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Character Education
St. Petersburg Schoolchildren Seek the Palace of the Soul
Written by Tatiana Krasnosumova, Secretary General, UPF-Russia, St. Petersburg branch
Thursday, January 22, 2015
St. Petersburg, Russia - Teenagers were guided in a classroom discussion on what it means to be worthy of love and respect.
The Jan. 22, 2015 meeting at School No. 69 in the city’s Krasnogvardeisky district was part of the UPF-Russia “Family as the School of Love” program, which seeks to promote traditional family values. Tatiana Krasnosumova, secretary general of UPF-Russia, St. Petersburg branch, and an Ambassador for Peace, led the discussion.
The theme was "The Palace of My Soul" and concerned what it means to be a human who deserves to be loved and respected.
As the famous Russian pop song "The Beautiful Faraway" was played, the teens pondered the following questions:
- What does it mean to "be a human"?
- On whom does my "Beautiful Faraway" depend?
As in fairy tales, the participants were given three choices of the way to go: The left road would make them handsome; the right road would make them rich; on the middle road they would be loved by others.
After making their choices, the participants next discussed what human qualities would be required of a person on each of the roads.
It turned out that on any road, to achieve the objective one needs determination. Also valuable are sports, health, personal hygiene, tidiness and education. But to succeed, the most important road is the middle one (being loved by others). The young men added that one should be friendly, kind, helpful and, above all, love others!
In discussing the difference between humans and the things of creation, the students named the ability to think, discover and invent useful things. But the main difference between a human being and the rest of the creation is that we are entrusted with the awesome responsibility for ourselves and our destiny, for our family members, and all that surrounds us.
By choosing the right path, a person will leave behind a good tradition. This is what people are valued for.
Then the children were asked to draw their "Soul Palace." It had to contain the qualities that would be needed in their lives. All the drawings were different, including woods, a castle, a fortress, a heart.
At the end of the meeting each participant was given a postcard with poetic parting words.
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