopm-9:oopm In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the US Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, will conduct a public meeting on November 25,2002, in the lobby of the Gainesville College Continuing Education Center in Oakwood, Georgia, to solicit input on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Operation and Maintenance of Lake Sidney Lanier, Georgia and the proposed Shoreline Management Plan (SMP). The purpose of this meeting is to collect comments from the public on the proposed action, alternatives, and environmental conse quences analyzed in the Draft EIS and the SMP. The public is invited to attend anytime between the hours of 3:oopm and 9:oopm. The Gainesville College Continuing Education Center Ls located at 3820 Mundy Mill Road, in Oakwood, Georgia. The meeting will also provide an opportunity for the public to speak one-on-one with various experts on issues related to the Draft EIS. The Corps will provide information on the proposed improvements to the operation and maintenance programs at the lake, including the proposed new Shoreline Use Permit Policy that is part of the updates Shoreline Management Plait. The comments collected at the meeting will be considered in preparation of the final EIS. Copies of the Draft EIS are available for review at the Lake Lanier Project Office, Dawson County Library, Forsyth County Public Library, Gwinnett Cpunty Public Library (Collins Hill, Buford-Sugar, and Duluth branches), Hall County Library, Lumpkin County Library, North Georgia College and State University, and Gainesville College. The Draft EIS is also available online at www.usacelakelaniereis.net Written comments may he provided at the public meeting, online at www.usacelakelaniereis.net, or by mail to Glen Coffee, U.S. Army Engineer District, Mobile, Attn: CESAM-PD-E (Mr. Glen Coffee), P.O. Box 2288, Mobile, AL 36628-001; phone 251-690-2727. For more information or to comment online, please consult the website at www.usacelakelaniereis.net. The deadline for submitting comments on the Draft EIS is December 23, 2002. What’s happening with the people in Forsyth County is just as important as what’s happening in North Korea. “We’re studying the Middle East, Asia and Africa,” she says. “I’m picking people from each region, like Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, that really affected their region as well as their world in a positive way. So their projects are a microcosm of what I’m trying to teach. ‘Look at what you’re doing to affect your own community.’” That lesson has n’t always been embraced, she says. Some students have even been moved, at their parents’ requests, to other instructors. “I had a lot of opposition from parents when I started the pro gram,” concedes the University of California Berkeley graduate. “They said they didn’t have time to take their kids places. It really upset and disappointed me and started to tell me a lot about the time we live in. “What type of message are we sending when peo ple are too busy to help?” she asks. “The idea doesn’t require money and can even stay in the home they just have to spend time being thoughtful and chron icle those efforts.” Faced with the chal lenges of adolescence, some students say tilting the spotlight onto helping others can be cathartic. “When I perform this project, I get really happy and tingly inside, because I know I am helping people that I know need help,” says Pete Bennie, who is visiting the elderly at an area nurs ing home. “Plus, when I do it, I feel like I have accom plished something and I am happy. I get joy and happi ness from this project. Now I have noticed that I am not so much depressed, any more.” The tasks, which, at times, require physical exertion, leave students tired but satisfied. “I help by stocking the shelves for the people to get free food,” says James Stough, who volunteers at Norcross Cooperative Ministry, a non-profit group that aids the underprivi leged. “This may sound simple, but it is not. It can take hours to get food from the storeroom to the shelves. I can be a very tir ing thing to do, but I think it is worth it.” Most of his classmates agree. “I have been in touch with Becky for a little more than two months,” says Tricia Harton of her Mississippi penpal, who has Down’s Syndrome. “Since then, I have had an entire new look on life. I wake up every day and I am thankful for being healthy. I am getting to see that some kids don’t have it as won derful as I do. Some kids don’t have wonderful par ents, a good education or enough money. “This project has made me see that I am blessed,” she says. “It has also showed me that I shouldn’t take for granted what I have.” Yes, students have had to think. They have had to look around and open their eyes to the lives of others. They have even had to make an effort. And, slowly but surely, they have learned to care.