It wasn 't all that long ago that most families lived and worked on a farm. When the demands of farming were particularly intense, such as during planting and harvesting, schools shut down so that the children could help with the work load. This still influences modern school schedules, many of which have a spring break and a summer break even though most children are not working the land with their families during that time.
The modern world can foster a profound sense of disconnectedness and children in particular can suffer from a sense of meaninglessness. When their labor was still essential to accomplishing critical tasks upon which survival of the family depended, they had a much stronger sense of meaning and purpose in their lives. Now,
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The best way to foster character traits like generosity and compassion is to give children the experience of doing for others and seeing the impact that has. This can be further enhanced by then talking with them about the whys and wherefores or reading related materials with them. But just talking or reading with them about such subjects is ineffectual. Talking the talk without walking the walk typically does not teach people the right lessons. It is a form of hypocrisy and it generally signals that looking good matters more than doing good.
Helping homeless individuals is a particularly good opportunity to teach compassion and respect for your fellow man. Homeless individuals come from all kinds of backgrounds. Although a high percentage of them have medical problems or mental health issues, they aren 't any particular race, creed, religion or other category. They come from all walks of life, all educational backgrounds, socioeconomic classes and so on.
Helping people that can be easily identified as "different" from you can inadvertently help worsen stigma for that group. But helping people that you can identify with can help break down social barriers. No matter your skin color or other identifier, if you volunteer with homeless services, you are likely to meet individuals in need with whom you and your children can identify in some