Dickens Literature Resources

Some Unitarian Universalists work in professional occupations, such as teacher, physician, attorney, engineer or social worker. Others work in factories; in service roles such as waiter, custodian or repair person; on farms; or at telephone or computer desk jobs. Still others may own their own businesses or earn a living in the arts. We all make choices about our jobs based on our interests, abilities, opportunities and needs.

Our belief in the inherent worth and dignity of all people tells us everyone has the right to dignity of work—that is, the ability to earn a decent livelihood; a work environment that supports one's safety, health and self-respect; and appreciation for the value one's work brings to us all. Yet, as a society we tend to value some jobs more than others—even though we know that when a person's work is disrespected, undervalued or taken for granted, both they and their community suffer.

This session teaches the concept of dignity of work and makes children aware of their own work, whatever it consists of. They hear a story, "Beautiful Hands," about a child ashamed of her work-worn hands until a teacher articulates how her hands show the beauty of physical work. Children refine their understanding of dignity of work by examining and discussing photographs of children at labor. In Faith in Action, they engage in an advocacy project that promotes a fair minimum wage and universal dignity of work.

This session will:

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  Affirm that all kinds of work that contribute to society deserve appreciation and respect, that is, dignity of work
  
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  Connect our first Unitarian Universalist Principle with the dignity of work we believe all people deserve
  
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  Guide participants to conceive of themselves as workers, articulate what their work is and reflect on how they want their work to be supported and received.
  

Participants will:

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  Identify the work they do at this time in their lives
  
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  Learn the phrase "dignity of work" and identify its components, which include safe working conditions, others' respect and fair compensation
  
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  Explore ways child labor is antithetical to dignity of work and learn about anti-child labor protests at the start of the 20th century
  
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  Understand the guidance of our first Unitarian Universalist Principle to consider all individuals' work as equally valuable and deserving of respect.
  

Find a place where you can be quiet with your thoughts. Make yourself comfortable; light a candle to mark the time as different from your other activities. Close your eyes and breathe deeply and perhaps repeat a word or phrase to separate you from the activities of the day. After opening your eyes, consider:

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  How do you feel about your work? Do you find it meaningful or rewarding?
  
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  Think about the communities to which you belong: your congregation, the families at your children's school(s), your neighborhood, your town. How well does each community celebrate the contributions of everyone whose work makes the community possible?
  
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  What jobs have you held? What were some considerations you thought about when choosing a job? Did you feel pressure to pick a certain kind of work due to familial, societal or financial pressures?
  
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  Do you believe people can find meaning and success and achieve dignity of work in a wide range of employment? Why or why not?
  
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  What are your expectations for this session? What do you hope is created as a result of it? What difference do you hope it makes?
  

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  Chalice or LED/battery-operated candle
  
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  Large, round mirror to hold the chalice
  
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  Reflective materials, such as beads or pieces of stained glass
  
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  Newsprint, markers and tape
  
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  Opening Words Basket and opening words (see Session 1, Leader Resource 1 (included in this document) )
  
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  Optional: A copy of the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook, Singing the Living Tradition
  
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  Optional: Bell , chime or other sound instrument
  

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  Set up the chalice on the mirror to enhance its reflection. The chalice may be filled with reflective materials, such as beads or pieces of stained glass, to represent the idea of light, reflection and mirrors.
  
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  Write the words to "Spirit of Life," Hymn 123 in Singing the Living Tradition, or another hymn you prefer, on newsprint, and post somewhere everyone can see it.
  
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  Obtain a basket to hold numerous slips of paper with opening words. Print Session 1, Leader Resource 1, Opening Words for Basket; cut out the short readings and place them in the basket. Of course, feel free to add your own.
  
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  Prepare to lead the group in singing "Spirit of Life," or another song commonly sung in your congregation. Optional: Arrange to have someone else who is musical lead the singing, perhaps with instrumental accompaniment.
  

This ritual welcoming reminds participants of the relational nature of the group experience. Gather the children in a circle around the chalice. Invite them to take a deep breath and release it, and create a deep silence for a moment.

Ask a volunteer to take a reading from the Opening Words Basket and read it aloud. Invite another volunteer to light the chalice. Then, lead a greeting:

Now we will take a moment to greet the people next to us. If you are next to someone who is new to our group, offer a welcome, tell them your first and last name, and learn their name.

Lead the group in singing the hymn you have chosen. Singing a congregational favorite helps children grow in their sense of belonging in congregational life.

If you choose not to sing, use a bell to signal the group to still themselves for another moment of silence.

Ask the child who lit the chalice to extinguish it. Ask the child who read the opening words to return the reading to the Opening Words Basket.

Including All Participants

If you have a non-sighted participant who reads braille, obtain the braille version of Singing the Living Tradition from UUA Bookstore. The bookstore orders from an outside publisher, so order several weeks ahead.

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  Newsprint, markers and tape
  
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  Optional: Photos or items that represent your work
  

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  Prepare to speak for one or two minutes about your current work or a job you have done in the past.
  
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  Optional: Gather photos of yourself at work, a tool you use in your work or something you made as part of your work.
  
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  Post several sheets of blank newsprint.
  

Gather the children. Tell them the group's work today will be to learn about work. If you are employed at a job, tell the group about your work in general terms: your job title, where you do your work, your general duties, how you get to work, what kind of clothing you wear, and what tools or materials you use. If you do not currently hold a job, choose one or two past jobs to describe. Be sure to include one or two things that you enjoy(ed) about your work. Show and/or pass around any photos or work-related items you have brought.

