MORAL TALES
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Children
SESSION 15: COURAGE AND PERSEVERANCE
BY ALICE ANACHECKA-NASEMAN AND ELISA PEARMAIN
© Copyright 2010 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 11/8/2014 5:22:38 PM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
SESSION OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
God has not called on me to be successful. He has called on me to be faithful. — Mother Teresa
This session emphasizes the virtues of courage and perseverance. To act out of goodness and for justice often requires courage, determination and the will to keep going despite many challenges.
In this session we will hear a Jakata story from the Buddhist tradition about a parrot that carries drops of water in its feathers back and forth from the river in order to save the animals of a burning forest. The Devas (the Gods) initially laugh at what they think is a fruitless effort, but later one Deva is moved by the love and courage of the little parrot. The Deva's tears add to the parrot's drops and the fire is extinguished. We too may act alone, and against all odds, but when we are compelled by conscience and love, our continued efforts can catch the attention of others and cause something greater to happen spiritually and in the world.
In our culture of "everything now," our children need more than ever to learn the value of perseverance when most products and information can now be had with the press of a button or the exchange of money, and there are fewer opportunities to work hard for something. Yet, perseverance is one important key to success in utilizing all other virtues. As Unitarian Universalists we seek to bring our faith to action. Helping our young people gain the skills and confidence to persist for what they believe in will help them to become leaders and people of moral action.
In this session the children will also hear stories about everyday people, children and adults, who have persisted against great odds for what they believed. They will do an art activity inspired by these stories. The Faith in Action project offers the children a chance to emulate the brave little parrot with an effort to gather coins, one by one, to fill a jar and donate the funds for a cause of their choosing. The activities in this session also inspire us to understand the Unitarian Universalist Principles, particularly the inherent worth and dignity of every person and respect for the interdependent web of all existence. "Perseverance" will be added to the Moral Compass poster.
GOALS
This session will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
SESSION-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Welcoming & Entering | 0 |
Opening | 2 |
Activity 1: Gems of Goodness | 5 |
Activity 2: Story Basket and Centering | 5 |
Activity 3: Story — The Brave Little Parrot | 10 |
Activity 4: "Hi, My Name's Joe" | 5 |
Activity 5: Heroes and Heroines of Perseverance and Courage | 10 |
Activity 6: Making Hero Comic Books. | 15 |
Activity 7: Clean-up | 3 |
Faith in Action: Courage Stickers — Long-term | 10 |
Faith in Action: Pennies for Parrots — Long-term | 15 |
Closing | 5 |
Alternate Activity 1 Candles of Joys and Sorrows | 10 |
Alternate Activity 2: Whipping Cream | 20 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
Read over the story of "The Brave Little Parrot" and try to put yourself in the parrot's shoes. Have you ever felt so passionate about something that you worked for it even when no one else would take a stand? Try to remember how that felt to you spiritually.
What do you feel most passionate or concerned about now? Take a moment to close your eyes and feel the passion and compassion that lives in your heart. On a more practical level, have you persevered toward a goal in life such as a career, or a cause, or with a challenging relationship or illness? Give yourself credit for the patience and diligence you found to carry on despite the challenges. Is there a short personal story that you could share with your Moral Tales group today? In this session we move from listening to a folktale to looking at true life stories. Take some time to think about people whose courage, faith and diligence has particularly inspired you. Perhaps there is a story that you could share.
SESSION PLAN
WELCOMING AND ENTERING
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
As children enter, greet them and direct them to the table with the gemstones.
Ask the children to choose one, two, or three gemstones to represent acts of goodness that they did or witnessed since the last time they came to Moral Tales. If you wish, help focus the children on generosity. Ask if any participants were generous or experienced generosity.
If any children are participating for the first time in the Gems of Goodness project, invite them to choose a notebook, write their name on it, and decorate it as they wish. Tell them they may also pick three gemstones to bring into the circle.
OPENING (2 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children in a circle. Light the chalice.
If some or all of the children are unfamiliar with the reading, teach it line by line. Then recite together:
Come into the circle of love and friendship.
Come into the community of justice and goodness.
Come and you shall know peace and joy.
Extinguish the chalice.
Related content:
ACTIVITY 1: GEMS OF GOODNESS (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children around the table where you have placed the cloth, the jar or vase, and the gemstones. Ask who remembered to keep track of acts of goodness in their notebooks.
Invite volunteers to stand up, and tell the group about an act of goodness they engaged in (or witnessed, if you have offered this option), and place the gem in the glass jar or vase.
Indicate the Moral Compass poster. Mention the virtues that the group has explored in previous sessions. Suggest that the children try to think of some acts of goodness related to these virtues, as they share their gems of goodness.
Encourage newcomers to join the sharing once they've had a chance to see what the other children are doing.
Use these guidelines to organize the sharing:
It is very important to avoid judging participants, either with criticism or praise. Avoid phrases like, "Great job!" or "You're fantastic!" which might encourage the children to compete to share the "best" act of goodness or to perceive that different acts of goodness have greater or lesser value.
