AGES 12 - 14

AGES 12- 14
September, 1977
GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION OF MENTAL HEALTH AND MENTAL RETARDATION
PREVENTION UNIT
In cooperation with the
GEORGIA STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

There are many people who devoted time and effort to the development of the Life Skills for Mental Health program. We believe the following persons deserve special thanks.

BOB DIXON Griffin Outreach Program

REN DEL STALVEY Georgia Department of Education

BOB FRYE North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
JERRELL LOPP Georgia Department of Education

JOHN SWISHER Pennsylvania State University
JOAN TETEL Chapel Hill-Carrboro School System, North Carolina

JACK SHORT Georgia Department of Education

PAUL VAIL Georgia Department of Education

JERRY ROSEBERRY Georgia Department of Education

JUDYVICARY Addictions Prevention Lab, Pennsylvania

And a special note of thanks to AMY REYNOLDS for the design of the book and cover, and to MARY BROWN for the illustrations of children. And to CATHY CARR and DIXIE REDDING for their secretarial assistance.
The Life Skills for Mental Health program was developed with support from the Alcohol and Drug Section, Division of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, and with technical assistance from the U.S. Office of Education, Southeastern Regional Training Center.

CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS BOOK

HELPFUL NOTES TO TEACHERS AND GROUP LEADERS

5

ACTIVITIES REFERENCE GUIDE

13

ACCEPTANCE OF SELF AND OTHERS

DISCOVERING AND ACCEPTING OURSELVES IS IMPORTANT TO OUR WELL BEING

17

SELF CONCEPT IS DETERMINED BY EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL FORCES

19

IDENTIFYING AND DEVELOPING PERSONAL QUALITIES HELPS TO PROMOTE

POSITIVE SELF IMAGE

20

EACH PERSON CONTRIBUTES TO THE SELF CONCEPT OF OTHERS

21

OUR VALUES AND FEELINGS INFLUENCE OUR CHOICES

22

YOU ARE ALWAYS CHANGING

25

FEELINGS

ALL FEELINGS ARE NORMAL

29

FEELINGS AFFECT YOUR BEHAVIOR

30

WE SHOW FEELINGS IN MANY WAYS

31

EVERYONE EXPERIENCES STRESSFUL FEELINGS

32

PEOPLE REACT DIFFERENTLY TO STRESSFUL SITUATIONS

33

SUCCESS AND FAILURE ARE NORMAL EXPERIENCES OF GROWING UP

34

PROBLEMS CAN BE DEALT WITH CONSTRUCTIVELY

35

PROBLEMS CAN BE DEALT WITH NONCONSTRUCTIVELY

36

TIME ALONE IS IMPORTANT

37

BEING WITH OTHERS

COMMUNICATION SKILLS PROMOTE POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS

41

MEANINGFUL COMMUNICATION IS IMPORTANT IN GROUP INTERACTION

47

FAMILY IS A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP

49

PARENTHOOD IS A RESPONSIBILITY

52

RESPECT FOR THE DIFFERENCES IN PEOPLE IS IMPORTANT

54

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH MEMBERSOFTHEOPPOSITESEX

ISPARTOFGROWINGUP

56

BELONGING TO A GROUP HAS ITS PROS AND CONS

59

APPENDIX

OVERVIEW OF COMMUNICATIONS

63

HOW SELFCONFIDENT AM I?

65

AGE OF THE NONMAN

67

HOW DO YOU FEEL?

