moonshine

A 5th grade teacher asked me to teach a lesson on honesty. I taught it today and it went pretty well.

I started by reading the book "Sam, Bangs and Moonshine". Moonshine is another word for imagination, and in the story a young girl learns the difference between "good moonshine" and "bad moonshine". After reading I asked the students to give examples of each type of moonshine. Some examples of good moonshine: using your imagination to make up poems or stories or inventions. Some examples of bad moonshine: lying to make yourself feel better, to get out of trouble, or hurt someone else. I shared some examples from my own life when I used bad moonshine. Like the time my teacher said he saw me riding on the handle bars of a bike and I said it wasn't me because I didn't want to get in trouble.

I asked the students to write about where in their lives they are in the habit of using bad moonshine. I assured them I would be the only one to read what they wrote. They admitted to using bad moonshine at home, school, and with their friends. Several of them said they lie when they get nervous or scared.

I asked them to write two more things: An area of their life where they would like to be more honest, and an example of how they like to use good moonshine. They want to be more honest when they get in trouble, when they get bad grades, when they are at home and with their friends. They like to use good moonshine when they are acting on stage, writing, playing, and drawing.

I felt like the lesson was a success because their responses seemed genuine. I told them I would check on their progress next time we meet to see if they are having success being more honest. I will be curious to see if the teacher notices a difference.

Teaching this lesson makes me wonder, how can we encourage others to be honest? I'm thinking that people need to feel safe enough to tell the truth. I would love to hear your thoughts about this.