Instead, listen carefully to what the children tell you. Help them identify the virtues their acts of goodness represent. When appropriate, indicate a word or phrase on the Moral Compass poster that fits the act of goodness. This will help the children learn to recognize a variety of virtues in a variety of forms.
After each sharing, you may say something like, "Thank you for sharing," followed by a summarizing sentence such as:
Your specific responses to the acts of goodness children share will help them feel pride, a sense of accomplishment, and their own empowerment as agents of justice and goodness.
If children are not volunteering, call out various types of acts of goodness, and invite children to come up if they experienced that particular kind of goodness. You may call out:
When the sharing is finished, remind the children to take home their notebooks and continue to keep track of their acts of goodness.
If you are planning to do so, remind the children that they may mark their achievement with a special celebration when the group has filled the glass jar or otherwise reached an established goal. If the group is approaching the goal, you may wish to brainstorm with them about the celebration. Suggestions might include having a special treat for a snack, or ending early to do physical games outside.
Whatever way you choose to mark the jar being filled, once it has been filled you may empty it and start over again.
Including All Participants
If any participants are not mobile, you or another child can accommodate by passing the jar. If a child is not verbal, you may wish to invite a participant to choose another child, or a co-leader, to read his/her acts of goodness from his/her notebook and place a gemstone in the jar.
ACTIVITY 2: STORY BASKET AND CENTERING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children in a circle in your storytelling area. Show them the story basket. Say something like, "Let's see what's in our story basket today."
If you are using an altar as a focal point, take the cloth cover from the basket and drape it over the box or small table. If the cloth cover has a special story, such as who made it, where it comes from, or the meaning of any symbols on it, briefly share the story with the children. Tell the group that the items will be placed on this altar or table after the children have passed them around the circle.
Take the story-related items from the basket, one at a time, and pass them around. Briefly name the various objects. Children may ask questions about some of the items, begin to tell stories about similar things they have seen, or wonder aloud why an object is included. Tell them the group can talk more about the items after the story. Make sure you invite them to do so once you have finished the story and follow-up discussion.
If you have a globe or a world map, indicate India . You can tell the children that this story is a Buddhist tale from India .
As items come back to you, place them on the altar. Objects that are fragile, or which should not be passed around for any reason, can be held up for all to see and then placed directly on the altar. Display the items for children to look at as they listen to the story.
Now remove the chime, rain stick or other instrument from the story basket. Tell the children that every time you tell a story in Moral Tales, you will first use the instrument to help them get their ears, their minds, and their bodies ready to listen.
Invite them to sit comfortably and close their eyes (if they are comfortable doing so). You may tell them that closing their eyes can help them focus just on listening.
In a calm voice, say, in your own words:
As you breathe in, feel your body opening up with air. As you breathe out, feel yourself relaxing.
Repeat this once or twice and then say:
Now you are ready to listen. When I hit the chime (turn the rain stick over), listen as carefully as you can. See how long you can hear its sound. When you can no longer hear it, open your eyes and you will know it is time for the story to begin.
Sound the chime or other instrument. When the sound has gone, begin telling the story.
Including All Participants
If anyone in the group is unable to hold or pass items, or cannot see the items, make sure you or a child in the group offers the person a chance to see and touch each object, as needed.
Some people do not feel safe closing their eyes when they are in a group. If any children resist, respect their resistance and suggest that they find a single point of focus to look at instead.
If you have a basket of fidget objects for children who will listen and learn more effectively with something in their hands, make the fidget object basket available during this activity. For a full description of fidget objects and guidance on using them, see Leader Resources.
ACTIVITY 3: STORY — THE BRAVE LITTLE PARROT (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This story can be simply told without participation or props. As children hear it, they will experience both how difficult and how powerful it can be for one small being to act out of conscience and love, and not to give up, despite the odds. The children will also gain a clearer understanding of what courage and perseverance mean.
You may wish to clarify some elements in the story. The story begins with "Long ago the Buddha was born as a little parrot." You may, instead, begin the story, "Once there was a little parrot." Or, you may tell the group as much as you like of the following:
This story is a Jataka tale. It is one of hundreds of tales that the Buddha told. He was raised as a Hindu, and the Hindu religion believes that we each are reborn many times, as different animals and people. When we die, we come back as another person or animal.
All of the Jataka tales are about the Buddha in one of his former lives.
Later on, the story mentions "Gods of a happy realm... floating high overhead in their cloud palaces... " The idea of multiple gods living up above and looking down on Earth is also from the Hindu tradition.
Before you begin, look around the room and make eye contact with each person. Read or tell the story.
Ring the chime (use other sound instrument) to indicate that the story is over.
Follow the story with a discussion to deepen children's understanding that when we act from our hearts and don't give up, we can help to make change and inspire other people to work with us. In the discussion, you will also aim to help children to understand how working hard for something that we believe in can strengthen us spiritually. Not only do we feel true to ourselves when we persevere, but our sense of connection to others is strengthened as well. Use these questions:
After this discussion about the story, switch gears. Ask the children about their own experiences with working hard and not giving up. If you have already covered this adequately in Activity 1: Gems of Goodness, briefly mention one or two examples from stories the children shared earlier.
