Getting to Know You by Getting to Know What You Value

Lori London (6th and 7th grade science) asked a fascinating question as part of her "getting to know you" intake with her students this year. She asked them, "Which Davis value 'speaks' to you the most/strongest and why? RESPECT, COMMUNITY, RIGHTEOUSNESS, WISDOM, & SPIRIT. Below are a collection of their responses. As you read them, consider the diversity of their replies as well as the clarity with which they are able to identify our Menschlichkeit values and relate to them. Knowing that these types of discussions are as likely to take place in a science class as in a Tefilah service sends an incredibly powerful message of interest and shared purpose that helps our students understand that they are an integral part of a greater whole. 

Which Davis value 'speaks' to you the most/strongest and why? RESPECT, COMMUNITY, RIGHTEOUSNESS, WISDOM, & SPIRIT

Spirit speaks to me because I try to always have a high spirit to bring up the other spirits in the room thus making people happy.

Respect because I think that it’s something everyone wants and everyone should give, and because anyone can be respectful, it’s not a special talent that you have acquire you just do it.

Spirit because I enjoy being loud and crazy

Wisdom stands out to me the most because having wisdom can show people to recognize our surroundings and wisdom can prevent difficult situations from getting worse.

Community speaks to me the most because we all need friends to get by in life.

Respect speaks to me because if you do not show respect to someone they will not show it to you.

I really like all the values but I think that spirit is the one that speaks to me the most. Sometimes when other people are sad I feel like there should always be someone to pump up and energize everyone, kind of like a backbone. sometimes people are having a bad day and one little thing can ruin a whole day AND WE ALL KNOW THAT IT IS NICE (oops caps lock) to be cheered up after a long day. I love to see the smile on people’s faces when they are happy. In my opinion if you are happy you will be more creative and will work better.

The Davis value Community speaks to me the most because I think we are and we should act as a big whole.

The strongest Davis value to me is community because without a community we could not give each other ideas or help with tasks at hand.

Community, because once in a while it would be nice to meet up with you classmates and join together for an activity.

The Davis value that speaks to me the most is community. I feel that community is very important because without our community, things would not be the same. Your community should always be there for you when you are in down or in need. Everyone must support and help the community in the best way possible.

The Davis value that speaks to me most is respect because respect is something that each and every person should show every day. Also, students like us should always show respect to teachers, and kids should always respect their friends and parents.

Community speaks to me the most. I feel that everyone should be welcomed into a community no matter what. Community makes sure everyone is included even if they are different.

I feel respect is the one I feel connected to, because I think it is the value that we use in our everyday lives.

Wisdom speaks to me the most strongest out of all of the values because if you have wisdom then you know what and who to respect, you can be a big part of your community, you can be righteous with others, and can have tons of spirit, with just one Davis value!

Community speaks to me the most because we all need people to get by in life.

respect because you should always be respectful

respect

spirit because in my opinion if you’re in a bad mood you are going to have a bad rest of your day

Spirit

Respect speaks to me the most because I have respect and I give respect and I believe in respect towards other people.

Respect because it is the easiest to show making it easy to do mitzvahs.

Wisdom speaks to me because information could not be handled and spread with wisdom. Also, no one would learn anything.

Community, because it is important to always be together

community because a big part of being Jewish is being in an community. In the community others push you to be your best self.

spirit because to me it is about being positive and I think that is very important and I try to be optimistic

Respect because I think people should respect one another.

Respect because it is extremely important to be respectful to others.

Spirit

Kavod because people should treat each other how they want to be treated, with respect.

Spirit because you should have a good and positive attitude

Respect because if you do not respect people, people will not respect you.

Spirt because for color war I like to have good spirit

Respect: respect speaks to mean the most out of all 5 of them because you need to respect you friends, family, teachers, and even people you don't know.

Righteousness speaks to me because if you do not do what’s right, it means people are doing bad things to each other.

Wisdom

Respect 'speaks' to me the most because you can use it every day, and it includes so many other important values inside.

community because I love spending time with my friends

spirit speaks to me the most because that's what makes learning if you don't walk in to school with a good spirit than your day won’t go well.

The Davis value community speaks to me because we are surrounded and in communities all over.

Wisdom because you need wisdom to make good decisions in life

Respect speaks to me the most because I believe that everyone and everything should be respected no matter what.

Respect, because I think it is important to respect others, and ourselves

The value of respect speaks to me the strongest because I feel that it is important to respect everyone around you, including your friends, elders and definitely your teachers. I feel that when you respect others in the class, everyone else is more productive.

Community speaks to me the most in one important way. First off, without a Kehilah we would not be able to pick up others when they are down. Without that some people would feel depressed and lonely.

The Davis value that speaks to me the most is wisdom.

The Davis value that speaks to me the most is community because at Davis we are one big community.

Respect shows all of the Davis values

Respect speaks the most to me because I think it is a title for the other ones. The other four values also follow respect.

Respect speaks to me the most because if you don't have respect you will not have a good community and there will be no spirit in the community. Respect is the word that describes all of these words.

respect- because you need to respect your friends, family, teachers, and people you might not know.