69

PERSONAL PRIVACY CHECKLIST

71

LETTER FROM A BOY

73

DRUG ATTITUDE GAME

75

OBSERVATIONS OF GROUP PROCESS

77

ADDITIONAL READINGS

79

ABOUT THIS BOOK
WHAT IS "LIFE SKILLS FOR MENTAL HEALTH"?
This is a Leader's Guide designed to introduce teachers and other adults to a role they can play in helping young people learn about themselves and what they want in relationships with others.
It supports the school's partnership with the family in fostering a young person's total growth. Just as intellectual learning does not stop when the child is away from school, neither does emotional growth stop when the child is away from the family.
It is a resource for general classroom use; it is not intended to be a counseling tool. Teachers are not asked to be therapists.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
The activities help young people learn important skills in dealing with the problems and challenges of living, changing and growing. Life coping skills include clarifying personal values, bUilding more satisfying relationships through productive communication and negotiation, and standing up for oneself.
The activities described in this Guide give young people the opportunity to explore situations they currently face or are likely to face and to consider how they want to handle those situations.
Teachers can use the activities as separate mini-courses during the school day, as part of the lesson plan for a regular subject area, or when naturally occurring situations involve issues raised by the Life Skills activities.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
Schools have always expressed their commitment to the total development of children, including social and emotional growth. In the past, however, schools put more emphasis on basic academic skills - the three R's - to meet the needs of a predominantly rural, newly industrializing society. As our society becomes more complex and more mobile and as change becomes a way of life, the needs increase for schools to join their emphasis on academic skills with an equal emphasis on social and emotional skills. There are at least three areas where attention is needed:
1. Self Awareness and Self-acceptance
There was a time when the values learned at home were supported by neighbors, church, school and the community at large. But television and high mobility have changed the picture, constantly exposing people to a range of views on any issue. Moreover, many of the values we learn as children change as the world around us changes. Consider for example the changing role for women and the values affected by this change. Young people need the opportunity to learn who they are as individuals and what they are willing to stand up for. They must be prepared to sort through conflicting and changing messages to make their own value decisions.