Children's examples of perseverance are very concrete, at this age. Share some of your own experiences of working toward a goal. Examples: working and saving money to buy a bike, practicing a musical instrument or a sport when other friends were going out to play, helping to tend a garden or take care of a pet. Another example of perseverance that they might have experienced would be making something that takes a lot of time such as a sand castle, a snow person, a tree fort, something complicated with Legos, or a sewing or knitting project. Allow some children to share. Then say:
See, you already know how to work hard for something, if it is important to you.
Later, they can draw on this memory to work hard when love and conscience call.
Including All Participants
This story is a listening story, with less opportunity for participation than some, but it is full of action and drama. If you have some children who will probably not be able to attend to a listening story, invite them to use fidget objects. Fidget objects, described in Leader Resources, can provide a non-disruptive outlet for children who need to move.
ACTIVITY 4: "HI, MY NAME'S JOE" (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Have the children stand as they are able, in a semi-circle with space between them so they will not bump. Arrange for the leader who will lead this activity to stand in front of the children where all can see his/her movements.
This is "a get your wiggles out" stretch activity in which the children mimic everything that the teacher says and does. It is a cumulative activity in which the children end up moving so many body parts at once that they can't go on and stay standing. This activity provides a fun, kinesthetic break between sedentary activities. They are also pretending to be a character that works as long and as hard as he can before saying, "Enough!"
Tell the children that you will lead a movement activity in which they will copy exactly what you say and do. To give them a practice example, you may say, "Hi my name is ______ (your name)," and wave at the same time. Repeat until they all get the idea.
Use the Leader Resource, "Hi, My Name Is Joe" Script.
Including All Participants
This activity can be modified to be done from a chair. If some children will be seated, lead the activity from a seated position, even if other children will be standing.
ACTIVITY 5: HEROES AND HEROINES OF PERSEVERANCE AND COURAGE (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather the children in close so that they can hear the stories you will share to inspire and guide them to act with courage and perseverance. Say, in your own words:
There are people of all ages, including Unitarian Universalists, who have worked really hard for something they believed in. Many, many people have at times acted just like the brave little parrot. These are people who do whatever it takes to change something that they are concerned about. Even though they are just one person, often their perseverance and persistence inspire other people to help . That is how change can happen in the world and in the hearts of the people involved.
Ask the children to try to picture the people and their stories in their imaginations as you tell about them. Share the stories you have chosen.
Including All Participants
If some children may have difficulty sitting still to listen to these stories, provide fidget objects. Described in Leader Resources, fidget objects can provide a non-disruptive outlet for children who learn kinesthetically or simply need to move.
ACTIVITY 6: MAKING HERO COMIC BOOKS (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Distribute materials to children at work tables. Tell them that they can now make a book or a comic strip about one of the real people whose perseverance they have just heard about.
Show the children the samples you have made. In the comic strip, show them how each of the three panels represents a part of the story you have chosen.
Instruct them:
Tell the children they may add balloons to show people speaking, but this is not necessary. This is a completed comic strip once the child has put a title on it.
To make a book, cut the three pages apart so that they are separate. Next you will put another piece of paper the same size as the other three on top of the other to make a cover page with a title. Then staple them together at the top corner or on both left hand corners.
Encourage the children to use stick figures so that the drawings will not take too much time. If they do not finish, invite them to finish them at home. Either way they should take them home to show to their families.
As the children work, ask them to tell why they chose the hero they chose. You may also ask them if there are problems that really concern them, and if they can imagine what action they might take to make change when they are older.
If you have time, add Alternate Activity 2: Whipping Cream. One child at a time can stop work on his/her comic strip or book, and take a turn at manually whipping cream, which requires perseverance and yields a nice reward. At the end of the whipping cream activity there will naturally be a small feast!
Including All Participants
The artistic confidence of children this age can be quite variable, so, encourage everyone to use simple stick figures to show the action and not worry about detailed drawings. If there are children who are not able to draw independently, a co-leader can sit with them and ask for their ideas and draw for them.
ACTIVITY 7: CLEAN-UP (3 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
In this activity the children are asked to return the meeting space to being as neat and clean as they found it and to put away the materials used in the session. Remind the children that other people may use the space, and should be able to find it clean and ready to use.
Engage the children in thinking about materials that can be recycled. Specifically identify and assign any clean-up task that will help the children understand and accept their own responsibility as users of the meeting space. Use the clean-up activity to help children think about how their actions affect others and gain good feelings from participating in a group effort.
If your congregation has a recycling system, ask a child or pair of children to take the recycled materials to the bins. If your congregation does not have a recycling system, this may be a good Moral Tales project to initiate! In the meantime you might want to suggest that a different child each week take home a bag of recyclables. First, ask parents if they wish to participate in this project.
