Young adults can think about the following or do these activities alone
or in cooperation with their parents or friends.
Core Activity:
Stories, Current Events and Mind Mapping
Activity: Ask students to share stories about honesty or corruption.
Or discuss a historical example of corruption from a unit of history
recently studied. For example, in one country recently there was a case
in which more than twenty children died in a fire because of inferior
housing at a camp. The owners had received money to build proper
housing, but did not use it for that purpose. Some of the money they
pocketed was then used to bribe reporters not to report what they had
done.
Ask them to share the stories of honesty first. Discuss the following
Reflection Points:
- Honest thoughts, words, and actions create harmony.
- An honest person knows that we are all interconnected.
Then ask them to relate tales of dishonesty or corruption. Ask them to
discuss the effects of the corrupt act on the victims, the perpetrators,
other people involved, and the effect on the general well-being of the
country where the corruption occurs. Examine the short term and long
term effects on all parties.
Mind Map the results of honesty on one-half of the page and dishonesty
or corruption on the other half.
Language/Literature
Read autobiographies of woman and men of integrity and how they make a
difference in the world.
Select folk tales, classical novels or other works on honesty or greed
and corruption. Discuss the consequences on individuals, families and
society.
Ask students to create their own fairy tales for younger children
illustrating one of the Honesty Reflection Points.
One Minute of Courage
The following may be offered for 15- or 16-year old students, or others
as appropriate: People usually lie initially to avoid embarrassment and
possible punishment for having done something wrong. When they try to
cover the lie, things get very complicated because they have to remember
what they said and what they did not say. Think about how much energy
it takes to cover a lie versus one minute of real courage to tell the
truth. In the long run, the truth makes us feel better in our hearts
and in our relationships. We become free from the worry of hiding the
lie. However, some people become accustomed to lying and it destroys
the trust in their relationships.
Activity: Write a short story using a real or imaginary situation in
which a person lied. Or, make up an oral story, alternating the
opportunity to add a few sentences to the tale.
Core Activity:
Privacy and ?Busy Bodies?
This lesson may not be applicable to all groups. However, it offers a
social skill to some students who feel a need to be painfully ?honest.?
In LVE honesty is used as a universal value to help create a better
world ? not a mandate to share personal matters when you would rather
have a little privacy or space to work things through.
Say: ?Honesty is telling what is true. Honesty is being fair to
others. Honesty does not mean a person must bare her/his soul to
everyone, or tell personal details to people with whom she/he does not
wish to share.?
- What kinds of things do you think are only your business?
- Who do you not want to share that information with?
- If someone is asking about something that you do not wish to share,
what can you say that is still honest? (Such as " I?d rather not share
that right now.")
- Do you want your privacy even during close relationships sometimes?
- How can you communicate that in such a way that others understand?
- When do you want to share?
?There are also circumstances when people can be cruel under the guise
of ?honesty?.? Ask:
- Can you think of some examples?
- When is being "too honest" not really honesty, but a lack of love and
respect for another person?
- What is the balance of love and honesty?
- Is an honest heart a heart full of love?
Activity: Write a poem about sharing in an honest way with a friend.
Physical Education
Discuss the ethics involved in sports today. The teacher may wish to
discuss the elements of honesty and ethics most relevant to your
students. One topic of worldwide interest: the Olympics. In the past
Olympic games, steroids and body-enhancing drugs have been an ethical
issue. Discuss.
Talk about current sports stories, such as the past widespread drug use
at the French Open Bicycle Races, to illustrate how everyone loses when
there is dishonesty.
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Honesty - Living Values Activities for Young
Adults 
Excerpts from LVE's Living Values Activities for Young Adults