2. Acceptance of Feelings
There seems to be increasing pressure in our society to deny certain basic human feelings that are considered unpleasant. We must always be "up" (take a pill if your're not!). Down is not OK and anger is not nice. The truth is, we all experience the total range of human feelings. But adults as well as children are often naive about expressing feelings productively and choose instead to camouflage them until they build up and spill over uncontrollably.
3. Interpersonal Relationships
The bases of good relationships are the ability to express oneself directly and openly to others, the ability to listen to others, and a genuine respect for the needs and feelings of other people. Few of us practice this much of the time. Especially in conflict situations, we tend to deal with each other through gaming and manipulating or by explosive outbursts when the anger builds up and breaks through inappropriately.
The opportunity to anticipate many life situations we are likely to encounter and to explore important value issues and our relationships with significant others can help us expand our potential for functioning in an increasingly complex world. For some of us, the opportunity to learn important skills as an educational experience rather than as a therapeutic experience after a crisis has occurred, can help us respond more effectively to stress and possibly to avoid or minimize crises.
IT'S IMPORTANT TO TEACHERS, TOO!
In states where similar programs have been used in schools, teachers say that their students become more interested in school, better at communicating, cause fewer discipline problems, work together better and become more productive in their school work. Often, students who have been quiet and withdrawn in class discussions gain a confidence and interest in expressing themselves during Life Skills activities that carry over into subject areas. And when adult leaders genuinely participate in the activities, they are likely to experience the same benefits as their students.
WHO CAN USE IT?
Teachers, mental health workers, counselors, Scout and youth group leaders, among others, can participate in the Life Skills program. The program is not limited to any particular subject area. What subject a person teaches is less important than a commitment to help young people develop as human beings.
IF YOU WANT TO TRY LIFE SKILLS
The Life Skills for Mental Health Program is being offered through participating community mental health centers in Georgia. If your school or organization wants to use the Life Skills material, contact the center in your area. If the center in your area is not participating in the program, contact the Prevention Unit in the State Division of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, Georgia Department of Human Resources.
The centers offer a training workshop to prepare you to use the Life Skills activities and are available to you for follow-up assistance.
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THE TRAINING WORKSHOP
Training is an essential and exciting part of the Life Skills program. The workshop will orient you to the Life Skills program (why it was developed, how it can be used), acquaint you with the type of activities in the Leader's Guides and prepare you to use the activities in your class or group of young people. You will learn four simple strategies to help you:
1. Listening for Feeling - identifying the feelings underlying another person's statement to you and communicating that feeling back to the speaker.
2. Behavior Feedback - pinpointing another person's behavior and the effect of the behavior on you without judging, blaming or name-calling.
3. Values Clarification - specific exercises which help people decide what is important to them and just how strong their convictions are.
4. Role Playing - structuring simulated situations for students to act out.
ORGANIZATION OF THE LEADER'S GUIDE
The Life Skills activities are organized into four different books, or Leader's Guides - one each for four different age groups: 5 to 8 years; 9 to 11 years; 12-14 years; 15-18 years.
Each Leader's Guide has three major activity sections or parts:
1. Acceptance of Self and Others
2. Feelings
3. Being with Others (Interpersonal Relationships)
Each part is introduced by a statement of the goal and general objectives for the activities in that section. The "concept" is given at the top of each page. "Purpose" statements are given at the beginning of a group of activities and link several activities together. One or more purpose statements relate to the concept across the top of the page. In some cases, special explanatory notes follow the purpose statement.
The activities are not arranged in a sequential order that must be followed. On occasion, an activity will build on or refer to an earlier exercise, but this is clearly noted. Leaders are encouraged to become familiar with the activities and select from them as they see fit. Since the Guide is not a day-by-day lesson plan, activities appropriate for the first day of school are not necessarily at the front.
It is not necessary to use every activity in the book. Teachers should choose activities appropriate to their students and to their level of comfort in dealing with the issue. A number of activities suggest additional film or material resources related to the issues being discussed. Teachers who choose to use a film should preview it first to jUdge its appropriateness. The Inside/Out Film Series has a very good teacher's guide which provides additional follow-up activities.
Before the beginning of the three major activities parts is a page listing resources (Activities Reference Guide) from which many of the activities are drawn. Numbers in ( ) after some of the activities correspond to the resources listed in the Activities Reference Guide.
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HOW THE LIFE SKILLS PROGRAM WAS DEVELOPED
For the most part, the material used in this program is not new. In fact, is has been drawn from a variety of well-known and well-tested resources. (See Activities Reference Guide). The value of bringing these resources together is that it gives the adult leader a variety of activities, some simple and some more sophisticated, for exploring a single issue. The activities do not require expensive props or films that often are essential parts of other resources. However, we encourage adult leaders to be creative in using props (e.g., have children make puppets to use in role plays) and to search out film resources that would enhance the Life Skills program. Although a small group of representatives from the Georgia State Department of Education and the State Mental Health System developed the program in a cooperative venture, in many ways it belongs to and is a productof a large group of concerned Georgians. As each Leader's Guide was developed, a rough draft was mailed to teachers, teacher trainers, school administrators, school counselors, mental health workers and agencies and organizations concerned with facilitating the social and emotional growth of Georgia's young people. They were asked to tryout the guide, where appropriate, to review it carefully and to suggest any alterations necessary to make this the best possible resource.
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HELPFUL NOTES TO TEACHERS AND GROUP LEADERS*
PLAN TO USE THE MATERIAL REGULARLY AND FREQUENTLY
Use of the material about twice a week is optimum. Use of the material between once every two weeks and twice a week will still bring about observable changes. If you use the material only once per month or less, you probably will not achieve any observable results.
PLAN FOR AT LEAST ONE HALF HOUR, ON THE AVERAGE, FOR EACH SESSION
Discussion is the most important part of any "Life Skills" activity. The activities are designed to stimulate young people to identify, reflect on, clarify and express their own feelings, values, concerns, etc. Participating in an exercise has some value, but the students' reaction to their own experiences during the activities is most important. Many of the exercises can be completed comfortably within a half hour. Some will take a little more time. It will be easier to judge the amount of time to allow after you have tried a few of the exercises and have a better feel for how your particular group will respond to them. Of course, as they become more comfortable with the nature of the activities, they will want more time for discussion, but will need less time in preparation (e.g., getting over the "sillies" in role play).
USE LIFE SKILLS AS A RESOURCE
You can use the Life Skills materials as a resource in several ways: Look through the concepts and purposes to find activities for use in subject areas where you are dealing with related issues. For example, high school English teachers can use "Romeo and Juliet" as a basis for discussing family conflicts or "dating someone your parents don't like." Elementary teachers can assign "feeling" words for the week's spelling list. Children can find synonyms for the words, make up sentences using the words, pantomime the feeling, etc. When a problem arises that concerns self-acceptance, feelings or relationships with other people, turn to the appropriate section of your Leader's Guide to find an activity that bears on the problem at hand. Develop mini-courses around the topics of communications, interpersonal relationships, and so forth.
* These notes are adapted from Ideas for Making the Most of Ute Skills for Health: Focus on Mental Health, a program developed by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
5