Including All Participants
All children should assist as able.
CLOSING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
This activity helps the children get used to practicing a closing ritual as a way of affirming their part in the faith community.
Gather the group in a circle. Thank the children for participating and sharing their stories and ideas in this session. Tell them something you liked about the way they worked together as a community.
Point out the Moral Compass poster. Say, in your own words:
Our compass shows us ways to make good decisions and how to be fair. If we are going to do what our inner voices and our hearts tell us is right, then we must learn to have courage and not give up at working for what we believe in, even if it takes a long time.
Ask them what the word is for keeping going even when something is hard? Affirm "perseverance."
Acknowledge the group for the ways in which they took part in and stuck with the activities of the day even when they were hard. Tell them that you are going to add "Perseverance," to the Moral Compass poster.
Write or post the word "Perseverance" on the Moral Compass poster.
Remind the children that the next time they meet they will have a chance to add more gems to the Gems of Goodness jar. Encourage them to write down the acts of goodness and justice they do (or witness). If appropriate, remind them that when the jar is full of gemstones, you will have a special celebration. You may wish to encourage them to try using perseverance as well as the other virtues you have posted on the Moral Compass poster.
Lead the children in singing Hymn 414 in Singing the Living Tradition, "As We Leave This Friendly Place." If the hymn is unfamiliar to some of the children, teach it line by line and then sing it once through together.
The song's lyrics are:
As we leave this friendly place,
Love give light to every face;
May the kindness which we learn
Light our hearts till we return.
Distribute the Taking It Home handout you have prepared. If new participants need to take home a Gems of Goodness notebook and parent handout, make sure they have these. Thank the children, tell them you look forward to seeing them next time, and dismiss the group.
Related content:
FAITH IN ACTION: LONG-TERM — COURAGE STICKERS (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
If the group began the Faith in Action, Courage Stickers project in Session 14, today the children will report back to the group on what they have done and learned.
You may like to have children share during Activity 1, Gems of Goodness. Or, if you have time during your session for Faith in Action, the sharing can take place then.
Whether the sharing occurs in your meeting space or during worship, in front of the congregation, invite children to stand up and show the courage stickers they are wearing or tell about someone they gave a sticker to and what that person had done that was courageous. For either scenario, have some extra "courage" stickers on hand for those who forgot to bring them back or to wear them and for those who think of courageous things they did that they had not thought of previously. You might allow the children to invite a parent to visit your session today to share a particularly good story about the child's, or their own, courage in the face of injustice.
Including All Participants
This is an out-of-session activity that some children will be more likely to complete than others. It has to be a voluntary activity.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
Take a few minutes to evaluate the session with your co-leader immediately afterward, while it is fresh. Share your thoughts with any other team teachers and your director of religious education.
You might find it helpful to consider these questions:
TAKING IT HOME
God has not called on me to be successful. He has called on me to be faithful. — Mother Teresa
IN TODAY'S SESSION...
We talked about perseverance. We heard a story about a brave little parrot that persevered in the face of impossibility to save some animals from a forest fire. Its actions attracted the attention of one of the Gods who was so moved that his tears put out the fire. Children also heard real life stories about men and women who persevered, often alone, to purse a solution that they were passionate about. Children heard several examples of how perseverance attracted the attention of others and thus effected a positive change. The children made books and comic strips of these stories to bring home to share with you.
EXPLORE THE TOPIC TOGETHER. TALK ABOUT...
We hope that you will continue this conversation at home about working hard for things that you believe. Maybe you have a favorite heroic character that you would like to tell your child about. Take a trip to the children's room at your local library. There are many excellent picture books about people of all ages who stood up for what they believed in and brought about change. The book A Lamp in Every Corner: Our Unitarian Universalist Storybook by Janeen K. Grohsmeyer ( Boston : Unitarian Universalist Association, 2004) has a number of age-appropriate stories about Unitarian Universalist ancestors who worked hard for what they believed in. You can also visit the Giraffe Heroes Project (at www.giraffe.org/hero.html) website to read about regular people who stuck their necks out for change.
EXTEND THE TOPIC TOGETHER. TRY...
Brainstorm together about a project to work hard at, as a family, such as getting the neighbors to join in a clean-up day by initiating it yourselves, or knitting hats or scarves for needy people, or saving change to send to a good cause.
A FAMILY RITUAL
Once a week at meal time, share stories of things you have had to work hard at, either during the week or in the past.
A FAMILY GAME
Find a puzzle or a Lego or model-building project that you can work on together and ask every family member to commit to seeing it through.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 1: CANDLES OF JOYS AND SORROWS (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Determine if your room and building policies allow for open flames. If not, consider doing this activity with a felt board and felt candles or with beads in a jar.
Begin by lighting a "starter" candle. Invite the children to come forward one at a time and light a candle of joy and sorrow from the starter candle and push it into the sand. The child should then face the group and tell them what the candle is for. Translate the language so they understand that we are talking about things that have made them very happy or sad.
