The Extra Mile

Volunteering is not especially popular with newcomers here.  It's just hard for them to believe that pitching in and helping out can actually feel good.  But that's one of the lessons of a therapeutic boarding school.  In this home away from home, students do have assigned chores, but they also have countless opportunities throughout the day to help one another voluntarily.  Going the extra mile is just part of the campus culture.  Newcomers eventually figure that out and begin raising their hands when help is needed.  At first it's just about the grade.  (Yes, students here are graded on character education.)  But like so much in life, what they begin doing reluctantly and view as drudgery gradually changes. They find themselves enjoying it, feeling good about it, and that curious saying "virtue is its own reward" suddenly makes sense.