It's Not Just What You Do - It's Who You're Becoming
TARGET:
12-15 years
INTENSITY:
25 min / 2x per week
LEARNING GOAL
Developing Emotional Awareness When Interacting with Others
PEDAGOGICAL INTENTION
Reacting While Taking into Account My Emotions and Others'
Target SKILLS
Socio-emotional Intelligence
Co-Intelligence Human-Human
Critical Thinking
Agency and Autonomy
MATERIALS
Moral identity statement template
Character-action alignment audit
DETAILED PROCEDURE
This activity works best one-on-one, or with one child at a time within a small group. Explain calmly to the child: "At your age, ethics stops being just about individual decisions and starts being about identity. Not 'what should I do?' but 'what kind of person do I want to be?' - and then living that way consistently."
Step 1
Moral identity components: the values you hold / the person you want to be seen as / the kind of friend, peer, and community member you're actively becoming.
Step 2
Character-action audit: where are your actions aligned with your moral identity? Where aren't they? What's the gap?
Step 3
Say gently to the child: "Your character is not what you believe. It's what you consistently do when it would be easier not to."
Step 4
Draft a moral identity statement: the person I am committed to becoming.
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7
Step 8
Step 9
Step 10
PROGRESS INDICATORS
The child drafts a moral identity statement that is specific and personal.
The child identifies 3 areas where their actions align with their moral identity.
The child identifies 1 gap and commits to a specific change.