Candles of joy and sorrow offer the opportunity for children to experience what is a weekly ritual in many Unitarian Universalist congregations. This activity can deepen sense of community in the Moral Tales group. It gives participants a chance to name those things which they carry in their hearts, encourages listening to others, and, in many cases, makes a link with the adult worship experience.
IMPORTANT: Do not leave burning candles unattended. When all who wish to participate have done so, blow the candles out and put the matches away in a safe place.
Including All Participants
If a child is physically unable to light a candle and stand to address the group, ask the child to invite another child to light a candle for him/her or offer to do it yourself. Allow the child to speak joys and sorrows from where he/she is sitting.
ALTERNATE ACTIVITY 2: WHIPPING CREAM (20 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Taking a turn at whipping cream with a manually operated egg-beater provides a tangible, edible lesson in perseverance. Whipping cream by hand is not easy for second- or third-grade children and individuals will tire quickly. After they persevere at a difficult challenge together, they will receive a delicious reward for their efforts.
Allow each child to don an apron and take a turn at using the egg-beater. When the cream is whipped, serve it on cake, gingerbread, or cut-up fresh fruit.
The whipping part of this activity does not require that all the children stand around waiting for their turn. If you wish, engage children in whipping the cream simultaneously with their work on Activity 6: Making Hero Comic Books.
Including All Participants
Some children may be lactose intolerant, have diabetes or have another reason they cannot eat the snack you have planned. Check with parents and your director of religious education and parents to ascertain any allergies or other limitations. Parents of lactose-intolerant children can sometimes pre-medicate a child if they know about this activity in advance. Or, children can eat the cake or fruit without the whipped cream. If there is a diabetic child in the group, consult their parents as to what they can eat. Perhaps they could eat some whipped cream that has no sugar added.
MORAL TALES: SESSION 15:
STORY 1: GIRAFFE HERO STORIES
John Holland McCowan
John Holland-McCowan was five years old when he first announced that he wanted to help kids who were in need. He saved up his allowance and bought some toys for kids who were living in a shelter. When he dropped off the toys he said that he thought the kids would like to have friends to play with too, but the shelter rules said that he couldn't play with the kids. He didn't think that this was right so he got his parents to help him to speak to the people in charge and they changed the rules. Then John thought that other kids would like to play with kids in shelters and hospitals, and so when he was seven he started a group called Kids Cheering Kids. He asked other kids at his school to come and play with kids in shelters and hospitals but many of them were afraid. "They are just sad kids who need cheering up," he told them. After three years his organization had over 300 volunteers between the ages of 5 and 23. John said, "I knew we could do it because kids are strong and kids can help other kids."
Granny D
Doris Haddock was 89 years old and had arthritis which made it hard to walk and emphysema which made it hard to breathe. There was a problem that Doris was very worried about. She didn't think that it was right that the people who were trying to get elected to be in charge of the government were receiving large amounts of money from big corporations to help with their campaigns. She thought this was wrong because by taking this money the politicians felt that they had to do what the big corporations said and not what the people wanted them to do. Granny had written letters to the government over and over again but it didn't seem to change anything. Granny felt so strongly that this was not the way that democracy was supposed to be that she had to do something drastic to let more people know about it. She decided to walk across the country to meet as many people as she could and to tell them about this problem. Wearing a backpack with 25 lbs. in it and walking 10 miles a day she got herself into shape despite her illnesses and age. She ended up walking from California to Washington, DC . She spoke with many, many people along the way who often joined her on her walk, and who became involved in her campaign. She got hypothermia in the cold and dehydrated in the desert but she kept on going. Several of the states she walked through have already made changes in the system of how much money a corporation can give to a person running for office, and many more people are now working to change this problem.
Kaneesha Sonee Johnson
Kaneesha was an African American girl growing up in California . When she was in the fifth grade she noticed that that there were two groups of kids in her school, those of African American ethnicity and Asian ethnicity, and that they didn't talk to each other or play together during recess. She also noticed that some of the African American kids were bullying the Asian kids. She decided that this was wrong because she had been bullied and she knew how it felt. She also didn't see why the two groups couldn't be friends. She began to make friends with the Asian kids by helping the ones that didn't speak English to do their homework, and telling the bullies to leave them alone. The bullies got mad and, "tormented" her for this, and she cried at home, but she held her ground at school. Eventually she got the two groups to work together in class, seeing each other as "real people" and she got them to be on each other's teams during recess.
Julia Butterfly Hill
Julia Butterfly Hill is a young woman who learned that many trees in a Redwood forest were being cut down for lumber. These trees were more than a thousand years old.She decided that the only way to get people to pay attention and to protect the trees was to climb up into one of them and to stay there for as long as it took. She lived in a tree that she named "Luna" for more than two years to keep the chainsaws away. Julia said, "I climbed into Luna's branches knowing only that it was horribly wrong to turn beautiful forests into clear cuts and mudslides.... I was determined not to let my feet touch the ground until I had done everything in my power to protect Luna and make the world aware of the plight of our ancient forests." Julia lived in Luna's branches on a plywood platform approximately 6'x8' and as high as an 18-story building, a tarp as her only protection against the elements. Friends brought her food and supplies that she hauled up by rope and she bathed with a bucket. While she was there she used a cell phone to carry on a daily campaign to educate the world about the destruction of ancient forests.
