What Courage Means to Me in the 21st Century

Courage, valor, bravery, fearlessness, heart, resoluteness, daring, spirit, mettle, boldness, gallantry, heroism, nerve, grit, fortitude, resolution: whatever synonym you choose to use, COURAGE is something we need more of in this often troubling world.

Here is one student's thoughts on courage.

Think about your degree of courage as you answer the following items.

1. Define courage in your own words.

2. List two people you know who are truly courageous, explaining why you think they are.

3. List two of your heroes of the past, explaining the same.

4.Think of a time that you were courageous, explaining why you think so.

5. How would a courageous person handle each of these conflicts?

   a. A peer is pressuring you to do something you know is wrong, but you like this person and don't want to hurt
      his or her feelings. What do you say?
   
   b. Someone has swam out to far and is screaming for help. You don't know how to swim. What do you do?

   c. Your parents have grounded you because you got all 70's on your grade card. You are supposed to be studying in 
      your room, forbidden to use the telephone, but the telephone rings and it's your girl/boyfriend. What do you say?

   d. Nobody likes ___________. He is a person everyone laughs at. Boy, is he uncool! You feel sorry for_____ What do you do?

Courage In Politics and History

The following is a poll our government classes are conducting regarding the nature of politicians, historical figures, and great Americans. Please submit your answers to georgecassutto@hotmail.com. We will tabulate all of the responses and post them to this website. Thanks!

1. Which characteristic do you value in a presidential candidate the most?

   A) Experience B) Mass Media Appeal C) Good Debater D) Knows The Issues 
   E) Stands Up For One's Beliefs.

2. Which of the current candidates do you feel represents the quality of experience? 
   A) Hillary Clinton B) Barack Obama  C) John McCain  D) Mitt Romney E) Rudy Giuliani

3. Which candidate do you feel can be seen as the one who handles the media the best?

   A) Clinton B) Obama C) Joe Biden  D) John McCain E) Fred Thompson

4. Which of the following issues do you feel the next president will need to deal with as his highest priority?

   A) The Budget Deficit B) The War In Iraq C) The Economy D) Pro-Life vs. Pro-choice E) Improving the Education System

5. Which of the following Republican Tickets would you like to see win the nomination? A) Giuliani/Romney B) McCain/Thompson C) Giuliani/Thompson D) Romney/Thompson E) Someone else not mentioned

6. Rate President Bush's performance during his presidency: A) He did an excellent job. B) A Very good job. 
   C) Adequate performance D) An unsatisfactory job. E) Worst President in US History

7. Which figure of history is the best example of a courageous person?

   A) Martin Luther King 
   B) Malcolm X 
   C) Colin Powell 
   D) Frederick Douglass 
   E) Rosa Parks

8. Which figure listed do you feel should be the most respected former president according to activities performed during and after the president's term? Find historical and current events that support your theory.

   A) George H. W. Bush 
   B) Gerald Ford 
   C) John Kennedy 
   D) Jimmy Carter 
   E) Ronald Reagan

9. Which personality trait do you feel MOST constitutes a courageous leader? 
   A) Stands up for one's beliefs. 
   B) Able to handle criticism. 
   C) Persistence and perseverance. 
   D) Ability to empathize with all people. 
   E) Has the ability to influence large numbers of people.

Thanks for taking part!

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