Quality World

September 11, 2007

Yesterday in class we did an activity that was designed to help students understand their Quality World pictures. Our quality world is made up of those things we want the most...it is made up of specific pictures that show the best ways to satisfy one or more of our basic needs. These pictures fall into three categories: 1) the people we most want to be with, 2) the things we most want to own or experience and 3) the ideas or systems of belief that govern our behavior. Any time we feel very good, we are choosing to behave so that someone, something or some belief in the real world has come close to matching a picture of the person, thing, or belief in our quality world. To do this we had them write down what they would do on their ideal day. Money was no object and they could spend time with anyone of their choice. The goal was to have students think about their world and how they would really like to spend their time. It also gave them some insight into their needs. Many students would travel and shop all over the world, others would spend time at various theme parks, and still others would visit different ball parks. This would indicate a high need for fun which isn't at all surprising.

Most of the students reported that they would like to spend the time with their friends and family. Again not surprising that friends out ranked family with this age group. This is the time when peers become a very important part of a teens life. It also shows that most have a high love and belonging need.

As they were sharing their ideal days, I noticed that many of them expressed a great deal of happiness at being able to choose everything they would do without having to worry about anyone else or considering anything like time or responsibilities. They enjoyed the power they were given over making their own decisions.

The people and things they put into their quality worlds are important to them....they are neither good nor bad, they are there because we believe or at least hope that it will feel good to be with them and bad to be without them.

We ended the activity by talking about how their quality world will change as they continue to grow and determine if the people, things, and beliefs are need satisfying or not.