She stayed in the tree despite 90-mph winds during two intense winters. She endured harassment from a helicopter that nearly blew her out of her perch and she felt tremendous sorrow as she witnessed many of the redwoods surrounding Luna crash to the ground.
Julia's determination not to give up helped to get the lumber company that was cutting the trees to negotiate with environment groups. The company agreed to spare Luna and to create a protective buffer zone around it. Julia felt that this was just the beginning. She is no longer living in the tree, but she has started an organization called Circle of Life Foundation (at www.circleoflifefoundation.org/) which helps people through "education and inspiration and connection" to live in a way that honors the diversity and interdependence of all life.
"It is not an issue of whether or not we can make a difference," says Julia Hill. "The truth is that we do make a difference."
MORAL TALES: SESSION 15:
STORY 2: THE BRAVE LITTLE PARROT
A Jataka Tale from India. Martin, Rafe. The Hungry Tigress: Buddhist Myths, Legends, and Jataka Tales (Somerville, MA: Yellow Moon Press, 1999). Reprinted with the permission of the author. www.rafemartin.com
Once, long ago, the Buddha was born as a little parrot. One day, a storm broke upon her forest home. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed, and a dead tree, struck by lightning, burst into flames. Sparks leapt on the wind and soon the forest was ablaze. Terrified animals ran wildly in every direction, seeking safety from the flames and smoke.
"Fire! Fire!" cried the little parrot. "Run! Run to the river!" Flapping her wings, she flung herself out into the fury of the storm, and, rising higher, flew towards the safety of the river. But as she flew she could see that many animals were trapped, surrounded by the flames below, with no chance of escape.
Suddenly, a desperate idea, a way to save them, came to her.
She darted to the river, dipped herself in the water, and flew back over the now raging fire.
The heat rising up from the burning forest was like the heat of an oven. The thick smoke made breathing almost unbearable. A wall of flames shot up now on one side, now on the other. Crackling flames leapt and danced before her. Twisting and turning through the mad maze of fire, the little parrot flew bravely on. At last, over the center of the forest, she shook her wings and released the few drops of water which still clung to her feathers. The tiny drops tumbled like jewels down in the heart of the blaze and vanished with a hssssssssss.
Then the little parrot once more flew back through the flames and smoke to the river, dipped herself in the cool water, and flew back again over the burning forest. Back and forth she flew, time and time again, from the river to the forest, from the burning forest to the river. Her feathers were charred. Her feet were scorched. Her lungs ached. Her eyes, stung by smoke, burned red as coals. Her mind spun as dizzily as the spinning sparks. But still the little parrot flew on.
At this time, some of the Devas, gods of a happy realm, were floating high overhead in their cloud palaces of ivory and gold. They happened to look down and they saw the little parrot flying through the flames. They pointed at her with perfect hands. Between mouthfuls of honeyed foods they exclaimed, "Look at that foolish bird!" She's trying to put out a raging forest fire with a few sprinkles of water! How ridiculous! How absurd!" And they laughed.
But one of those Gods did not laugh. Strangely moved, he changed himself into a golden eagle and flew down, down towards the little parrot's fiery path.
The little parrot was just nearing the flames again when the great eagle, with eyes like molten gold appeared at her side. "Go back, little bird!" said the eagle in a solemn and majestic voice. "Your task is hopeless! A few drops of water can't put out a forest fire! Cease now and save yourself — before it's too late."
But the little parrot only continued to fly on through the smoke and flames. She could hear the great eagle flying above her as the heat grew fiercer, calling out, "Stop, foolish little parrot! Save yourself! Save yourself!"
"I don't need a great, shining eagle" coughed the little parrot, "to give me advice like that. My own mother, the dear bird, might have told me such things long ago. Advice! (cough, cough) I don't need advice. I just (cough) need someone to help"
And the god who was that great eagle, seeing the little parrot flying through the flames, thought suddenly of his own privileged kind. He could see them floating high up above. Yes, there they were, the carefree gods, still laughing and talking while many animals cried out in pain and fear from among the flames below. Seeing that, he grew ashamed, and a single desire was kindled in his heart. God though he was, he just wanted to be like that brave little parrot and to help.
"I will help!" he exclaimed, and flushed with these new feelings, he began to weep. Stream after stream of sparkling tears poured from his eyes. Wave upon wave they washed down like the cooling rain upon the fire, upon the forest, upon the animals, and upon the little parrot herself.
Where those tears fell, the flames died down, and the smoke began to clear. The little parrot, washed and bright, rocketed about the sky laughing for joy. "Now that's more like it!" she exclaimed.
