This weekend, I spent a total of 7 hours with a handful of students wrapping presents at a local Barnes and Noble and I will spend 3 more with them next weekend. When we were contacted by Barnes and Noble with this opportunity to do this as a fundraiser, I imagined money, lots of it, being given to my students for a service they would provide. Our club needs money, so I thought it would be an excellent opportunity. In seven hours, we earned a whopping $15 between 6 people. That's right! Way less than minimum wage and about the same amount that I was paid per hour before tips for waiting tables in when I was in college back when dinosaurs still roamed Earth.
Though this activity was not financially lucrative, my students are richer for having had this experience. Here are four reasons why....
1. Customer service and business communication skills - I would venture to say that the majority of my students do not have an after school job. Their parents believe that school and getting good grades is their job. Most of them only interact with 3 groups of people; family, friends, their teachers. And I think that it has created a world where teens do not know how to talk to people outside their bubble, although this is a skill that they are going to have to develop when they become adults. Better to learn now than later.
During the seven hours of our volunteer service, I stepped back and let them do the work. I was there to supervise after all. When a customer approached the table, they greeted the customer, asked to see their receipt, and then asked questions of the customer to clarify how they would like their gift wrapped. They made sure that the customer was satisfied with the job that they did and explained who we were and why were there. It was interesting to watch them develop this skill over the three or four hours we were there. By the end of the shift, they had it down and even the most timid student became more assertive.
2. Dealing with disappointment I think we all had dreams of making some bank this weekend. I know that I was disappointed. I'm pretty sure the girls who gave up their time this week were disappointed as well. There were also customers who came to the table and didn't like the gift wrap that was provided by the store and left without getting their items wrapped. There were others that did not donate to us even though we provided a service.
I could be very wrong, but I think this is good for students to learn to deal with. All of the students who were with me are very strong academically. They may bomb a test or quiz twice in their lives, but it is highly unlikely. It is important for them to realize that things do not always go as planned or hoped for, but life still goes on. It should be about the experience and not just getting what we wanted.
3. Teamwork and learning something new Gift wrapping for me has always been a craft that I take great pride in. I learned how to do it at a very young age and improve over the years. I even make my bows by hand. I like to crease the edges of the paper and make them sharp. I like the way the paper bends and crackles under my fingers. I like putting the care and love into wrapping the gift. It somehow has more meaning than when I toss it into a gift bag.
As Bailey said today, "Thank goodness that my mom taught me how to wrap gifts." She was really good at it too! She was the only one that I did not have to teach how to wrap gifts. Everyone else simply throws a gift into a gift bag and throws some tissue paper in with it. The art of gift wrapping was lost on them. Until today.
Bailey and I taught 5 girls how to wrap gifts today and Friday. They helped each other problem solve difficult package wrapping. They handed each other tape, held edges and inspected each others' work. This might be an excellent team building activity! And more importantly, they took pride in their work, the final product and the appreciation in their customers' eyes.
4. Conversation
We had a lot of down time. A LOT. We had about 2 customers an hour. Because we were in a "business" situation, I did not allow them to be using their devices; their phones, their iPads, their anything. It is not very inviting to customers when your service provider is "involved" with their device. They respected this and really did not argue or push back. And they talked to each other and me (though I was grading papers in the corner) for the 3-4 hours we were there. They laughed and teased each other. They talked about silly stuff, stressed about school, and giggled. And it was good. They entertained each other for hours. Our kids need to learn how to talk to each other.
And we are richer today because of this experience.
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