“Service Above Self” – Crucial Skill We Need to Teach Our Kids Today

When we envision the future of our children, we envisage them as accomplished and upright individuals with strong moral values. We hope to create remarkable individuals who are not only successful in their own fields but are also devoted to their duty towards being the nation-builders of tomorrow. As such, in order to effectively attain this goal, the focus needs to be as much on their scholastic and co-scholastic development as it should be on making them aware of their social responsibilities. This is the prime reason why we, at DPS Sushant Lok, one of the best CBSE schools in Gurgaon, have established an Interact Club in the school as a part of the prestigious Rotary International.

"Service above self" is the motto adopted by Rotary International, which signifies the belief that Rotarians would put their duty to help others before their own needs. We believe that the ideas of compassion, selflessness, and kindness exemplified by this motto also shine as a skill that our children need to learn, and here are a few of our insights on that matter.

Developing a greater understanding of social issues

From a young age, children start learning about various issues plaguing the society, such as waste accumulation, deforestation, ever-increasing pollution, and more as a part of their academic lessons. However, we, at DPS Sushant Lok, believe that the actual purpose of teaching all these facts to the kids extends way beyond ensuring that they score well in their exams. To truly attain the purpose of such lessons, it is important that children are provided with hands-on insights into these social distresses. When they accompany us in varied social work initiatives under the Interact club, it gives them a real-world perspective of the issues and enables them to understand the ground-level reality.

Understanding their role in solving those social issues

In the words of the famous English polymath, Sir Thomas Browne, "Charity begins at home." In our efforts to put "service above self," our children learn that even the small steps that they take can have a major impact in changing the lives of people and also Mother Earth for the better.

Such initiatives also help to inculcate the values of self-worth and self-belief in our pupils and aid in strengthening their own belief in their ability to make a difference and change the society for the better.

Inculcating a value system that stays with them for a lifetime

We have iterated time and again that the finest time to inculcate a rich value system in the children is when they are young, and their minds are more pliable. Any skill or idea that is imbibed in their mind now remains with them for a lifetime and continues to guide their way. The same thing applies to social work, whose seeds are to be sown in the young minds from an early stage. From showing them the way they can approach a problem to helping them find the solution to those issues within their limits, when kids engage in social work, it teaches them how they can stay on the path of selfless service to the society.

The deeper satisfaction derived from working for the society

The ideals of "service above self" help kids in develop the crucial skill of drawing happiness and joy from their own work and their surroundings. After all, there is no greater satisfaction than donating a few books to a child who dreams of a better future for herself, or planting trees and cleaning an area to make it look as beautiful as never seen before. If we can teach our children that there is no greater joy than that in the service of humanity, we would believe to have done a good job as one of the best CBSE schools in Gurgaon.