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Jenius!

How does what we see affect what we feel?

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Jenius!

How does what we see affect what we feel?

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Thousands of years ago, Confucius introduced the concept of jen. According to him, a person of jen “brings the good things of others to completion and does not bring the bad things of others to completion.” In other words, jen represents our ability to make the world a better place…but also a worse one.

In this lesson students explore the concept of the jen ratio — the ratio of positive to negative observations in our daily lives — and use it to discuss how what we see influences the way we experience the world.

REAL WORLD TAKEAWAYS

  • What we see – the ratio of positive to negative moments – affects our well-being.
  • We can improve our own “jen ratios” – the ratio of positive to negative moments – by engaging in positive activities and consuming positive media. By being observably kind, we can improve the jen ratio of others.
  • The older someone is, the more experiences they’ve had, the more positive moments it takes to affect their lifetime jen ratio.

MATH OBJECTIVES

  • Use ratio language to describe the relationship between two quantities.
  • Compare ratios.
  • Find equivalent ratios.
  • Identify ways to improve the jen ratio of oneself and others.

Great anytime, including at the beginning of a unit before students have any formal introduction to the topic.
Grade 6
Ratios & Unit Rates
Grade 6
Ratios & Unit Rates
Content Standards
Mathematical Practices

Other Grade 6 Lessons