Nov 3
Read or show clip of the following story:
Feathers
There was a wise man who lived on a mountain. Everyone in the village
would seek his wisdom when problems arose. There was a young man in the
village who had offended his best friend. This young man went up to the wise man and explained what happened: he had told the
other people in the village secrets that his best friend had confided in him. He shared things about his friend that he swore he would never tell. He
asked the wise man what he should do. The wise man told him to go into
the village and get the largest down-feather filled pillow he could
find. Confused, the young man left and found the pillow. He brought
the pillow back to the wise man. The wise man took the pillow to the
edge of the cliff, tore it open, and flung the feathers into the wind.
The young man looked at the wise man and asked, "Well, how do I fix what
I have done?"
The wise man said, "Go pick up all the feathers."
The
young man looked over the mountainside at the feathers that were still
floating to the depths below. "It's impossible," he answered.
"These feathers are exactly like your words. You cannot take them back."
So the young man left, faced with the new challenge of earning back the trust of his friend.
If you prefer watching a video to reading, here is a link to a similar retelling:
YouTube clip.
Classroom discussion:
What is gossip?
How is gossip hurtful to an individual?
How does gossip hurt our school?
What can you do to stop gossip from spreading?
Ways to deal with gossip:
- First, realize that gossip is only part of a story and it has been changed (no matter how reliable the source is).
- DO NOT REPEAT IT! You can really be hurting someone else.
- Ignore it.
- Talk to the other person directly if you're hurt. There may be a problem or misunderstanding that you can fix.
- Remember, the more YOU talk about the rumor, the more YOU are keeping
it going.
- Talk to a trusted adult for help and advice.
