Topic Areas: Goal Setting, Values
We work toward the goals that we think are important. Part of the goal setting process is determining what is important and why. It is in this formulation of goals that our values play an important role. We are willing to put time, effort and money into the areas that we feel are important to us. These areas can change over time as our values change. The pre-teen and teen years are certainly times of transition when different sets of values are experimented with. These changing values can be a significant factor in the goals that we keep and the ones we discard or reevaluate.
Time frame: 20 minutes plus discussion time
Materials needed: One auction list handout and pencil per person
Activity: Give each participant an auction list handout. Explain to them that they have $2,000 to bid on the items from the list. The items will be auctioned off one at a time. All bids must be increments of $100. The item will go to the highest bidder. Run it just like a regular auction. Give the individuals time to look down their list and see which items they wish to bid on and how much they think they might offer. This amount should be written in the column marked "Proposed Bid'. They are not held to that amount but it gets them thinking about the items and their worth to them. During the auction have everyone keep track of how much the item was actually sold for and who the winning bidder was. After you have auctioned off all of the items, there will be some students with money left.
Tell the students before you begin that anyone who has $500 or more left at the end of the auction can spend their entire remaining amount on one of three secret boxes after the auction is complete. These three boxes can be sold to as many people as have the money and wish to buy them. This part is not a bidding process. Do not tell them what is contained in each of the three boxes. The three boxes contain the following: Box One- you bought a lottery ticket and won a million dollars; Box Two- You dropped out of high school and took a job at below minimum wage with no chance of advancement; Box Three- You graduated from high school, went to college and took a job that pays a reasonable salary, but you dislike what you do.
This activity is played to show where our values and goals lie. What you were willing to spend your money on gives you an idea of what you think is important. Those with money left over at the end have no real strong goals as of yet, or at least none that were on the list. The secret boxes at the end of the auction are used to show that if you don't know where you are headed them you will just end up with whatever life hands you. The reason you had money at the end of the auction could be because you didn't feel strong enough about anything on the list to bid all you had. Goal setting helps give direction to your life. As you mature and find your values or lifestyle changing, your goals can be adjusted accordingly.
Worksheet/ Auction List
What items sold for the highest amount?
What items sold for the lowest amounts?
In what category would you put the higher selling items?
In what category would you put the lower selling items?
Why did some items sell for more than others?
Why were some people willing to bid a higher amount for some items than they were willing to bid on other items?
What does this tell us about the value people place on different things in life?
Why didn't everyone wan the same items?
Were any items not bid upon or had low bids? Why?
Did anyone purposefully save their money for the secret boxes? Why?
how can we apply this activity to real life?
Taken from Activities that Teach by Tom Jackson
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