We hear about them a lot. We watch movies like Saving Private Ryan and Pearl Harbor. We idolize sports figures, music artists, and movie stars. We talk about role models and mentors.
But what do we mean?
This is your mission:To
discover what it takes to become a hero or heroine.
(Hereafter, for ease of typing, only the word hero will
be used.)
Our society is confused. We call all kinds of people heroes. In a recent survey in Parade Magazine, a majority of kids called one of their parents a hero. Can ordinary people be heroes?
Mother Teresa, the Catholic nun who was famous for taking care of the "poorest of the poor," told an interviewer that she was not a hero. She said she did not want people to think of her that way, because then they would think that what she did was special. "Anyone could do what I have done," she said.
Jason Crowe, the young winner of the first ever Global Peace & Tolerance Award (in the Media category) doesn't like the word "hero" either. He says: "...using the term hero might actually discourage people from reaching out to do similar things. It may make the person called 'hero' seem larger than life and similar deeds would then seem totally out of reach for a normal, average person."
Can anyone be a hero?
You and a partner will research two people (from a list of suggested people). You will create "Biography in a Bag" reports on your two people. You will introduce your people to a younger class, explaining who they are and why they are or are not heroes. You are the judge of whether your people fit your criteria for being heroes. You are responsible for making those criteria clear to a younger audience. You will also write (together) one essay for your teacher explaining what you think are the qualities necessary for becoming a hero, using your two people as examples of the way heroes should or should not behave.
Here is the process
you will follow in your quest. Good luck.
This webquest created by Susan
McDonough Sanchez, copyright 2001