Now ask the children to tell you about the jobs they do. Write these down as the children call them out. You may choose to have children call them out, "popcorn" style, or raise their hands. Children often hear from adults that their job is going to school, so expect this response. Prompt to help children broaden their thinking and reflect on their own work. Responsibilities for children this age might include care of siblings, a pet or house plants. Some may have jobs such as keeping track of their own borrowed library books or DVDs, cleaning their bedrooms or play areas or making their own breakfast or lunch.

You might ask:

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  Who here has chores you are asked to do at home?
  
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  What other things do you do to help at home, even if they are not assigned chores?
  
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  What's the difference between "fun" and "work?"
  
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  Can work be fun?
  
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  Can work be unpaid? Besides money, what is the difference between work we are paid to do and work we are not paid to do?
  

Repeat each item as you write it down so children who cannot read or see the material on the newsprint can participate fully.

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  A copy of the story "Beautiful Hands (included in this document) "
  
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  A bell, chime, rain stick or other musical noisemaker
  

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  Read the story, "Beautiful Hands," a few times. Consider telling it dramatically, rather than reading it from the page. Practice telling it. Claim the storytelling; for example, try adopting different voices for different characters. The stories here are written for a Story for All Ages moment—part performance, part ministry.
  
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  For storytelling, be ritualistic. Create a mood and a time that is different from other moments in the session. For example, turn overhead lights off and use lamps. Position yourself where all can see and hear you. You may wish to wear a storytelling shawl.
  
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  Review the discussion questions. Choose some you think might resonate with this particular group and help them relate the story to their own experiences.
  

Ring the chime (or other noisemaker), make eye contact with each participant and read or tell the story.

Sound the chime (or other noisemaker) again at the end. Invite participants to think silently on their own about the story. Say:

Now we are going to practice listening and discussing skills—both are needed to help us understand the story from multiple perspectives. Let's find out what one another thought about the story.

Remind them not to assume others think or feel the same way. Ask everyone to use "I think" or "I feel" statements. Encourage the group to listen to each comment and then share some silence. Use the bell or chime to move between speakers.

Invite participants to retell the story, briefly, in their own words. What children recall and relay tells you what they found most meaningful or memorable. Then, use these questions to facilitate discussion, making sure everyone who wants to speak has a chance:

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  At the beginning of the story, why was May embarrassed about her hands?
  
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  Do you think May was the only person in her class who did work at home? What jobs do you think her classmates might have done at home? (Invite children to find ideas on the list of their own jobs they made in Activity 1.)
  
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  How would you feel if you were May?
  
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  Was May's work at home important? What would have happened if she did not do her work?
  
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  Who appreciated May's work? Does appreciation matter?
  
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  Would it have made any difference if May earned money for her work? How would it be different?
  
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  Think about the people you know. Do you know someone whose hands are rough from work?
  
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  May really liked to draw. She signed up for an extra class and drew a picture that wasn't a school assignment. Would you say art work is one of her jobs? Why or why not?
  
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  If May was in this group or in your class at school, do you think you would be friends with her? Why or why not?
  

It is nice when others respect the work we do and understand its value, but it is most important that we, ourselves, believe our work is meaningful and valuable. No matter what kind of work we do, we must give ourselves the credit we deserve for doing a job and doing it well.

Thank everyone for sharing.

ACTIVITY 3: WHEN CHILDREN WORK (20 MINUTES)

Materials for Activity

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  Newsprint, markers and tape
  
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  Images of children at work (Leader Resources (included in this document) 1-6)
  

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  Review Leader Resources 1-6, Child Labor Photographs. Print images to post and/or to pass around the room. Keep at hand the information from the leader resources about what the children are doing in the individual photographs.
  
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  Obtain more images from books or online. On The History Place website, find a captioned gallery of child labor documentary images by Lewis Hine (at www.historyplace.com/unitedstates/childlabor/about.htm).
  
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  If the group is very large, plan to form smaller groups of at least five children. Arrange to have enough adults to facilitate each small group. Make multiple copies of each photo image.
  

Tell the children:

In an ideal world, everyone would feel valued, successful and self-respecting about the work they do. However, too often workplaces are not safe. People are not treated with dignity. People are not paid enough money for what they do.

A long time ago, the laws in our country allowed children to skip school and work instead. Plenty of children did this to afford clothes and food to survive. A hundred years ago, almost two million children in the United States had jobs. They worked in factories, on farms, in shops, and at jobs like shining people's shoes, washing dishes, and mending clothes.

This is against the law in our country today, but there are many other places in the world where children work instead of going to school. We are going to look at some pictures of children at jobs.

Pass the photos around the room or invite children to come look at the photos you have posted. Allow some conversation. Then, looking at photos together, one at a time, ask:

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  What are the children making or doing in the photo?
  
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  What kind of industry do you think they work in?
  
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  Besides the fact that you might expect to see them in school instead of working, what might be some challenges they find in this particular workplace? How hard would the work be? How safe? How comfortable physically?
  
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  In what ways might this child experience "dignity of work"? In what ways not?
  

Then say:

About a hundred years ago, some children in the U.S. took action against the long hours they worked, the difficult and unsafe conditions of their jobs, and the low pay. Some of them wanted to go to school. They joined adults in a movement to improve dignity of work for all workers in the U.S. They marched and protested for better wages and safer, healthier places to work and jobs to do.

Lead a discussion using these questions:

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  What do you think workers should do if they do not find dignity of work?
  
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  What can an individual worker do?
  
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  What can a group of workers do?
  
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  What can people other than the workers themselves do to help?
  

Dignity of work should be universal, but it is not. As Unitarian Universalists, we have a responsibility to honor our own dignity of work and give others the respect and appreciation their work deserves, too.