Be PEaceful - I treat others how I want to be treated. - I look for peaceful solutions.
One By One One by One Be Peaceful An adaptation of The Starfish Story by Loren Eisley Bryan was having a very difficult day. Actually, he was having pretty bad year. It seemed that no matter what he did, nothing ever seemed to go right. Bryan wasn’t seeing the good in, well, just about anything….he was simply losing hope. Bryan decided to go to the beach, the one place that brought him joy as child, hoping it would do the same as an adult. As he was walking along the beach he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, Bryan asked, “What are you doing?” The little boy replied, “I’m throwing sea stars back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.” “Hey kid”, Bryan said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!” After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another sea star, and threw it back into the ocean. Then, smiling at Bryan, he said, “I made a difference for that one.” At that moment Bryan got something he wasn’t expecting when he went to the beach. That little boy showed him that sometimes it’s more important to focus on what you can do, instead of on what you can’t. Bryan forgot about all of things going wrong in his life and instead decided to follow the lead of the young boy by picking up some sea stars and returning them to the ocean. With each gentle toss Bryan said to himself, “I made a difference for that one!”
Now unfold it and try to smooth it out. take a piece of paper and tell them to crumple it up, stamp on it and really mess it up but do not rip it. Crumple up a piece of paper… ...really mess it up but do not rip it. 1. Have the children take a piece of paper and tell them to crumple it up, stamp on it and really mess it up but do not rip it. 2. Then have the students unfold the paper. Let the kids really try to smooth it out and then look at how scarred and dirty is has become. 3. Next, have your students tell the piece of paper they are sorry. 4. Finally, explain that even though they said they were sorry and tried to fix the paper, point out all the scars they left behind. And that those scars will never go away no matter how hard they try to fix it. Now unfold it and try to smooth it out.
Now tell the paper you are sorry… Does it take away the scars left behind? POINT: This is what happens when a person bullies another person, they may say they’re sorry but the scars are there forever. If this piece of paper had been another person, and you had done all those things to him or her, by making them feel less than perfect (through your words or actions), these are the scars you would leave. That person would never be the same, no matter how many times you tell them you are sorry, no matter how many times you try to smooth things out..." If this paper was a person, they would never be the same, no matter how many times you tell them you are sorry, no matter how many times you try to smooth things out..."
The lesson: This is what happens when a person bullies another person, they may say they’re sorry but the scars are there forever.
Once words have been spoken…you can’t take them back! ACTIVITY….Do before you click for the text…do the following: Ask for a volunteer to come to the front of the room. Place a strip of masking tape on the length of the table. With a tube of toothpaste, have the volunteer run a bead of toothpaste on the length of the masking tape. Now ask the participant to put the toothpaste back in the tube. The students will quickly see that it can’t be done. Once words have been spoken…you can’t take them back!
The lesson: This is an example of how hurtful words once spoken cannot be taken back. Bullies say hurtful words frequently and need to know the impact that their words have on their victims. This is an example of how hurtful words once spoken cannot be taken back. Bullies say hurtful words frequently and need to know the impact that their words have on their victims.
Things to THINK about… 1. What is one word you can think of to sum up these two activities? 2. How can being peaceful make a difference….for yourself…..for others? 3. How can our words affect others……in a positive way…..in a negative way? Take responses from your group.