SECOND WEEK OF AUGUST

INDEPENDENCE: Can form and act on one's own ideas and beliefs. Able to achieve a goal on one's own.

Vs. Obeying the will of another

SUGGESTED READING:
Jumanji
Johnny Appleseed
50 Simple Things Kids Can do to Save the Earth

FAMILY ACTIVITY:

Watch the news with your children and make it a habit to ask them their opinions about current events, before they hear yours. Even when you disagree with them encourage them to form their own opinions about the forces that are shaping their world.

CLASS ACTIVITY:

Discuss how independence and teamwork are complementary habits. Which, if either, is more important in shaping a person of good character?
Talk about how important it is for people to make up their own minds about ideas and people.
Have students write about a time someone else tried to make them do something they knew was wrong.

HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITY:

Discuss the pros and the cons for living independently.
Have students put together a list of the things they would need to set up a small household during the time period that your class is studying in social science or literature.
Discuss the pressure society puts on people to conform to the cultural, political, and religious, views of others. Why does this pressure exist; what are its benefits and its harm?

"Without moral and intellectual independence, there is no anchor for national independence." -First President of Israel, David Ben-Gurion

"No one can build his security upon the nobleness of another person." -Willa Cather

"Outward judgment often fails; inward judgment never." -Theodore Parker

Perform a Random Act of Kindness Each Day