The purpose of this lesson is to help educators understand the importance of forgiving others and themselves. Educators will write about the benefits of forgiveness, define what truly constitutes forgiveness, consider the role of forgiveness in the workplace, explain the impact of a good apology, and reflect on how forgiveness influences their own well-being.
Every day, we interact with imperfect people who make mistakes, sometimes resulting in us getting hurt. Forgiveness is when we “overcome the resentment toward the offender, not by denying our right to the resentment, but instead by trying to offer the wrongdoer compassion, benevolence, and love.” (Robert Enright, PhD) It is important to note that forgiveness does not mean that we condone hurtful or abusive behavior. In fact, setting appropriate boundaries helps keep us safe and secure. This is applicable in our personal lives as well as in a professional capacity. Forgiveness in the workplace plays an important role in creating a positive work environment and school culture.
Forgiveness extends beyond forgiving others. It is also important to forgive ourselves, receive forgiveness from others, learn to apologize, and reconcile in order to reestablish trust in our relationships. Our effort to seek and grant forgiveness helps us move toward a happier, healthier existence.
Activity 1: (20 minutes) PERSONAL REFLECTION
Using lined paper, invite teachers to write for 10 minutes about the following prompts:
Once time is up, invite teachers to share their thoughts in small groups.
Activity 2: (20 minutes) DEFINING FORGIVENESS
Pass out the Forgiveness Sort handout along with a pair of scissors to each teacher. Invite teachers to cut apart the word cards and sort them into 2 categories: what forgiveness is and what forgiveness is not. In groups of 2–3, have teachers briefly compare their lists. Provide the answer key on the slides. Teachers can discuss in their same small groups whether they agree with the answers or not.
Read through the quotes from forgiveness experts and discuss the questions. Invite teachers to add to their lists while you go through the quotes.
Teachers will then draft their own definition of forgiveness on the back of their handouts, based on the ideas that they have heard.
Activity 3: (20 minutes) FORGIVENESS IN THE WORKPLACE
Read the following statements and ask teachers to silently reflect on whether they agree or disagree with each one:
Read the quotes on the slides and have a discussion:
Read the statements from the slide again and give teachers the opportunity to consider whether they have changed their mind about any of them.
Activity 4: (20 minutes) THE ART OF APOLOGY
Pass out the Apology Script handout. Watch the video, “The Best Way to Apologize,” by TED-Ed and encourage teachers to take notes on the essential elements of a good apology.
As a group, brainstorm a list of scenarios that might come up at school that would require an apology.
Using their notes on the essential elements of a good apology, have teachers select a scenario and write a script outlining how to react to that situation. Invite teachers to share their scripts in small groups.
Activity 5: (20 minutes) FORGIVING YOURSELF
Read a few short quotes from Psychology Today Staff about forgiving yourself on the slides. Then have a brief discussion:
Pass out a sheet of lined paper to each teacher and invite them to respond to the prompt anonymously. Explain that others will read their response.
Gather up all the papers and redistribute them, making sure no teacher gets their original paper. Invite teachers to read the response and respond as a best friend would. If time permits, pass the papers around a few times and allow teachers to respond to a few papers. Spread the papers out and have teachers find their original paper. Give them time to read the words of encouragement.
Activity 6: (20 minutes) WHY FORGIVE?
Watch the video “Healing Power of Forgiveness,” by Good Morning America and read some information from Johns Hopkins Medicine. Have a discussion:
Invite teachers to read through their initial reflection again and add any other thoughts. Then, discuss as a group:
Work together as a group to come up with a list of the top 10 reasons to forgive.
Extension: Explain that teachers will create a post to share on social media that represents their feelings about the importance of forgiveness. It can be a post or story on Instagram or Facebook, a TikTok, blog post, or something similar. Encourage teachers to think back through the lesson and identify situations, symbols, quotes, or ideas they may want to use as part of their post. Encourage teachers to be creative with their posts as well.
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