DISCUSS THE ACTIVITIES BEFORE BEGINNING
Because many children are unfamiliar with this type of material, they may be hesitant about participating fully at the beginning. Therefore, tell them why you are doing the activities, what your plans are, what you expect of them and what they should expect from you and their classmates. Let them know that they are free to speak their minds, that there are no right and wrong answers, that you will not be grading them, that the purposes are to explore ideas, feelings, values, problems and especially ourselves.
Before each activity, explain all that is going to happen during the activity. Especially indicate when you will be asking students to share information about themselves that they have written down privately. This will give them an opportunity ahead of time to decide just how much they want to disclose.
BEFORE BEGINNING THE FIRST ACTIVITY, POST A LIST OF RULES IN FULL VIEW OF STUDENTS
Three rules will suffice in the beginning:
1. Only one person talks at a time
2. When one person talks, everyone listens intently
3. No put-downs!
These rules govern participation. When a rule is broken, remind the students immediately by saying and pointing to the appropriate rule. Tell the students that more rules might be necessary in the future if problems develop in the class during Life Skills activities, that the students themselves will be responsible for determining the necessity for and phrasing of any new rules. You, as the teacher, will often have the task of identifying the existence of a class problem and of defining the problem in terms of the harmful effect it has.
Rules 1 and 3 are easy to monitor since they are observable behaviors. Rule 2 is a little harder, but one technique which fosters listening is this: Every so often, stop the class discussion and ask, "Can anyone tell me what the last two people have said?" or, "Can anyone tell me how Jerry and Susie's answers are similar (or different)?" Occasionally, check out these summaries and comparisons by asking the original respondents if they have been quoted accurately.
WHEN POSSIBLE, THE TEACHER SHOULD PARTICIPATE FULLY IN CLASS ACTIVITIES
When students do an exercise, you should do it with them. It is especially important that you participate fully in any sessions where feelings are being expressed. Sharing your own feelings with students establishes, by example, an atmosphere in which they will feel free to be open and honest. And your sharing allows students to get to know the teacher as a real, live human being (not just as an authority figure or as a teaching machine) who has feelings, problems and concerns, who is not infallible and who deserves the same respect as any other human being.
ALLOW ANY STUDENT TO SAY "I PASS" AT ANY TIME
The student might not wish to share a private thought. Make it clear that "I pass" is a perfectly acceptable response that will be honored without question or embarrassment during a discussion. Teachers say that
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although some students do "pass" during initial activities, as time goes by and as group acceptance grows, few students - if any - say "I pass."
DO NOT GRADE LIFE SKILLS ACTIVITIES
Very few teachers have problems motivating students to participate in Life Skills activities. Grades are not necessary as incentives. In any case, it is impossible to grade feelings, values, etc. If it is absolutely necessary that you produce a grade for students, grade on participation. If a student is present, breathing and taking part in an activity, give her an "A".
This is not meant to be a head course where students memorize the definition of "feelings" or "value" or the three parts of a behavior feedback statement; rather it is the opportunity for them actually to express their feelings and convictions. It is the actual practice of relating to others and making value decisions that is essential.
USE THE GROUP DISCUSSION SKILLS "LISTENING FOR FEELING"
"Listening for Feeling," as a facilitating response during a group discussion, has the following benefits:
1. It establishes a nonjudgmental, uncritical atmosphere in the class. This encourages students to talk about their true concerns and feelings.
2. It keeps discussions on a personal level and prevents the class from drifting into bull sessions or from talking about impersonal generalities.
3. It encourages students to reflect on and clarify their own thoughts and feelings.
Listening for Feeling works like this: When a student makes a statement, try to identify the student's own personal feeling concerning what he is saying. Accept the student's right to his own feeling and verbalize that feeling back to the student. Use statements such as:
It's important to you that. ..
Sounds like you are pretty excited about. ..
You'd rather. ..
You're worried that. ..
It's embarrassing to you when people...
Remember, you are reflecting the feeling you hear, not mandating how the student should feel.
Allow students time to respond to your Listening for Feeling statements. Typically, you will have three or four interchanges with a student when you use this skill. The student will make a statement. You will identify and verbalize a feeling that you perceive in the student. The student will expand upon his feeling, clarify it, give a reason for it, correct you, or (commonly) state another, related feeling. You will identify and verbalize the new or more precise feeling, and the student will react again. Normally, the student will end the interchanges by agreeing with your previous statement by his silence, tone of voice, etc. Then, the teacher goes on to another student.
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ACTIVELY STIMULATE PARTICIPATION, DISCUSSION AND THOUGHT
In addition to Listening for Feeling, you can look directly at the student who is speaking, smile, nod and thank the student for his contribution or for sharing his thoughts. Do not agree or disagree with the statement. The Life Skills activities are times when students are encouraged to think for themselves; if you pass judgment on their thoughts at this time, you will find that they will respond in the way they think you would like to hear. They will be trying to figure you out, not figure themselves out!
Feel free to raise questions about what students say. Ask for examples or paraphrase them. But don't force answers or force students to justify their comments. The object is to encourage thought and open, honest expression - not to pin students down or to persuade them. Draw out those with whom you personally agree as well as those with whom you disagree.
Encourage diverse expressions of values, feelings and attitudes. Minority opinions should be sought out. Listen carefully to all students, even if what they say is poorly stated, ludicrous or obnoxious.
