(Teachers, in this lesson you’re going to help your students identify people who support them. Show how these people are like the power stations that bring electricity to power important things in their lives, then show how these people bring them a different kind of power through care, concern, warmth, and love. For the mission part, see if you can help them understand how to perform an act of compassion for someone they know that is inspired by one of the people that “empower” them.)
Greetings to you, the Ambassadors of Compassion!
To begin, it’s important to understand what it means to be an ambassador and what it means to be compassionate. An ambassador is a person who promotes an activity or an idea. And to be compassionate means to be nice in a way that lessens suffering being experienced by someone or something, which is exactly what you are going to be doing with these lessons! As ambassadors of compassion, we are charged with promoting care, concern, warmth, and love. Ready to do it?
Your mission this week, ambassadors, begins by identifying a person who supports you. Is it a family member like a parent or grandparent? Is it a friend? Maybe you are supported by someone at a place of worship, or by a sports coach, or by someone who helps you learn something, like a teacher or a tutor. Whoever it is, take time to write down their name and draw a simple picture of them.
Next, think of how this person supports you. Do they feed you? Do they talk to you? Do they teach you something? Take a minute to remember a specific time this person supported you. Then find a partner and tell each other the story of this time. Take turns and be sure to be a good listener when it’s your turn to listen.
Over the next week, find someone for whom you can provide the kind of support you receive from your chosen person. If the support you receive is through being fed, offer to feed someone that you know is hungry. If the support you receive is through talking, take time to have a thoughtful conversation with someone else. If the support you receive is through learning something, find someone who wants to learn something you know and teach it to them.
Compassion Curriculum 