Why not get them involved in defining what a strong work ethic means to
them. If they're in an auditorium they can form buzz groups of three or
if in a room where they can easily move around they can form into small
groups of 6 - 8 and ask them to tell each other about a time when they
felt really involved, excited, engaged in some kind of work they were
doing. It could be school, home, sports, choir, a play or whatever. Were
there others who worked with them and really cared about what they were
doing and made the outcome successful. What was that like? what were the
conditions that made for success, etc, etc. Then ask for 5 or 6 stories
to be shared with the whole group. Stories are powerful. Perhaps if they
define work ethic for themselves they can get in touch with what it felt
like and draw on that experience to understand what employers are seeking
in their workforce.
Hope that's helpful. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
Muriel Finegold
--Marafine <Marafine@aol.com>
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>