When calling on students to participate orally in a Life Skills session, select them on a random, not predictable, basis. Change questions frequently. Ifthis practice is notfollowed, you will find students merely parroting what some other student has said, rather than thinking the question through.
Keep the discussion moving and focused by asking questions such as, "Has anyone else ever felt that way?" "Has anyone else ever had the problem of... ?" "I'd really liketo hear more about that. Can you expand on it?" "Jerry, you frowned when Cathy said that. I wonder if you feel differently?"
The physical arrangement of the room can contribute to successful discussions, too. Experiment with large
and small circles of chairs, "u" shaped seating arrangements, double circles, and so forth. Discussions seem
more personal and students more attentive and sincere when they can see the faces of the other students.
DO NOT ASSUME IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO SOLVE ALL PROBLEMS
If, in the course of a session, a student relates a personal problem, use Listening for Feeling to help clarify and define the issue. Give him a chance to do his "emotional homework" by dealing with his own problem himself. Help out by suggesting some alternatives, if necessary. Even help him think through the alternatives but let him choose his own solution.
Naturally, this advice does not apply to serious emotional disturbances. Seek other help in dealing with these students. "Life Skills for Mental Health" was designed for use in preventing problems, not treating them.
When problems occur that involve the entire group, engage the whole group in problem solving. Facilitate their discussion of the problem, the alternatives available to solve the problem, the consequences of these alternatives and the desired result. Let them select a potential solution. Let them make mistakes and go through the problem solving process again.
Although it is useful to let students make (and correct) mistakes, it is also useful for the teacher to model the process of anticipating problems and preventing them before they occur. For this purpose, and also to insure that the intended focus of a session is maintained, the teacher should share with the students any worries or concerns before beginning an activity. For example, if your goal is to help students to become aware of and be able to identify sources of emotional stress, you might ask them to complete some open-ended statements such as:
I get nervous when...
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I don't like... It seems unfair to me that. .. Something that really gets me angry is... You might be afraid that a student would write the name of another student after the "I don't like..." statement. Before beginning this activity, you could state to the class: "I'm afraid that somebody might write the name of a classmate in the space after 'I don't like...' and that person will really get his feelings hurt. Therefore, I'm asking you not to write the name of anybody in this class in this exercise." This is an opportunity to help students learn to express feelings such as "dislike" for actions and behavior rather than "dislike" for the person.
PLAN A WAY OF CONCLUDING EACH ACTIVITY
Closure is an important part of an experimental activity. It is important to spend time processing the exercise so that students develop a conscious awareness of what has gone on in the activity and learn why the events of the activity happened as they did. Use one or more of the following methods at the completion of an activity:
1. Summarize what has happened and what your goal was in doing the activity. 2. Ask one or two students to summarize or make generalizations about the meaning of an activity. Ask
them to comment on the outcome and how it relates to real life. 3. Invite the class to discuss their views about the purposes of the activity. 4. Ask each person to complete one or more statements:
Today I learned... In today's class, I wish we had... I was surprised to learn... One thing I learned about myself today is... The most important thing that happened today is... I would like to spend more time on ... In today's class, I wish I had said... In today's class, I'm sorry that I. .. It bothers me that. .. Today's class would have meant more to me if...
Discuss a few of these.
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5. Have each student keep an ongoing "journal" of her own reactions to activities. Collect these now and then, read them and write positive comments of your own in the student's journals. Ask students to share voluntarily a few of their recorded thoughts occasionally.
Don't rush through this. Plan ahead for sufficient time. You will benefit from this as much as your students will.
AS A FIRST RESORT, USE NON-PUNITIVE METHODS OF DEALING WITH BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
When one or more students bug you by their behavior, try a method called "Giving Behavior Feedback." This technique is based on the principles underlying "Life Skills for Mental Health." That is, awareness, understanding and respect for ourselves and other people. To the extent that you choose to be authoritarian and punitive, class atmosphere conducive to success with Life Skills deteriorates.
Giving Behavior Feedback goes like this: Tell the student exactly what she has done, describing an observable behavior. If there has been a concrete, observable effect of that behavior, describe that, too. Then describe your own feeling about the behavior and the result. If it might not be clear how the behavior and its result led to your feeling, describe that also. Then quit! Example: "When you talk while I'm talking, the others do not hear me and I feel unimportant, like what I say really doesn't matter." Do not tell the student what you think he might do. Give him time to change his behavior, and save face too, before trying another method of dealing with behavior problems. Teachers report that it may take a day or two, but it works surprisingly well.
The key to using this technique is to have the courage to reveal your own feelings. If a student makes you feel unimportant, foolish, helpless, frustrated or hostile, tell her so. Her concern for you as a vulnerable human being is her motivation to change her behavior; she has to know that you have feelings before she can care about not hurting them.
One of the best things about this technique is that it leaves the responsibility with the student for his own behavior. You do not assume responsibility for his behavior by telling or advising him what he should or shouldn't do. You only describe the behavior and effects, both observable and emotional.
Giving Behavior Feedback can and should be used for behavior that is pleasing to you as well as for behavior that is displeasing.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE BENEFITS OF ROLE PLAYING
