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People are nice!
Too often we hear of injustice, crime, and disappointment. One morning recently I was buying a coffee on my way to school. I pulled up to the drive through window, only to be informed that my coffee had been paid for by the women, stranger, in the car ahead of me.
WOW! I was thrilled. The woman in front of me, had just given me, a stranger a $2 cup of coffee. A great example of a Random Act of Kindness.
My question was “What do I do now?”
- Say thank you to the worker, and go along my merry way.
- Say “thank you” and give the hard-working Dunkin Donuts workers the money I would have used for my coffee as an extra tip.
- “Wow, what an unexpected favor, please apply this money (the money I would have spent) to the order of the people behind me.”
- Ask the workers “Does this happen often?” And then follow-up, “What have other customers done in this case?” I would have like to have decided on this option to get a little more feedback.
I choose option #3, because I was certainly delighted with my surprise.
As the school year comes to a close, I am thankful for so many things. As a teacher, we can incorporate some life experiences into our curriculum. Teaching seniors, I do have students who work at Dunkin Donuts. There will be an extra credit assignment for them.
Lesson: Pay it Forward
Objectives:
- To see how “Paying it Forward” can make a difference in a working shift .
- To see the reaction of the customers and record the feedback.
- To see if there is a difference in the amount of tips received during the shift.
Methods:
- Have student record days of shift, time, and amount of tips – baseline
- Donate $10 to the Pay It Forward “bank” or ask students to make a donation.
- Have the students start the shift by paying for all or a portion of an order.
- Observe how others react. (Worker can influence the decision by providing the 4 options above.)
Assessment:
- Compare the amount of “tips” or “tips per hour” between normal shift vs. “Pay It Forward” shift.
- Analyze the feedback from the customers. The oral responses.
- If there are “regular” customers, ask some more in depth questions.
I would encourage other teachers, especially Sociology teachers to try this activity. We might find that the workers would benefit financially if they took $10 out of their tips and started the ‘Pay it Forward” chain on their own.
I will follow up next year with the results of the activity.
Even better, perhaps a Dunkin Donuts manager might institute this for a day or a week to see the results. I bet they would be amazing!
Have a great Summer!