The eagle's tears dripped from burned branches and soaked into the scorched earth. Where those tears glistened, new life pushed quickly forth-shoots, stems, and leaves. Buds unfurled and blossoms opened. Green grass pushed up from among still-glowing cinders.
All the animals looked at one another in amazement. Washed by those tears they were whole and well. Not one had been harmed. Up above, in the clear blue sky, they could see their friend, the little parrot, looping and soaring in delight. When hope was gone, somehow she had saved them. "Hurray!" they cried. "Hurray for the brave little parrot, and for this sudden, miraculous rain!"
MORAL TALES: SESSION 15:
STORY 3: OLYMPIA BROWN — A VOICE AND A VOTE
Reprinted from A Lamp in Every Corner: Our Unitarian Universalist Storybook by Janeen K. Grohsmeyer (Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 2004).
When Olympia Brown was little, girls weren't supposed to whistle. Girls weren't supposed to climb trees or run fast or catch frogs. But ?> Olympia did; she did all those things, all those things and more. "You can do whatever a boy can do," her mother and her father told her, and Olympia knew it was true. She climbed trees and ran fast and caught frogs, and when she was in school, she answered the teacher's questions loud and clear.
Little girls ought to be quiet," Said one lady in town. "Little girls ought not to make themselves heard." But Olympia did. She had a voice, and she was going to use it, every day.
When Olympia Brown was a teenager, young women weren't supposed to go to college. Young women weren't supposed to leave home to go off and learn complicated things. But Olympia did; she did all those things and more. Olympia left home and went to Antioch College . She went to class and studied and learned all kinds of complicated things.
"Young women ought not to be in college, "said one professor at that school. "But since they are here, they must read their reports. Young women ought not to give speeches from memory, like the men." But Olympia did. When it was her turn to present her report, she rolled up the papers in her hand and said each and every word, loud and clear. Olympia Brown had a voice, and she was going to use it, every day.
When Olympia Brown was in college, women weren't supposed to wear pants. Women weren't supposed to wear anything except very long dresses that came all the way down to their toes. But Olympia did. She wore dresses that came down only past her knees, and under them, she dared to wear pants! "Bloomers" the pants were called, after Amelia Bloomer, the woman who had created them a few years before.
"Women ought not to show their ankles in public!" exclaimed some of the men. "And women certainly ought not to wear pants!" But Olympia did. She wore her bloomers every day, no matter how much the men sneered.
When Olympia was finished with college, women weren't supposed to be ministers. Women never stood up in front of a congregation and talked about God. But Olympia did; she did all those things and more. Olympia graduated from the Theological School at St. Lawrence University in 1863, and she was ordained as a Universalist minister in June of that year, the second woman ever to be officially ordained by that church. She became the Reverend Olympia Brown.
"Women ought not to speak in public," said a minister at that time. "Women ought not to take the pulpit or discuss the nature of God." But the Reverend Olympia Brown did. During the next thirty-five years, she was a minister in five different congregations, and she visited other congregations, too. She took the pulpit in every single one, and she spoke on the nature of God and love, and she did an excellent job. Olympia Brown had a voice, and she used it, every day.
When Olympia Brown was born, women weren't allowed to vote. Women weren't allowed to have any say in who was elected president or senator or mayor of the town. But Olympia had something to say about that. Olympia had a lot to say about that.
She traveled all over the state of Kansas in a horse and buggy, giving speeches to convince people that women deserved the right to vote. She wrote hundreds of letters. She spoke to the representatives and senators in Congress. She marched in parades. Olympia and her friends worked hard to get women the right to vote. Olympia Brown had a voice, and she used it every day... every day for over fifty years.
And finally, when Olympia Brown was old, women were allowed to vote. In November of 1920, when Olympia was eighty-five years old, she voted for the very first time.
Olympia had always had a voice, and she'd used it to make sure that she--and all the other women in the United States --had a vote as well.
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MORAL TALES: SESSION 15:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: HI, MY NAME'S JOE SCRIPT
Leader: "Hi, my name's Joe." (Wave one hand and continue waving.)
Participants: (Repeat words and keep the movement going.))
Leader: "I've got a wife and three kids and I work in a button factory." (Continue movement.)
Participants: (Repeat words and keep the movement going.)
Leader: "Hi. My name's Joe. I've got a wife and three kids and I work in a button factory. One day my boss came in and said, 'Joe, can you do this?' (Move your other hand as if turning a dial. Keep both movements going.) "I said, 'Sure.'"
Participants: (Repeat words and add new movements.)
Leader: "Hi. My name's Joe. I have a wife and three kids and I work in a button factory. One day the boss came in and said, 'Joe can you do this?' Add a movement with swirling hips around as if with a hula hoop.) "I said, 'Sure.'"
Participants: (Repeat words and add movement.)
Leader: "Hi. My name's Joe. I have a wife and three kids and I work in a button factory. One day the boss came in and said, 'Joe can you do this?' (Add movement of tapping one foot.) "I said, 'Sure.'"