Role playing can be used to dramatize, expand or extend many Life Skills activities. Role playing is helpfUl in making issues seem real, modeling, identifying problems, rehearsing behavior, identifying alternative solutions to problems, projecting possible consequences of different actions, learning to empathize, generating data for discussions, examining interpersonal communications, and understanding causes of behavior. Besides all that, it can really be fun!
The following suggestions promote successful role playing:
Show enthusiasm. If you seem hesitant or dubious, your group will behave similarly.
Before beginning a role play, orient the students to the general subject matter. Example: "Today I'd like for us to investigate how people's values influence their behavior. For the sake of example, we'll be looking at some of the factors that bear on decisions about the use of alcohol." Although the role play will have a structure and you will have a specific purpose in mind for doing the role play, do not state or even have in mind a predetermined outcome for the role play itself.
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Select role players (volunteers if possible). Keep the number small; two to five people is best.
Briefly describe the situation to be role played and the characters involved. Assign role play identities to the role players. Give each person a name other than his or her own.
Set an approximate time limit for the actual role play - hardly ever more than five minutes - and state that you will arbitrarily stop the role play at some point.
Tell the role players to imagine that they really are the characters they are portraying, that they are really not themselves. Ask them to picture how they look and feel as their assigned characters.
Give the role, players 30 seconds to prepare themselves and then say "begin."
If at any point the role players seem unsure as to what to say or how to proceed, solicit a few suggestions from the rest of the group. Do this only if the players really get stuck - tolerate brief silences and minor floundering.
Cut the role playoff while it is still going strong. Don't wait for it to peter out. If your object is to see how the role players solve the problem, but they don't seem to be getting close, interrupt the role play and ask the characters to come to a solution.
At the end of the role play, lead the applause and praise the role players, even if they didn't produce an "Academy Award" performance.
During the discussion following a role play, always refer back to the characters by their role play names, not their real names. Insist that the class follow this procedure, too.
Always have a planned follow-up to the role play. Depending on what takes place during the role play, you might have to alter your plan somewhat, but have some prepared questions that will relate the role play to your object in doing it. Ask questions like:
What alternatives did Linda have besides what she actually did?
What do you think might have been the consequences of the way Billy was acting?
What values were important to the mother in the role play?
How would you feel now if you were Amy?
How did Jimmy feel about. ..?
Some children first respond to role playing by apparent apathy or by "clowning." This usually reflects their hidden anxiety. Reduce anxiety by showing acceptance of student performances and comments and by making serious responses to ideas, even if they are presented jokingly. If clowning persists, talk about it with the group, discussing why people sometimes act silly when they are afraid inside. For students who seem reluctant to participate actively in role plays, ask them after the role play is finished if they were thinking of anything that they didn't say. Or ask a student what she would have said if she had been a role player.
It is often interesting and enlightening to use "role reversal" after a role play or following a discussion of a role play. Assign characters to opposite roles and do the play again. Another form of role reversal involves assigning girls and boys to opposite roles.
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Variations of role playing: (1) on the blackboard, write the names of one or two imaginary people, or use a poster or magazine picture. Briefly describe these people and the situations they are in, and ask the group to state what the characters might be saying, feeling or thinking; (2) divide the class into two groups, assign each group the role of one person, describe the roles and the situation and ask for random statements. Either of these variations can be used if you absolutely can't get any students to volunteer for a role play you have already set up. As the class becomes more experienced at role playing, they can offer suggestions for situations and characters to be role played, based on their own concerns and characteristics. After students become comfortable with role playing and understand its purpose, you can role play real situations, either re-enacting problems or anticipating potential problems such as getting lost from the group on a field trip.
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ACTIVITIES REFERENCE GUIDE
Many of the activities used in this gUide were adapted from the following resources. The activities followed by a number reference, e.g., The Different Me's (2) refer by number to the resources listed below. 1. The New Model Me, 1973, The Educational Research Council of America (Cleveland,
Ohio) and the Lakewood City (Ohio) Public Schobl System. 2. Life Skills for Health - Focus on Mental Health, Division of Health, Safety and Physical
Education, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Raleigh, North Carolina. 3. Self, Incorporated Teachers Manual, 1975, Agency for Instructional Television (formerly
National Instructional Television), Bloomington, Indiana. 4. Toward Affective Development (TAD), 1974, American Guidance Service, Inc., Circle
Pines, Minnesota. Note to reader: The materials used with permission from the Educational Research Council are part of the Education in Human Behavior and Potential Program. For further information on the total program, contact Dr. Eddie E. Myers, Director, Evaluative Research and Psychology Depart ment, Educational Research Council of America, Rockefeller Building, Cleveland, Ohio 44113.
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ACCEPTANCE OF SELF AND OTHERS
TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE BECOME MORE ACCEPTING OF THEMSELVES AND THE SIGNIFICANT PEOPLE WITH WHOM THEY COME IN CONTACT
To feel better about self as an individual with talents and personal qualities that are valuable
To be less critical of personal limitations
To accept personal characteristics which cannot be changed
To appreciate others' talents and accept their limitations
To be able to clarify important value issues, especially in the face of conflicting messages
To accept the decisions that others make and the values that others hold as being legitimate for them
To be able to generalize learning that occurs in specific situations to other similar situations

