One winter there was an old woman who was left behind. She was so old that she couldn’t even chew kamik leather anymore. Her family left her with only a few insects to eat. The woman said: “I’m not going to eat these poor creatures. I am old and perhaps they are...
Long ago the kangaroo was grooming her joey on the bank of a brook. They liked to listen to the water burble as the mama combed her baby’s fur. On this day, an old wombat staggered toward them.
“Oh dear,” the kangaroo whispered to her baby...
A poor woman had only one son. She worked hard cleaning houses and grinding grain for the well-to-do families in town. They gave her some grain in return and she lived on it. But she could never afford to buy nice clothes or toys for her son. Once, when she was going...
Once upon a time there were a man and his wife who had lived together for years, but they had no children to look after them in their old age. This was very sad for them, but they had no idea what to do about it. You can neither make nor order children, nor do they...
Definition
Reciprocity: mutual dependence, action, or influence (Merriam-Webster)
Serial...
We look at two examples of art connecting diverse people. The first example is a man who connects people around the world by dancing badly and capturing cultural expressions of dance and community. The second example is an artist who leaves free paintings around Boston (and then around the world) to encourage people to be kind to others. We discuss ways to pay forward kindness and connect diverse people through art.
In this lesson, students define serial reciprocity as "paying it forward." They compare the concept of paying it forward (serial reciprocity) with the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. They brainstorm issues and campaigns they can address to make an impact that ripples forward as a result of their influence.
The learners analyze many variations of the Golden Rule and relate it to the concept of serial reciprocity. They rewrite the golden rule to reflect respect for cultural differences.
Learners explore character traits and life lessons through folktales from various American cultures. The stories illustrate the impact of "paying a debt forward" rather than "paying it back."
