Learners can be encouraged to actively commit to serving others and be involved in the community, or to making other commitments of heart, hand, and mind in relation to the topics studied. This is about encouraging students (1) to translate learning into action, (2) to decide on what they think is right, and where appropriate, (3) to make a principled stand.

  • Learners can be given opportunities to serve others, such as by taking part in a community project or by designing posters and invitations to a community day. They can be challenged to think of specific ways to love their city after learning about the industrial revolution or creating designs that focus on bringing delight to others (as in this example).
  • Learners can be challenged to decide on a viewpoint or take a stand on an issue—for example, by writing a short position paper or by sorting statements into ones they agree with and ones they disagree with (as in this example about the ethics of writing about others).
  • Learners can actively respond in the classroom itself, such as by praying for each other (as appropriate to your school), actively encouraging each other, and supporting each other—perhaps in a review class or through peer mentoring in a math class.

In these and other ways, students can be encouraged toward developing their capacity for moral and spiritual commitment as they learn about the needs of the world and the big questions we face.