DISCOVERING AND ACCEPTING OURSELVES IS IMPORTANT TO OUR WELL-BEING

Purpose:
To help young people gain more understanding of themselves.
ACTIVITIES
DISCOVERING MYSELF
1. Notes to Myself - Ask students to start "journals" that they will keep for the entire period the group is together. The journal should be exactly what they want it to be - and private. They can write in it about any personal experiences, feelings, or whatever. It does not have to be a diary or a daily account of their lives. Encourage them to add to their journals often and to use their journals to learn about themselves. They may want to add any of the written Life Skills Activities. Suggest that they give their journal a title and decorate the cover to say something about themselves. From time to time, people may want to share notes from their journal, but this should not be required.
2. Dream Log - Suggest to students that they keep logs of their dreams, as a way of learning more about themselves. They can notice if there are any recurring themes or expressions of feelings they are not aware of when they are awake. Suggest that they write down notes on their dreams as soon as they wake up, since dreams often fade quickly. The dream log can be kept as part of the personal journal.
WHOAM I
1. The Different Me's (2) - Ask each person

to complete the following sentences:
To me, I am ...
To my family, I am .
To my peers, I am .
To a special friend, I am ...
2. Self-Confidence Evaluation (2) - Complete "How Self-Confident Am I" questionnaire (see Appendix). Ask students to give answers to the class. Discuss what self-confidence is, where we derive selfconfidence, and what we can do to increase our self-confidence.
3. Reincarnation (2) - Explain to the class what reincarnation is. Then ask the students if there were such a thing as reincarnation, what would they come back as and why? Give them time to think and justify their choice. Then ask them to share their choices with the class in small groups or with the whole class.
4. Strengths and Limitations - Ask students to finish these four sentences:
My strong points are . .. (Consider health, creativity, common sense, good habits, natural ability, honesty, sincerity, skills, etc.)
My most serious handicaps are ... (Consider bad habits, bad temper, moodiness, poor ways of solving problems, etc.)
Things about myself I can improve are . .. (Consider how you may become a more cooperative, more hopeful, more helpful person)
Things I am going to have to live with are ... (If you have certain handicaps that cannot be overcome, can you learn to accept them and still live happily? What attitudes have helped you do so gracefu Ily?)

