September 9

Precepts

This year, the 7th grade students will again be discussing precepts as part of our Language Arts class.  (I was inspired to start this activity last year after reading Wonder by Raquel J. Palacio)  Today, we discussed a simple definition of a precept as “words to live by”.  One precept that all students were familiar with was “Treat others the way you would like to be treated.”  Precepts are everywhere.  Our parents, grandparents and other family members teach us valuable precepts.  Precepts can also be found in books we read, on bumper stickers, billboards, and advertising campaigns.  With the popularity of social media, precepts can be found on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.

I love precepts.  I love reading words that make me THINK.  Precepts make me think about my attitude, my actions, my behavior, how I approach others, and they even make me think about what I’m thinking about! (Sounds crazy, but it’s true.)  I want my students to be thinkers, also.  I want them to think about their attitudes, their actions, their behaviors, and how they approach others. And I want them to strive to be a better person.  Because if we all strive to be a better person, wouldn’t this world be a better place?

So each week I will present them with a new precept.  It may be one that they have already heard, but my goal is to present them with new precepts.  New words to live by. I want them to think of people who demonstrate the precept.  I want them to think about how they have seen the precept in action.  I want them to think about how THEY could put the precept into action.  And even if only one student puts one precept into action this year, then this will be a better place.

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