On Friday, after a short Exam #1 format review, we did a values clarification exercise with the goal of helping students understand their values/ talents so that they could intentionally use those gifts to serve others.
I put up a sheet with about 50 terms, asked students to copy down the eight that most resounded with them, and offered up that they can add any other terms they don't see. Wine. Football. Yoga. Music. Jesus. Snapchat.
They all seem to enjoy the first part of the exercise until I ask them to take a journey to cities they want to visit together (two classes randomly and independently chose to go to Venice and Tokyo; the big class went to Sydney and Amsterdam... one student asked to go to Kingston and I said maybe not during hurricane season and she understood).
There's a catch.
To get to the first city, they can only take four bags. Their 8 values are their 8 bags.
Leave 4 bags in Tallahassee and get on the plane, I command.
Moans, crying, sobbing ensue.
They do it anyway.
For us to go to the second city, students can only take two bags, and need to circle the "carry on" bag, the one they always keep with them.
More moans, more crying.
They do it anyway.
In one class a guy shouts out, "Wait! No!! I can't cross off Jesus!" and I thanked him immediately for giving me the title of this story.
I'm not sure if he did cross off Jesus and choose to bring another value (faith? love? kindness? generosity?) with him, but I did want to show you a sorted/alphabetized list of the core values from 135 students.
A note on demographics: My students these day skew towards the very young, straight out of high school and heading to FSU as quickly as possible crowd. I would say all but 5 are under 30, and among the older students none are in their 40s and 50s, and only one student - Mr. D* from this summer - is 60. The older students all wrote either wisdom, knowledge or stability as their values.
Here are their responses, sorted alphabetically, for your review and consideration.
I put up a sheet with about 50 terms, asked students to copy down the eight that most resounded with them, and offered up that they can add any other terms they don't see. Wine. Football. Yoga. Music. Jesus. Snapchat.
They all seem to enjoy the first part of the exercise until I ask them to take a journey to cities they want to visit together (two classes randomly and independently chose to go to Venice and Tokyo; the big class went to Sydney and Amsterdam... one student asked to go to Kingston and I said maybe not during hurricane season and she understood).
There's a catch.
To get to the first city, they can only take four bags. Their 8 values are their 8 bags.
Leave 4 bags in Tallahassee and get on the plane, I command.
Moans, crying, sobbing ensue.
They do it anyway.
For us to go to the second city, students can only take two bags, and need to circle the "carry on" bag, the one they always keep with them.
More moans, more crying.
They do it anyway.
In one class a guy shouts out, "Wait! No!! I can't cross off Jesus!" and I thanked him immediately for giving me the title of this story.
I'm not sure if he did cross off Jesus and choose to bring another value (faith? love? kindness? generosity?) with him, but I did want to show you a sorted/alphabetized list of the core values from 135 students.
A note on demographics: My students these day skew towards the very young, straight out of high school and heading to FSU as quickly as possible crowd. I would say all but 5 are under 30, and among the older students none are in their 40s and 50s, and only one student - Mr. D* from this summer - is 60. The older students all wrote either wisdom, knowledge or stability as their values.
Here are their responses, sorted alphabetically, for your review and consideration.
| achievement |
| adventure |
| adventure |
| adventure |
| boldness |
| compassion |
| confidence |
| courage |
| creativity |
| creativity |
| curiosity |
| curiosity |
| faith |
| faith |
| faith |
| faith |
| faith |
| faith |
| faith |
| faith |
| faith |
| faith |
| faith |
| faith |
| family |
| family |
| freedom |
| freedom |
| freedom |
| freedom |
| freedom |
| generosity |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| Happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| happiness |
| honesty |
| honesty |
| honesty |
| humor |
| humor |
| humor |
| humor |
| humor |
| humor |
| humor |
| Jesus |
| Jesus |
| Jesus |
| kindness |
| kindness |
| kindness |
| knowledge |
| knowledge |
| knowledge |
| leadership |
| leadership |
| leadership |
| learning |
| love |
| love |
| love |
| love |
| love |
| love |
| love |
| love |
| love |
| love |
| love |
| love |
| love |
| love |
| love |
| loyalty |
| loyalty |
| loyalty |
| loyalty |
| loyalty |
| loyalty |
| loyalty |
| loyalty |
| loyalty |
| loyalty |
| loyalty |
| loyalty |
| loyalty |
| loyalty |
| loyalty |
| optimism |
| optimism |
| respect |
| respect |
| respect |
| respect |
| respectful |
| service |
| spirituality |
| stability |
| stability |
| stability |
| success |
| success |
| success |
| success |
| success |
| success |
| wealth |
| wealth |
| wisdom |
| wisdom |
