“My values”, a workshop for school children in Leskovac, Serbia

One chair stood out, marked as “𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭”. The workshop kicked off as the teacher narrated various statements and values. With each sentiment expressed, children shuffled to find their spot around the chair, distancing themselves from “the most important chair” as values resonated less with them. The exercise wasn’t just about establishing the hierarchy of values; 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏𝒆’𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒔.

Then, the spotlight shifted to the children. They were given a list of values and were invited to add any value significant to them that wasn’t already on the list, expanding the horizon of what values can mean, grading them from least to most important. This exercise wasn’t merely about prioritizing; 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒄 𝒐𝒇 𝒐𝒏𝒆’𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒇𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒖𝒑𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕.

In a collaborative effort, the teacher jotted down all the values on a flip chart for everyone to see – the spectrum of values was as diverse as the children themselves…that was a perfect introduction to the next game – “𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬”.

Each student selected a single word-value that resonated deeply with them and embarked on a exchange of words with their peers. Subsequently, the students were divided into groups of 6-7. Armed with the unique words they had collected, these groups were tasked with creating poetry, crafting a gripping thriller story, composing newspaper-worthy news, or fashioning an engaging poster presentation. The catch? They were only allowed to utilize the words from their collective pool.

The results were nothing short of spectacular and the room was alive with a newfound understanding of oneself and each other. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒔, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒉𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒏𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅.

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