Get real!
To show the students that being yourself is important and that it allows other people to be themselves too.
by Helen Redfern
Suitable for Key Stage 3
Aims
To show the students that being yourself is important and that it allows other people to be themselves too.
Preparation and materials
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You will need a recording of the song ‘Stick to the Status Quo’ from High School Musical.
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There is a very moving and accessible setting of Psalm 139 to music: ‘139’ by Dependance www.crossrhythms.co.uk/artists/Dependance/4809/
Assembly
- Did you know that: actor Max Beesley enjoys tap dancing? David and Victoria Beckham love a night in playing dominoes? Fearne Cotton is a keen artist? Paris Hilton is mad about fishing?
All sorts of people have all sorts of unusual hobbies. - What about you? Is there something you like doing that you’re scared your friends will find out about? Do you have a hobby that you keep hidden? Is there a club you would like to join but you think your friends will laugh at you? Is there something you’d really like to have a go at, but you’re worried about what your parents might say?
- What happens in High School Musical when Troy and Gabriella stop worrying about what their friends think and decide to audition for the musical?
Troy is a basketball player. Gabriella is a brainiac. But they both love singing too. And when they ‘go for it’ and admit their passion for singing, others feel able to tell everyone about their hobbies too. Listen to what they say.
Play the song ‘Stick to the Status Quo’ from High School Musical.
How liberating it must be for them to tell the truth, to finally let people see who they really are! But what is the response of the people around them?
Stick to the stuff you know.
Don’t mess with the flow.
Keep things as they are.
Stick to the status quo. -
It takes a lot of courage to be real. It takes real strength to do what you want to do. But following the crowd is simple. Making fun of those with different interests is easy.
Time for reflection
David, one of the writers of the Psalms in the Bible, was comforted and encouraged by his belief that God knew him completely, knew everything there was to know about him – and yet still loved him and accepted him just as he was (Psalm 139).
Listen to these words from Luke chapter 12:
Jesus said; ‘Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight. But even the hairs on your head are all counted … you are of more value than many sparrows.’ (Luke 12.6, 7)
And how could God know us so well? God made us. God knows us. God loves us.
And many people of faith still believe today that God made us all, God knows us all, God loves us all.
God made you. God knows you. God loves you.
Prayer
Almighty God,
You have created the heavens and the earth
and made us in your own image:
Teach us to discern your hand in all your works
and your likeness in all your children;
Through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who with you and the Holy Spirit reigns supreme over all things,
now and for ever.
Amen.
(Collect from Common Worship: Daily Prayer)
Song/music
‘Stick to the Status Quo’ (High School Musical)
‘What a friend we have in Jesus’
‘Father God I wonder’ (Ian Smale, Thankyou music)
‘I’m Accepted’ (Rob Hayward, Thankyou music)
