You will be assigned or will choose one of the represented dilemmas and explain how the story involves one (or more) of the 3 Es of good work. Once you are done, discuss with someone else who analyzed a different dilemma. Discuss your respective dilemmas, and then, each in turn, you will act out the dilemmas, one of you taking on the role of the protagonist and the other, that of the mentor.
Dilemma Debate: Excellence at Risk
Read the dilemma “Excellence at Risk.” You will be assigned one of the characters from the narrative and will then be asked to discuss the dilemma as a group from the perspective of your character. At the end, come together and discuss the questions provided at the end of the worksheet.
This I Believe
Pick a “This I Believe” essay from the NPR website. Create a narrative describing the individual’s short term goals, career goals, challenges and obstacles, and the strategies they chose to overcome their obstacles. You can choose different ways to present this narrative (written format, song, PowerPoint presentation, etc.).
Mirror Test
Use this worksheet to help you conduct your own Mirror Test. This process of reflection should be regularly practiced. Using the questions in the worksheet, write a reflection, written or illustrated.
Identifying Anti-Mentors
In pairs, think about someone you don’t admire and discuss, using the prompts available in the worksheet, why you don’t admire this individual.
Group Brainstorm: Identifying Mission
Divided into pairs or small groups, discuss the values most important to your class or organization. Identify your mission as a whole, using the prompts provided in the worksheet. Write down notes or ideas. After you and your group have finished identifying your mission, is there someone you know that exemplifies your mission?
Identifying Models
Watch the 3Ms Video and then have a group discussion of role models. Think about people in your personal life that have inspired you, and then write down the important messages each of these individuals have taught you, or make an artistic representation of these messages.
Chalk Talk Synthesis
In a group, choose a dilemma to focus on. Write a reflection on the dilemma using one of the questions in the worksheet. Think about the most common obstacles to good work, both in the Chalk Talk dilemma and in your own life.
Famous Failures Video Discussion
Watch the video “Famous Failures” and discuss how these figures encountered issues relating to the 3Es using the discussion prompt in the worksheet.
Personal Example of Obstacles/Opportunities
Think about an obstacles or an opportunity you have faced in your life when trying to carry out good work. Use the questions in the activity sheet to guide you.
Obstacles to Good Work
Read the narrative “There’s No ‘I’ in Team” before identifying all of the obstacles Jesse, the protagonist, faces.
School Mission
Write down your school’s mission (if your school does not have one, what do you think it should be?). Then, think about what values are important to your school.
School Mission Reflection
Write a reflection on your school’s mission. using the questions in the activity sheet.
Consider a Value
This activity concentrates on a value of your choice that you’d like to spend more time considering. Find an example of an individual or a type of work which exemplifies your chosen value, and then describe how your value is articulated in your example.
When In Doubt... Make it Excellent (See-Think-Wonder)
Using the see-think-wonder chart, read the dilemma before reflecting on what you see, what you think, and what you wonder before answering questions on how James conducts “good work.”
The Meaning of Grades (See-Think-Wonder)
Using the see-think-wonder chart, read the dilemma and then reflect on what you see, what you think, and what you wonder regarding the dilemma.
See-Think-Wonder Activity
Think about a dilemma you have encountered, and fill out a “see-think-wonder” chart regarding what you saw, what you thought, and what you wondered concerning your dilemma.
Qualities of a Good Worker
Brainstorm a list of the qualities of a good worker. Review those qualities and try to place them in one of the three columns titled “excellence,” “ethics,” and “engagement.”
Opener: What is Good Work?
Participants are made to think of someone they believe exemplifies good work before writing a reflection on this individual.
Who is (or isn't) a good worker?
Using the provided “Good Worker Profile” examples, students will create their own worker profile using a template. Students will be asked to research a variety of workers and to find a person whose life or career interests them and is well-documented enough for them to complete the exercise. Students are encouraged to consider examples of both good work and compromised work from the person’s life. Students are told to keep the 3Es in mind when choosing what to write regarding their worker’s biography and to try to highlight when their worker may or may not have lived up to the good work concepts of excellence, ethics, and engagement. Students are reminded to be careful when choosing sources.