It’s so wholesome when you hear that young people are being encouraged to take part in community-based products that benefit those who’re struggling or unable. One teacher at Iowa school, Tim Hitzler, created a program that would get teens involved in the community by offering them PE credits.
Teens Are Doing Yard Work For PE Credits
The program encourages teens to take time out of their sessions to go help elderly people with their gardens. The idea behind it is that these young people get out of the house and help someone else. They also learn some valuable manual labor skills. Gardening isn’t easy work, so they will also be getting a healthy dose of exercise while being useful.
They Get To Meet New People
One teen, Nick Colsn, who is seventeen years old, gave his opinion on the scheme. He explained that he wouldn’t have met any of the people he has helped if he didn’t take part as, typically, he tends to go to school or work and that’s pretty much it. Tasks can include pulling weeds, mowing lawns, raking leaves, and all kinds of physical work the elderly person would struggle to do.
They Didn’t Like It At First
While the youngsters weren’t too thrilled at the idea at first, once they got their hands dirty, they really enjoyed it. Tim Hitzler expressed that the teens became more motivated after a while and that they enjoy helping people and giving back to the community. It might take a nudge and a push to get them going, but once they get going, it’s not hard to see the satisfaction on their faces.
While some might not be sure about trading old fashioned PE credits for gardening, it seems to be working out for these youngsters.