Serving the Conserve Community: Dining Room Duty

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As much as possible, we keep students at Conserve School engaged in work that is useful and has meaning beyond the classroom walls. Whether it’s building trails for future generations of students to enjoy, digging up potatoes for tomorrow’s lunch, or writing letters to the editor about a local environmental controversy (we’ve got lots of them: wolves, mining, ATVs …), we know that adolescents, just like full-grown adults, prefer real work to manufactured exercises.

That’s not to say that all real work is loads of fun or intrinsically interesting. For example — one of the tasks students take care of at Conserve School is kitchen and dining room duty, no one’s favorite assignment. As they say, though, many hands make light work. Even routine household duties can be fun when you’re doing them with friends.

Routine maintenance tasks also provide many teachable moments, from discussions of character traits like kindness and loyalty (do you duck out early or stick with your team until the task is completley done?) to pointers on fine motor skills (what’s the best way to hold a paring knife if you’re trying to peel an apple safely and quickly?). As students take care of tasks around campus, they learn all sorts of useful skills, some of which are becoming lost arts due to our busy-busy-busy lifestyles. In the course of a Conserve School semester, we teach students simple household skills that many are completely unfamiliar with — for example, how to sanitize kitchen sinks and counters, how to wipe down tables without dumping crumbs on the floor (I am not exaggerating!), how to use a dust pan and broom, and how to operate (or even recognize) a carpet sweeper.

We actually have a good time discussing and taking care of these simple things together!

~Mary Anna Thornton, Assistant Head of School

Teahelahn clears away serving bowls.

Gwen carries a serving bowl to a cart while the crew gets busy behind her.

Gwen and Kelsie stack serving bowls on one of the kitchen carts.

Kelsie removes water pitchers from the tables, with Student Services Coordinator Kim Spagnoli behind her.

In the background, Grad Fellows Pete Gizyn and Bill Quade check rosters and prepare for the afternoon.

Head of School Stefan Anderson helps the crew.

The pace picks up — students don’t want to be late to their first afternoon class. George is hurrying to wipe tables that have been cleared.

Reilly smiles — this table is ready to go.

George sanitizes tables with disinfectant — important in a communal setting!

George has just finished wiping down a table and Walton mugs for the camera.

Gwen smiles for the camera, George sprays a table.

Walton sweeps up crumbs.

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