Value

Do you understand your true value?

by Nicola Freeman

Suitable for Whole School (Sec)

Aims

To encourage us to understand our value.

Preparation and materials

• You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Value) and the means to display them.
  
  
• You will also need two small whiteboards and pens, a cloth to wipe off the answers and (if appropriate) a prize for the game.

Assembly

1. Show Slide 1.
   
   Explain that today’s assembly is about ‘value’ and that you’re going to start off by playing a game that looks at some of the things that can be bought on eBay. You may wish to invite volunteers to the front to take part in the game, ask students to raise their hands to answer questions or simply ask students to think about the answers in their heads.

2. Show Slide 2. (Make sure that you have set the presentation to play as a slide show.)
   
   How much would you pay for a tub of hair?
   How much would you pay if it belonged to Justin Bieber?
   Reveal the amount that it sold for on eBay: £25,024

   Show Slide 3.
   
   How much would you pay for a fedora hat?
   How much would you pay if it belonged to Pharrell Williams?
   Reveal the amount that it sold for on eBay: £26,444

   Show Slide 4.
   
   How much would you pay for the hat that Princess Beatrice wore to the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton?
   Reveal the amount that it sold for on eBay: £81,100
   
   Point out that these may seem like huge amounts of money to us, but someone, somewhere, thought that the items were worth that much!

3. Show Slide 5.
   
   We are all valuable. However, if we sold a pot of our hair on eBay, people might not be prepared to pay very much for it! Justin Bieber’s hair sold for such a large sum because of who it belonged to and because it had value to the person who bought it. Value is often judged on three things:
   
   - WHO the item belongs to
   - WHY someone wants it (their motive)
   - WHAT someone is willing to pay for it
   
   
4. Ask how many of the students have heard of Meryl Streep. She is a very famous actor, but this was not always the case.
   
   Show Slide 6.
   
   When Meryl Streep was an unknown actor, she went to an audition and had the following experience.
   
   ‘This [photograph] was me on my way home from an audition for King Kong where I was told I was too “ugly” for the part. This was a pivotal moment for me. This one rogue opinion could derail my dreams of becoming an actress or force me to pull myself up by the boot straps and believe in myself. I took a deep breath and said “I’m sorry you think I’m too ugly for your film but you’re just one opinion in a sea of thousands and I’m off to find a kinder tide.” Today I have 18 Academy Awards.’
   
   Sometimes in life, it can feel as if people don’t value us very highly. At times like these, we need to follow the example of Meryl Streep and decide to keep on trying!

5. When people are considering whether to sell their house, they get something called a valuation. This is where someone visits the house and evaluates how much they think the house is worth, and therefore how much they think it will sell for. Often, different valuers make different valuations, so the people who own the house have to decide which value they want to follow.
   
   If the owners go too low, the house may sell quickly, but they may miss out on money they could have had. However, if they go too high, the house may not sell because people viewing it may not think that it is worth that much.
   
   Ask the following questions.
   
   - Which voices do you listen to?
   - What evaluations are people making about your value and worth?
   - Do you realize that you have a choice about whether to believe an evaluation is true or false?

   Understanding our value affects how we let others treat us and how we treat ourselves.

   Show Slide 7.

6. Christians believe that God thought people were valuable enough for him to send his son, Jesus, into the world. One of the best known verses in the Bible is John 3.16: ‘God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son’. Christians believe that God’s motive was that he loved people. They believe that the cost of God’s love was him allowing Jesus to die.

Time for reflection

Show Slide 8.

Ask the students to listen as you read out some of the statements on the slide and ask them to accept the words for themselves.

- You are loved.
- You are valuable.
- You are crafted with beauty and purpose.
- There is no one like you.
- You don’t need to look like the rest or talk like the rest or be like the rest.
- This world needs you as you are.
- There is no truth in the lie that you don’t matter.
- You were put here for a reason.
- You are loved.
- You were not an accident.
- You are not a mistake.

Ask the students to consider whether they believe these statements about themselves.

Ask the students, ‘If we truly believe these statements, how would it affect the way we live, the way we treat others, the way we allow others to treat us and the decisions that we make?’

Prayer
Dear God,
Please help us to understand that we are precious and loved.
Help us to accept our value and allow our lives to reflect this.
Help us to value others and to take the time to see them clearly.
Amen.