presenting on this story could give a brief summary of its plot and then read the following excerpt:
The next day at Monroe High School at lunchtime a curious thing happened. As soon as the bell that ended the last morning class started ringing, the students swarmed toward their lockers. Then those who didn’t eat in the cafeteria headed with their sack lunches across the quad. From all parts of the campus, different groups of students walked freely across the quad. No one could really explain why it was okay now. Everybody just knew. And if you ever visit Monroe High School, that’s how it is today. It happened some time ago. I never even knew his name. But what he did, nobody who was there will ever forget. Nobody. (p. 269)
After reading the excerpt, the group members could use the quotation to provide evidence for ideals they feel are exemplified by the story, such as those related to the importance of kindness or the impact of one’s actions. Alternatively, a teacher might assign all students the same story to read and ask them to use ideals to explain why the story is inspirational. Visit MarzanoResources.com/reproducibles for a list of brief stories about inspirational individuals that students can also use to practice identifying ideals.
Quotations
Quotations provide a quick and easy way to integrate inspiration into the classroom, as they are usually explicit or implicit statements of ideals. A valuable feature of incorporating inspiring quotes into the classroom is that teachers can offer them to students with little explanation. For example, a teacher might begin his or her class by displaying an inspirational quote on a PowerPoint slide or whiteboard but choose not to address it directly. Alternatively, the teacher could comment briefly on the quote by providing information about its author and its key ideal or ask students to take a few minutes to think about the quotation’s meaning without further discussion.
For a more in-depth activity, teachers can ask students to rephrase ideals embedded in quotations. For example, consider the following quotation from Albert Einstein: “It is the same with people as it is with riding a bike. Only when moving can one comfortably maintain one’s balance” (as cited in Isaacson, 2007, p. 565). After reading this to students, a teacher could ask them to work in small groups to identify an ideal from the quote that inspires them and discuss how it applies to their lives.
Teachers can also ask students to examine the stories behind given quotations. With access to the Internet, this is fairly easy to do. To illustrate, consider the following quotation by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during his pre-eminent “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, on August 28, 1963:
But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. (as cited in Council on Foreign Relations, 2016)
After presenting the quote, the teacher might elaborate on the historical significance of the “I Have a Dream” speech and contextualize it by describing the brutality experienced by many protestors during the civil rights movement. Once the class understood the political and social climate leading up to King’s March on Washington, the teacher could revisit the quote and ask students to explain why Dr. King’s emphasis on nonviolence is exceptional. Visit MarzanoResources.com/reproducibles for a comprehensive list of inspirational quotations.
Altruism
Providing opportunities for students to practice altruism is a powerful strategy that directly contributes to a sense of connection to something greater than self. Simply stated, altruism is the act of assisting others without an expectation of recognition or payback. Such acts can be quite inspiring, as they allow students to transcend their current circumstances and recognize that they can positively impact the world. Depending on the time and resources available, teachers can engage students in long- and short-term projects that encourage altruistic tendencies.
It is important to note that teachers should never actively reward altruistic behavior. In fact, research has shown that rewarding selfless behaviors may actually make it less likely that individuals will engage in such behaviors when rewards are not involved (Chernyak & Kushnir, 2013; Fabes, Fultz, Eisenberg, May-Plumlee, & Christopher, 1989; Warneken & Tomasello, 2008, 2013). Rather, educators should capitalize on students’ natural proclivity toward altruism by providing them with opportunities to volunteer and, afterward, prompting reflection on their experiences. These activities encourage students to view altruism positively and heighten their sense of connection to something greater than self, regardless of the degree to which the activities are voluntary.
There are a number of ways students can be engaged in altruistic activities while at school. Participation in volunteer days is an increasingly common practice that helps students experience the positive benefits of altruism. There are a number of pre-established events—such as Earth Day (www.earthday.org), Make a Difference Day (http://makeadifferenceday.com), and Pay It Forward Day (http://payitforwardday.com)—that encourage nationwide volunteerism on a specific date. Teachers or students can also design their own service projects that are specific to the unique needs of their communities and schedules. Table 2.2 (page 16) provides a list of examples of such projects. In addition, teachers can provide lists of local charities that may need volunteers or remind students of service-oriented community events.
Rather than rewarding altruistic behaviors, teachers can guide students through reflection activities that help them see how helping others is a powerful and positive experience. To this end, teachers can use the following questions to prompt discussion after service activities.
▸ How do you think your actions positively affected others?
▸ How does it make you feel to know that you have positively impacted someone else’s life?
▸ Has someone done something nice for you without the expectation of receiving something in return? How did this make you feel?
If students doubt the importance of their role in volunteering, teachers can ask relevant community organizers involved in the volunteer day to speak about the impact of the students’ actions or, if possible, provide data and statistics to this effect. Teachers could also provide examples of the lasting impact of other students’ altruistic actions on their communities. For example, Isaac McFarland of Shreveport, Louisiana, distributed three thousand backpacks filled with food and hygiene products to homeless students, local shelters, and rescue missions on Make a Difference Day in 2014 (Spradlin, 2015). Following are a few other examples of altruistic actions by students adapted from Lesli Amos (2014).
Table 2.2: Example Service Projects
| Length of Project | Example Projects |
| One-Time Projects | • Donate blood.• Write thank-you letters or create care packages for troops deployed overseas.• Write a letter to a politician about an important issue (for example, Amnesty International has a campaign called Write for Rights that students can participate in).• Collect donations for a specific charity over a length of time and donate them after a specific date (for example, have students collect and donate clothes, blankets, nonperishable foods, books, toys, hygiene products, and so on).• Clean up the neighborhoods,
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