"You exist, and this matters to me...I know that you monitor--as I
do--our relationship; rest assured that, as far as, I am concerned, you
and I are in reciprocal good standing." --Dr. Forni
Activities:
- Start
a Senior Mentors program. Develop a senior-freshman buddy/mentor
project to encourage positive interaction and to smooth the freshman’s
transition to high school.
- Have
your group create a banner that represents each member and the group as
a whole. Think about members' names and individual likes and
dislikes. Discover something that all members have in common.
Discover something that is unique to each member. Develop a group
name. Represent all of these ideas in words and pictures. (Great Group Games)
- Have
each student create a bumper sticker that represents him or herself.
Use words, slogans, quotes, and pictures to design a bumper sticker
that reperesents the "real you." Once each student has created a
bumper sticker, post all of the stickers somewhere where they can all
be seen. (Great Group Games)
Discussion questions:
- Dr. Forni writes about one of his first bus rides in the
United States and how the passengers treated the bus driver. What did
the other passengers do that Dr. Forni found so surprising? How do you
think this action affected the bus driver? How does that relate to your
definition of civility?
- How would you feel if someone who says hello to you, every morning, skips a morning?
- Should you wait for others to acknowledge you? Why or why not?
- On
page 43, Dr. Forni gives an example of failure to acknowledge someone
in a store. Three upsetting things happen in this story. What are they?
How could they have been prevented?
- A well known football
coach once said, "Winning isn’t everything - it’s the only thing." What
do you think of that philosophy? In what ways might a philosophy such
as this impact civility. Another coach once said, "Success in
athletics isn't about victories, defeats, trophies, medals, ribbons,
fame, fortune or statistics." What do you think he meant by that? Do
you agree, or disagree? Why?
- How does acknowledging others help us to be civil?
Books:
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