Courage Project - Due TH 8/29

Courage Project

"Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can't practice any other virtue consistently. You can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without courage."— Maya Angelou

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” – Dale Carnegie

Project Goal: Begin the journey of developing greater courage in order to be your best self and improve the world.

In order to succeed in life, you will need courage. It takes courage to work hard, to stand up for your beliefs, and to reach your full potential. Courage is the theme for this year in Socratic 9. We will study different facets of courage both in history and literature. Courage is also tied to the Maeser values of truth, honor, and virtue. In order to live up to these values, you will need to be courageous.

Step 1: Choose a Project. For one week, you will work on further developing your courage. You will design a project for yourself that will help you stretch or improve your courage. Choose something meaningful that will challenge you. Project ideas:

-          Become friends with someone different from you (ex. someone you thought was “weird,” an elderly person, a person from a different background, etc)

-          Work on being more friendly and outgoing (ex. talk to a certain number of new people each day, speak up daily in each of your classes, etc)

-          Begin working on a goal you’ve been putting off (ex. start exercising, stop procrastinating something, join a team, etc)

-          Apologize to someone or mend/improve a difficult relationship (ex. with a  sibling)

-          Try something new (ex. try rock climbing, try ballet, learn to cook, learn to sew, etc)

-          Form a good habit

-          Stop a bad habit

-          Sacrifice your time and serve someone

Step 2: Reflect in Writing. Write a 500-700 word reflection essay (it should only be a page) on your experience with the courage project. Here are some questions/ideas to help guide your reflection:

-          First, explain your project. What did you do and why?

-          What were you like before this project? How did your character, your thoughts, and your feelings change over the week?

-          What surprised you as you worked on your project?

-          What did you learn from this project? Why was it important?

-          How will you work to continually increase your courage in the future?

Step 4: Keep Growing. Take what you’ve learned and work each day to be more courageous. Don’t let fear, embarrassment, procrastination, peer pressure, or distractions stop you from becoming your best self and achieving worthy goals. As you do this, you will improve yourself, your relationships, the lives of others, your family, your school, your community, and the world around you.

Rubric - 20 points possible:  Expectations to receive full points: Directions for the assignment are followed completely. Paper is typed and written using standard English conventions (ex. correct capitalization and grammar). Reflection paper is submitted on time and reflects sincere effort and depth of thought.