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MAXIMize the Moment Junior Volume 2, Issue 13

MAXIMize the Moment Junior Volume 2, Issue 13

December 2, 2002
Document
Topic: 
MAXIMize the Moment Junior

Story

I didn't finish my Math assignment last night. So I'm writing down the answers as we go through the homework check and hoping Mrs. Anderson doesn't notice. Unfortunately, she does call on me. I pretend to be confused and say, "I don't know the answer. I got it wrong."

When she comes over to help me work through the problem, she notices that the only answers filled in are the ones we've gone through as a class. She seems really upset that I didn't do my assignment, tried to hide it, and then out and out lied to her about it-in front of the whole class. Gosh, that does sound bad!

Mrs. Anderson tells them about the missed homework and the lying. I lose TV privileges for two weeks. My father tells me know that he is concerned about the fact that I didn't do my work and, more importantly, that I lied about it. "You made things so much worse when you chose to lie. Trying to get out of one bad choice only leads to more. If you'd admitted messing up by not doing your work, things wouldn't be nearly so bad for you now. Better yet, if you had spent the fifteen minutes doing your work in the first place, none of this would have happened."

I try to interrupt and explain what I was thinking, but my father stops me. "'It takes less time to do a thing right than to explain why you did it wrong,'" he says.

I wish I'd heard that yesterday! Now that I can't watch TV, I have all sorts of time to think about what I did and what I'll do differently in the future. Next time, I'll do the right thing from the start and I'll admit my mistakes when I make them because "It takes less time to do a thing right than to explain why you did it wrong."

This week's maxim is "It takes less time to do a thing right than to explain why you did it wrong."

Teacher Information

Maxim

  • "It takes less time to do a thing right than to explain why you did it wrong."
    Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Featured character trait

  • Integrity - My actions and decisions reflect my values.

Character points (for substitution if this week's trait isn't one of your school's core values)

  • Gratitude- I know that I have a lot a to be thankful for and I am.
  • Honor - I know the difference between right and wrong and act on my beliefs.
  • Responsibility - I know what I should do and I do it; I am own up to my decisions.
  • Truthfulness - I am honest in my words and actions.
  • Trustworthiness - I am honest and people can believe in my word.
  • Honesty - I am truthful in both my words and my actions.
  • Courage - I am willing to do what is challenging if I know it is right.

Discussion starters / journal writing prompts

  • What are the character issues in this story?
  • Do they seem like something that could happen at our school?
  • At which points in the story is the narrator making decisions about his/her character?
  • Do you think that his/her actions could be considered cheating? Does it matter that it is only a homework assignment?
  • What do you think should be considered "cheating?"
  • What do you think your teachers consider cheating?
  • Even if you know you are not going to get caught, why is cheating a bad choice to make?
  • What does it mean to be an honest person?
  • What are the benefits of being a truthful person?
  • Do you think the narrator's teacher and his/her parents would have been less upset if he/she had just admitted to skipping the homework assignment? Explain.
  • Does lying about a problem make it better or worse?
  • Why do you think it is so difficult to accept responsibility for mistakes and bad choices?
  • What makes it hard to be honest and to tell the truth?
  • Do you agree with this week's maxim? Why or why not?
  • What other situations does it apply to?

Related Links

Extending the Conversation

Have students create a narrative tree of this story that illustrates how each decision impacts the situation. Encourage students to notice how each choice made a difference, for the narrator and for his/her character. Examine how different choices at various points could have made this story turn out differently. Discuss how making the difficult, but right, choice initially saves them the trouble of making harder decisions later.