On making it personal: Think of times in your own life when showing respect for others paid off. Think of times when you failed to show respect that hurt you. Think of times when others either showed respect or disrespect to you and how it impacted you. Consider sharing those stories in this lesson. Your students want to know how respect has impacted your life. This is your opportunity to leave your legacy!

1. Introduction: Show either the same video from The Wonder Years or the video of students participating in the game from last week.

3. Reports: Encourage those who took the challenge from last week to give their report.

1. Does everyone deserve at least some respect? (Yes. Why?)

2. Do we show respect to different people (e.g., peers, teachers, parents, etc.) in different ways? (Yes. How?)

3. Is it sometimes harder to show respect to people that we think are different or weird? (Yes – sometimes)

A young teenager named Steven didn't fit in at Middle School. All the other students thought that to be important you had to be good at sports like baseball. But Steven was a terrible player. And to make matters worse, he looked funny. Schoolmates would call him names. But Steven took an interest in photography and movies and found other people in his neighborhood who shared his interests.

He wasn’t accepted any better in high school, where he called the artsy crowd his "Leper colony". But even in school plays he couldn’t get parts because he couldn’t remember the lines. So he just worked on the sets. But he continued to develop his interests in film and became famous as one of the greatest producers in the history of film. Anyone want to guess his name? Steven Spielberg. (Ask youth to name as many movies produced by Spielberg that they can remember.) The same people who laughed at him in school and called him "Spielbug" would probably love to have his autograph now. Or at least a week of his salary!

Reflections:

• Why was Steven treated so poorly?
• Steven would become a very successful person. How does this story motivate us to treat even Geeky students with respect?

What should our response be when we are not treated with respect? (1. Stay respectful of others. 2. You set the tone. 3. You break the cycle of disrespect.)

7. Hint: Evaluate why they treated you that way.

8. Question: Do people need to earn respect before we give it to them? (No. We respect them because they are human and have strong potential, even if we fail to see it.)

9. On gaining and losing respect...

….Respect: It is yours to loose. (Put this on the board)

What do I mean by this? (It's the same as saying: "This election is theirs to loose"; "The game is theirs to loose," etc)

10. Brainstorm Challenge: Divide into two groups. Give them three minutes to come up with ways/things we can do to keep someone’s respect. The winning team gets the prize. Discuss their points.

(Examples: Show respect, integrity/keep your word, honesty, courtesy, politeness, appearance, listen, don’t interrupt, use proper titles, exhibit obedience, facial expressions, body language)

Three thousand years ago, the wise man Solomon said, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." Do you think that's as true today as it was then? Why or why not?

Some say, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." Do you believe that statement? Why or why not? How does it relate to Solomon's statement above?

Summary: Our words are a powerful tool. We can be use them for good or evil. They can hurt or heal, kill or bring life. The choice is yours.

12. Life Story:

I heard a story of an unruly boy who was sent to the principal's office for his bad behavior in school. Apparently this was not the first time, and the principal looked at the boy, pondering what to do. This time, instead of scolding him, he looked down at the boy's hands. He told the boy, "Look at your hands. Thin fingers. Those are surgeon's hands. Go, fulfill your potential." All the boy could do that day was to look at his hands. Years later the principal heard from the boy, who had now completed medical school to be a surgeon. The turning point in the boy's life? The day he was encouraged by the principal.

We’ve learned what respect is…the importance of showing respect…ways to show and to keep respect. We’ve learned what a wonderfully different place this world would be if people showed more respect.

So….what are we going to do…be apart of the problem or a part of the solution? Today and this week, will you be that agent of change? You have the power. You can do it if you want.

I challenge you to go now and change your world, making a difference in your own life and those around you.