Greetings and Opening prayer
Lesson Objectives:
* Recognize that waste is an act of selfishness and disrespect for nature and for other people;
* Identify the attitudes of waste that we practice every day;
* Build a framework for actions to prevent waste.
References used: The Spirits’ Book.
First: The Spiritist teacher should draw five strokes on the board and ask the children to guess which word that is. This word represents the lesson theme: "Waste". Discuss with the class the meaning of the word.
Note: Please note we should avoid playing the hangman, since we shouldn’t even joke about hanging someone. We suggest you play this game with the adolescents by calling it ‘The Game of Life’. The game will have the same format as the Hangman game. Instead of drawing the doll when children/adolescents miss the letter, it should be drawn only when they guess it right.
The end goal is to complete the design of the doll. Whoever guesses the right letter will be the person who will draw a part of the doll. Kids will love it! The drawing could begin by the drawing of the feet or the head. Highlight to them, if necessary, this is not the Hangman game, because we should not hang someone, nor even as a joke.
Second: bring copies of The Spirits’ Book, so the children/adolescents can become more acquainted with the basic books. If the Spiritist teacher isn’t able to bring copies of the book to each child/adolescent, get them to work in pairs or trios. The questions could also be worked on strips of paper.
Ask them to locate questions 711, 715, 719, 922 and 923 in The Spirits’ Book. Give them some time to read and try to understand these questions and answers. The Spiritist teacher may help the groups in understanding the proposed questions, if necessary.
Here are the questions, taken from The Spirits’ Book:
711. Have all men a right to the usufruct of the products of the earth? "That right is a consequence of the necessity of living. God cannot have imposed a duty without having given the means of discharging it."
715. How can men know the limit of what is necessary? "Wise men know it by intuition; others learn it through experience, and to their cost."
719. Is it blameable in a man to seek after the comforts and enjoyments of corporeal life? "The desire of corporeal well-being is natural to man. God only prohibits excess, because excess is inimical to preservation; He has not made it a crime to seek after enjoyment, if that enjoyment be not acquired at another's expense, and if it be riot of a nature to weaken either your moral or your physical strength."
922. Earthly happiness is relative to the position of each person; what suffices for the happiness of one would be misfortune for another. Is there, nevertheless, a common standard of happiness for all men? "As regards material existence, it is the possession of the necessaries of life; as regards moral existence, it is a good conscience and the belief in a future state."
923. Does not that which is a superfluity for one become a necessary of life for another and vice versa, according to differences of position? "Yes, according to your material ideas, your prejudices, your ambition, and all your absurd notions that you will gradually get rid of as you come to understand the truth of things. Undoubtedly, he who, having possessed an income of thousands, becomes reduced to as many hundreds, looks upon himself as being very unfortunate, because he can no longer cut so great a figure in the world, maintain what he calls his rank, keep horses, carriages, and lackeys, and gratify all his tastes and passions. He appears to himself to lack the very necessaries of life; but is he really so much to be pitied while, beside him, so many others are dying of cold and hunger, and have not even where to lay their head? He who is wise compares himself with what is below him, never with what is above him, unless it be to raise his soul towards the Infinite."
Third: ask for a volunteer (or raffle the groups that will present the questions) to read one of the questions and explain what Kardec mean by that question. Another volunteer will read the answer and explain it the class. The Spiritist teacher should complement the answers after their explanations. Use examples from the children’ day to day life and develop the lesson theme.
Suggestions guidelines for the development of the ideas:
What are the goods of the planet earth? The goods are: nature, housing, transportation, food, clothing and school. We must preserve the assets of the Earth by caring for where we live; our school. We must watch out so there is no waste of food and water, or if we don’t have an excess of clothes and toys. In addition, watch out for the misuse of nature, such as destruction.
We live to have the minimum necessary to live and evolve, but we often misuse the assets we have. We could experience in another incarnation the lack of what we took for granted previously.
The limit of earthly goods is in accordance to the need of each one of us. Ex: overeating may cause illness and even death.
It’s not wrong to seek corporeal well-being, as long as it’s done is an honest way. Let’s not steal or feel sad if we don’t have all the things we'd like to have.
What is necessary? What is superfluous? How can men know the limit?
Explain what is the possession of the necessaries of life (what is necessary for us to live in balance, without excesses and anger for what we don’t have), good conscience (being sure we're doing our best every day, striving to have good thoughts and attitudes) and belief in a future state (trust in God and do our part). Source: The Spirits’ Book, 922.
We can understand what is good for our body and soul (who we are) by intuition or experience. Excesses can harm us and others because what we can spare might be missing for other people. Whoever wastes things is not being charitable (integral charity can be understood as all goodness we can practice within our reach).
Many times we focus our attention on things that are not necessary and we suffer if we don’t have them; sometimes we keep them away to "have" them and don’t use them! Examples: clothes we keep in our wardrobes or that don’t serve us; clothes in excess when so many people don’t even have what to wear, running water in taps or in the shower, left-over’s in our plate, excessive number of toys. We are also wasting if we don’t look after what we have: books, toys, school supplies.
Fourth: propose the children draw alone (or groups) a notice board: Waste x Actions to Avoid Waste.
Take A4 sheets of paper to the class with these two columns written on it: Waste x Actions to Avoid Waste. Ask each child or group to complete the notice board, which can be commented collectively once this activity is finished.
Examples that may arise in the classroom:
Water waste – don’t leave the tap running while brushing teeth. Bathe and wash your hair faster, don’t leave taps dripping.
Don’t leave food on your plate - serve only what you will eat or in small quantities.
Don’t let the unused clothes turn yellow in your closet – donate the clothes that no longer serve us or are not used.
Store toys that we no longer use - donate to children who don’t have toys so they can play.
Lights and TV on even if no-one is present on the room - turn off the lights; turn off the TV if nobody is watching.
Closing Prayer
Suggested Class suitable for: second cycle (9 to 10 years old) and third cycle (11 to 12 years old).
Suggested lesson received from Lilia Pinheiro – Spiritist Centre Missionários da Luz - Curitiba.
Translation: Carolina von Scharten, London, linked to BUSS - The British Union of Spiritist Societies.
