the Pursuit of Happyness

1. the Pursuit of Happyness Video therapy Lesson

2. Objectives of the lesson • When life gets tough, you need to buckle down and work hard. Find a way out of the tough circumstances. • Taking a risk can be difficult and could lead to failure, but can also have huge rewards. • Choosing a career may take multiple tries. Don’t be afraid to try different options until you find the one that makes you happy. • Keep believing in yourself – even when it seems you’re failing.

3. Description of class • 8th grade AIG • Male and female AIG inclusion class within the general population, also a small population of E.C. students

4. Synopsis of movie • The Pursuit of Happynessis based on a true story about Chris Gardner. Chris has a high school education, was the top of his class in high school and in his Navy technical school. He is not afraid of taking a risk. Chris goes into debt and gets evicted from his apartment because of financial risks he took that back-fired. He decides that to be happy he should become a stockbroker. He enters a 6-month internship at a large financial institution that offers no pay and no guarantee of a permanent position. At the same time, his girlfriend abandons her family, leaving him to take care of their 5 year old son. They are homeless for months as he finishes the internship, but he ends up getting the job, finally finding happiness. The film is rated pg-13 due to language.

5. Themes explored • Hard work and taking risks pay off. Gifted students often avoid risks in order to preserve their self-concept of intelligent (Colangelo & Davis, 2003). • Never give up on yourself and your dreams. • If you want to be happy, you have to work hard to get there. “Help students to see the relationship between their effort and outcomes” (Colangelo & Davis, 2003, p. 422). • If you want something, keep trying – never give up! • Don’t let someone tell you that you can’t do something you want to do.

6. Introductory activities • The students brainstorm what happiness means to them, including how they plan on being happy throughout their lives. • Class discussion on hard work and achieving dreams. • Research stockbrokers and what it typically entails to become a stockbroker. What kind of education is needed, background experience, etc.? • Have the students write down 1-3 of their dreams and how they are going to achieve those dreams. Have them write down the limits for pursuing their dreams. What is their breaking point for giving up on a dream?

7. Discussion QuestionsIntellect of main character • What is the significance of the Rubik's cube to the plot? What does Chris’ ability to solve the Rubik's cube tell you about his intelligence? What other parts of the movie give you insight into his intellectual ability and character? Would you say that Chris has low, average or high intelligence? In your opinion, is Chris academically gifted? Explain. How does he use his gifts in the movie? In what ways are Chris’ abilities like and unlike your abilities? • Clip of solving rubik’s cube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=jx8Q0lnvf8c

8. Discussion questionseffort of main character • How hard does Chris work at the beginning of the movie to sell the medical equipment? What adversities in his life has he had to overcome? Does he solve the Rubik’s cube the first time he attempts it? Does he give up on trying to solve it? What is something you have worked hard at that has not been worth it? What have you worked hard at and continued to work hard at until you figured it out – similarly to Chris working on the Rubik’s cube? • How hard does he work during his internship? What is the point of the religious singers singing about mountains at that part of the movie? Is this something Chris needs to hear at that point? Does he ever get a break? Is it worth it in the end? Explain. Would you have been able to continue through the internship? What is something you have worked very hard at that has been worth it in the end?

9. Discussion questionsintelligence vs. effort • Why does Chris make it at the end? Is it due to his intelligence, effort, or just luck? How would he answer that question? What is something you have succeeded at due to your intelligence, your effort, just luck? What is something you have succeeded at due to a combination of those three?

10. Discussion questionsperseverance • Does Chris’ hard work pay off? At what points during the movie did his hard work NOT pay off? When did his hard work pay off? • What is Chris’ dream? To be a stockbroker or to be happy? How does he ensure his dream comes true? What is your dream? How are going to ensure it comes true? When he does capture happiness does he think it’s because of luck or hard work? Is it important to him to convey to his son the importance of following dreams? Clip from movie: http://youtube.com/watch?v=nNB6n0FfqAU • What is his lowest point in the movie? How does he respond to losing everything? How would you respond to a similar situation? • There is a recurring theme of pursuing and capturing happiness throughout the movie. Does Chris expect happiness to come to him or does he work hard to find happiness? What does he do to capture his own happiness? What do you do to capture your own happiness?

11. Discussion questionstaking risks • What choices did Chris make that created the desperate situation he was in? Were they the right or wrong choices for him? • Did he take risks even though he knew he could fail? What risks did he take that lead to failure? Did he stop taking risks at that point? Have you taken risks that have lead to failure? Did that stop you from taking risks in the future? Why is it important to continue taking wise risks? What can you learn from Chris about taking risks even after failure?

12. Discussion questionsself-concept • What does Chris think of himself? Does he have confidence in his ability in finding a career and in being a father? How would you feel about yourself if you were in his shoes? What lesson can you take from Chris’ self-concept? Why do you think he painted on the wall “Dear Chris, u suck”? Are there times when you feel the same way? How does Chris counteract these feelings? How do you? • At the end of the movie Chris is reflecting on the disappointment he has in his 10 gallon head. He states that he used to get an A on a test and believed he could be anything he wanted and he never became any of those things. Have you ever felt really good about something you have done to turn around and fail at something and doubt yourself? What characters in the movie doubt his ability and what characters tell him he can be successful? What characters in your life help build you up or tell you what you can’t do? What do you tell yourself about your capabilities? • At one point in time Chris reflects on the Declaration of Independence and the words “pursuit of happiness”. He decides that happiness is only something you can pursue and never capture. Do you think he really believes that? What does he do to show he does or does not believe that happiness can only be pursued? What do you think? Do you believe happiness is something that can only be pursued or can it be captured? How does he pursue happiness? How do you pursue happiness? How does the pursuit of happiness change as you get older?

13. Discussion questionsmultiple talents • Is Chris talented in one area or multiple areas? What multiple areas are you talented in? What talents overlap? • How many jobs does Chris have in his lifetime? Did he stick with his first career? How does that apply to you as you start to look at your future and what you want to do? Is it alright to have multiple careers – some of which you might fail at? Do you have to stay with the first job you have?

14. Discussion questionswho’s in control? • Towards the beginning of the movie, Chris leaves his machine with a homeless woman on the street and pays her to watch it for him. She takes off with his machine. Does he blame this on bad luck or a bad decision on his part? How does he handle losing the machine? If you made a bad decision and lost something valuable how would you rebound? • When the government takes the money from his account who does he blame? Who is at fault? What proof do you have of whose fault it is? • When things go good for him in the end of the movie who is to blame for that? When things go well in your life do you blame luck or right decisions and hard work on your part?

15. Follow-up activities • Students can journal weekly their pursuit of happiness and self-concept issues. These can be discussed as a whole class allowing students to talk about their fear of failure and other self-concept issues. • Students can discuss a time when they had to put a lot of effort into something and whether it paid off or not in the end. • Students can create short-term and long-term goals and a reasonable plan to reach those goals. Revisit the goals and plans periodically updating and changing as they go. • Students can create a poster or other product detailing the important themes of the movie. They then share these important themes with other students who have not seen the movie. They will need to discuss why the themes are so important to their lives and what they learned from them. • Students can research Chris Gardner and find out what he is doing now. Compare and contrast the real Chris Gardner to the one portrayed in the movie. • Students can research the Declaration of Independence and why the words “pursuit of happiness” are in the document. They then discuss in small groups what the importance of the word pursuit is in the document and how that applies to their life.

16. Materials needed • Movie: “the Pursuit of Happyness” resources • Colangelo, N.& Davis, G. A. (2003). Handbook of gifted education (3rd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. • Youtube.com