Applying Scientific Principles to Service Learning
“The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give your gift away.” – Dr. David Viscott
Service Learning provides a great tool for scientific innovation as the impact of some projects can be measured mathematically. Chess is an example of how the US Chess Federation rates a player. A pre and post attendance in a chess club for a period of time allows learning to be measured. The deep involvement in interventions such as a chess club can have social, cultural, educational and economic impact making it easier to understand where efforts may be worthwhile. This also serves as a motivator for creative youth who are able to test what they imagined the outcome would be once they created a program.
Since establishing the St Leonards chess club in Chicago this year teenagers Krish Nara, Jack Weed, Prabhgun Kaur and Prabhtej Singh join Johnny Dawson in working on a pilot program to study the impact of how a learning program helps individuals reduce anxiety, increase socialization and provide intellectual stimulation for people who attend the club once a week for an hour. The course is taught by a chess coach from GM Shulman's textbook. Johnny is a freshman at University of Chicago who will analyse both a random sample of data from people who are not in chess club and those who attend the chess club regularly. Software developer Christopher Majkowski, an MBA student at University of Chicago is providing mentorship for the team.
The Peter Wulff Center is collaborating with Chess Without Borders and Outside the Walls Ministries to establish this program. The funding was provided by the Armstrong family and proceeds from the textbook, Chess! Lessons from a Grandmaster by Rishi Sethi and GM Shulman. The teenagers have been furiously selling Humanitarian Hummus made by volunteer Zein Bertacchi to help with funding snacks for the chess club.
Saint Leonard's Place, located in Chicago's Near West Side, has been dedicated to providing holistic support to individuals impacted by incarceration. Teacher and chess player Peter Wulff was in the midst of a pilot program at Riveredge Hospital to measure the impact of chess when he died suddenly at the age of 41. Over the years as a teacher for emotionally disturbed adolescents Peter observed how a chess program was able to reduce anxiety, give students a sense of purpose and allow a healthy channel for aggressive behavior. By establishing the chess club at St Leonards the team at the Peter Wulff Center is hoping that regular engagement in the program will bring focus, reduction in anxiety, a sense of purpose and may lead to other social enterprises. Eventually this program aspires to create a positive atmosphere that will reduce recidivism for this population. Reverend Tommy Johnson is the organizer and executive director of the ‘Outside the Walls Ministries’. This is a ministry that directs its efforts toward individuals, adult and juvenile, coming out of incarceration, as well as using drugs or in recovery from drug use. Juvenile's gang affiliated or otherwise misguided are also a focus. The Peter Wulff Center and Chess Without Borders have collaborated for the last 15 years to bring a Christmas lunch for 150 ex prisoners and their families. Salem United Methodist Church leads this effort in the Barrington community bringing 20 -25 volunteers from Barrington to Chicago to distribute gifts, food and winter clothing for families in need. Here is a video of Barrington community members at an ex prisoner lunch from 2019.
By collectively working on bringing about social innovation a new way forward is possible bringing together a diverse range of people and organizations that can hope to create systemic change.
Youth social entrepreneurs are driven to be a part of this movement to bring positive change in the lives of people less fortunate. As they work on various projects they are discovering the purpose of life and their gifts. The Peter Wulff Center was accepted as a member of social entrepreneurs at the Schwab Foundation.
Join us in this exciting work.