Participants:( Repeat words and add new movements.)
Leader: "Hi. My name's Joe. I have a wife and three kids and I work in a button factory. One day the boss came in and said, 'Joe, can you do this?' (Add shaking head up and down as if to say yes.) "I said, 'Sure.'"
Participants: (Repeat and add new movement.)
Leader: "Hi. My name's Joe. I have a wife and three kids and I work in a button factory. One day the boss came in and said, 'Joe, can you do this?' ( Bend knees as you do the other movements). "I said, 'Sure.'"
Participants: (Repeat words and movements.)
Leader: Hi. My name's Joe. I have a wife and three kids and I work in a button factory. One day the boss came in and he said, 'Joe, can you do anything else?' And I said, 'NOOOOOOOO!' (Throw up hands and collapse in a squat or sitting position on the floor.)
Participants: (Repeat words and movement. )
MORAL TALES: SESSION 15:
LEADER RESOURCE 2: MORAL TALES SESSION CONCEPTS
Session | Title | Concept as Noted on Moral Compass Poster |
1 | We Are All One | Interdependence |
2 | Conscience: Hearing the Inner Voice | Inner voice |
3 | Faith, Hope and Prayer | Faith |
4 | In Another's Shoes | Empathy |
5 | Forgiveness | Forgiveness |
6 | Welcome One and All | Welcoming |
7 | Seeing Others with Awe | Respect |
8 | Do Unto Others | Golden Rule |
9 | Generosity: Give and Ye Shall Receive | Generosity |
10 | Footprints: Treading Softly on Earth | Balance |
11 | Do No Harm | Non-violence |
12 | Making a Difference | Responsibility |
13 | Justice for All | Fairness |
14 | Acting When Conscience Calls | Courage |
15 | Courage and Perseverance | Perseverance |
16 | Working Together | Cooperation |
MORAL TALES: SESSION 15:
LEADER RESOURCE 3: PARROTS FOR PENNIES LETTER TO PARENTS
Dear Parents,
As part of our session on Perseverance, the children started a new Faith in Action project today.
Faith in Action projects help us to practice the skills and virtues we are learning about. The children heard a story about a small parrot that kept flying back and forth to a river and then over a forest fire, shaking the water from its wings over the flames, until it caught the attention of a greater creature that was so moved by the parrot's determination that its tears put out the fire.
This project is called Parrots for Pennies. This project involves working together to raise money by helping to get a large plastic jug filled with coins to give to a cause that the children have chosen. It is not expected that each child will add many coins to the jug, but that they will all keep working to inspire others to help until the jar is full.
The children thought of various ways to help fill the jar. Ask your child to share some of these ideas with you. Perhaps your family could put a cup on the table and fill it with pocket change all week. Maybe you can brainstorm some creative ways to raise money to add to the jar.
The children may wish to hold a bake sale on (day, date) to raise money to fill the Parrots for Pennies jar. If you would like to participate by providing baked goods the children can sell at coffee hour, please let us know what you will bring, and deliver your baked goods to the congregation's coffee hour room before worship
on that day.
This is a volunteer activity and you and your children are under no pressure to contribute or participate. If you have any questions please feel free to contact one of us.
Yours in Faith,
(Co-leader names and contact information)
FIND OUT MORE
The game, "Hi, My Name's Joe" was adapted, with permission, from Crazy Gibberish and other story hour stretches from a storyteller's bag of tricks by Naomi Baltuck (Hamden, CT: Linnet Books, 1993).
Storybooks about Persevering, Courageous Heroes and Heroines
Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins by Carole Boston Weatherford (New York: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2005) takes the point of view of a young girl who watches her older brother and sister participate in the sit-ins that helped to desegregate lunch counters in the South.
Rosa by Nikki Giovanni (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2005) is a Caldecott Honor book that tells the story of how Rosa Parks' bravery and perseverance inspired others to take up the cause of desegregation and brought about the Supreme Court ruling that segregation was illegal in the United States.
Nobody Going to Turn Me 'Round: Stories and songs of the civil rights movement by Doreen Rappaport (Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press, 2006) tells the stories of many people who worked hard to bring about change during the Civil Rights Movement.
Black Whiteness: Admiral Byrd Alone in the Antarctic by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Walter Lyon Krudop (Atheneum: 1998).
Mary Anning and Sea Dragon by Jeannine Atkins (New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1999) is the true story of an 11-year-old girl who, inspired by her dead father's advice to, "Don't ever stop looking," painstakingly uncovered the first Pleisosaur to be found in England .
With Courage: Seven Women who Changed America by Lynea Bowdish (New York: Mondo Publishing, 2004) includes stories about Rachel Carson, Dolores Huerta, Maya Lin, Wilma Mankiller and others. Not really a picture book, this book would need your interpretation to share with this age group.
Voices of Hope: Heroes' Stories for Challenging Times by The Giraffe Project (at www.giraffe.org/). has over 40 stories of people of all ages who made a difference and suggestions for how young people can move toward empowerment to take action.