What Kind of Mark Do I Want to Leave?
TARGET:
12-15 years
INTENSITY:
30 min / 1x per month
LEARNING GOAL
Learning to Be Happy in a Group
PEDAGOGICAL INTENTION
Developing Altruism
Target SKILLS
Socio-emotional Intelligence
Co-Intelligence Human-Human
Agency and Autonomy
Complex Reasoning
MATERIALS
Personal contribution vision statement
3-year contribution roadmap
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: "By 14, you have enough self-knowledge to begin answering one of the most important questions of a human life: what kind of contribution do I want to make to the people around me and the world I live in?"
Step 1
Explore: what problems genuinely move you? What do you have that others need? What could you sustain doing not because you're required to but because it matters?
Step 2
Draft a personal contribution vision: 'By the time I'm 17, I want to have contributed to the world in this way...'.
Step 3
Say gently to the child: "A life of contribution isn't built in one act. It's built in thousands of small choices, practiced until they become who you are."
Step 4
Design a 3-year contribution roadmap with specific, realistic steps.
Step 5
Step 6
Step 7
Step 8
Step 9
Step 10
PROGRESS INDICATORS
The child writes a personal contribution vision that is specific and genuinely motivated.
The child designs a 3-year roadmap with realistic milestones.
The child reports that the vision connects to their sense of purpose.