Smart & Good High Schools - The Flippen Group

CHAPTER 5: Fostering the 8 Strengths of Character—Outcome 8“From the inner city, from small towns, and from affluentsuburbs,” Kessler says, “I have collected thousands ofquestions from students in 7 th through 12 th grades.” Hereis just a sampling of questions from high school students:Why am I so angry?Why do I feel scared and confused about becoming anadult?What does it mean to accept that this is my life and I haveresponsibility for it?Why do some people hate other people?Who do people do drugs?What is our purpose in life?Why is there so much suffering in the world?Do things happen for a reason?Why do people commit suicide even when things seem tobe going all right?What is the thread of humanity that connects all of us?Will I ever find true love?In a “Senior Passageways” course, seniors are asked toexplore together questions such as:What do you know about your life purpose or destiny?What have been the clues? If you don’t know, how doesthat feel?However you define the word “spirit,” tell us a story abouta time when your spirit was nourished.How can we understand our yearnings for intimacy—withfamily, friends, romantic relationships? How has our cultureconfused sexuality with intimacy? How do we set goals andboundaries to create what will really nourish us? 21Having discussions like these obviously requires a competentleader and a high level of safety and trust. Someadults will be able to create that in a classroom, others inan advisory, others in a special setting such as a retreat.Some teachers may prefer not to conduct group sharingon such matters but to have students reflect on existentialquestions in a more private way, such as through journalingor essay-writing. Whatever the venue, the need is foryoung people to reflect on and communicate aboutthings that matter.If you can’t ask the big questions, it’slike you’re building something withouta foundation.—A HIGH SCHOOL BOY“The vacuum of spiritual guidance and fulfillment in adolescents’lives,” Kessler concludes, “often leads to despairand alienation. Only recently are policymakers and socialscientists beginning to see that this absence of meaning isa critical variable in violent and self-destructive behaviorin our youth. ” 22 But “when guided to find constructiveways to express their spiritual longings, young people canfind purpose in life, do better in school, strengthen tiesto family and friends, and approach adult life with vitalityand vision.” 23“When guided to find constructiveways to express their spirituallongings, young people can findpurpose in life and approach adult lifewith vitality and vision.”OUTCOME 8:Spiritual PersonPromising Practice 2:8Have students write about theirlives, including their “laws of life.”In his book, Zen and the Art of Public SchoolTeaching, high school teacher John Perricone says that hehas the following dialogue with his juniors and seniors atthe beginning of a course 24 :“May I ask how many of you in this room are over 16years of age? (Some hands go up.) Legally, you don’t haveto be here. May I ask why you are here? Why are you gettingan education?”“So I can get a good job some day.”“And why would you want a good job?”“So I can make money.”“Stay with me now. And why do you want to makemoney?”“So I can live—like, duh.”“And this is where we always end up in this questioning,ladies and gentlemen, and it’s at this point I will ask all ofyou—and you don’t have to answer out loud: What doyou live for? What do you personally live for?” (Silence inthe room)“What do I live for?” someone eventually says. “I guess Ilive for what everyone else is living for . . . I guess I justwant to be happy.”198Smart & Good High Schools