17

5. What To Wear (2) - Ask each student to pretend he has been asked to a come-asyou-really-are party. Each student writes a paragraph discussing what he would wear. Discuss in small groups.

6. I Am (2) - Ask each person to complete

this sentence in paragraph form. Discuss

writings.

I am a

who

_

7. Dear Me (2) - Ask each person to write a "Dear Me" letter telling herself how she feels about herself right now. Students may choose whether or not to share this with the class.

8. I Am Somebody (1) Note to teachers: This activity can be done in art class or with help from the art teacher. The collages can be done outside class and brought in without names. Group discussion can center on identifying the personal strengths the artist captured in her collage.
Ask students to make self-portrait collages. Each student can use pictures from magazines, pictures of herself and symbols or original art to represent who she is, what she does well, what she likes about herself. Then paste her pictures, etc., on her individual poster board ina random arrangement.

18

SELF CONCEPT IS DETERMINED BY
EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL FORCES

Purpose:
To help young people recognize those forces that affect self image.
ACTIVITIES
SELF CONCEPT (2)
1. What is Self-Concept? - Discuss meaning of self-concept (self-concept is a combination of what we see on the outside and what we see on the inside). Discuss how a self-concept is formed. Discuss who controls our self-concept

and whose self-concept we control. How?
2. Most Important Person - Ask each student to write a paragraph on "The Most Important Person In The World To Me." Why? How does this person affect your self-concept?
3. Improving Self-Image - Ask each student to write a paper discussing things he could do to improve or support the self-concept of someone else. The other person need not be named, but should be a real person.

19

IDENTIFYING AND DEVELOPING PERSONAL QUALITIES HELPS TO PROMOTE POSITIVE SELFIMAGE

Purpose:
To help young people gain a positive self image through setting and achieving per sonal goals, and to help them value the good personal qualities they already have.
ACTIVITIES
IMPROVING SELF CONCEPT
1. Eulogy (2) - Ask each student to write a eulogy for himself as if he were to die in the next hour.
2. Goals and Self-Concept (2) - Explain that reaching personal goals helps to create a better self-concept. Ask each

person to identify one personal goal and list five steps to that goal, e.g., GOAL: losing weight; TO DO SO: see a doctor, exercise, eliminate sweets, etc. Other goals could include: getting a boyfriend, doing better in a subject, or solving a personal problem. Ask each person to work on a goal and report back to the class in one month.
3. Explain to the class that there are areas in which many of us would like to improve. Ask each student to complete a personal chart listing the areas in which he would like to improve (e.g., music, dancing, art, relationships with family, math, etc.) the date he began, and steps he took to improve. In one month, ask students to give a report "What I've Improved In.''

20

EACH PERSON CONTRIBUTES TO THE SELF-CONCEPT OF OTHERS

Purpose:
To help young people recognize the ways In which they affect the self-concept of others.
ACTIVITIES
INFLUENCING OTHERS (2)
1. Positive Statements - Ask each student to list every other student's name on a piece of paper and to write beside the name one positive statement about that person. The teacher's name should be included on the list. Stress the fact that there is something positive about everyone. While the students are doing this, hang pieces of paper around the room one for each student and the teacher. Write a student's name at the top of each paper.
Have felt pens stationed near each sheet and have the students write their positive statements on the appropriate papers. When everyone is finished, go over them with the class and let each student take her paper home.
2. Affecting Someone Else - Discuss the

statement: "You can affect positively and negatively another person's mental health." Consider these questions:
What is mental health? What is self-concept? How is the self-concept altered?
Suggestion: You may want to share a situation when your self-concept was affected. Ask students to volunteer personal experiences.
3. What is More Important? - Ask each person to write a paper on the topic: "What Is More Important, My Feelings or The Feelings of Others?" After collecting the papers, randomly distribute the papers to the class. Each person writes a one paragraph response to a main idea in the paper she has received. These responses should not attack or ridicule the original idea but should express a strongly-felt opinion of the person responding. Discuss these responses.
4. Self-Concept In the Classroom - Discuss some specific methods by which students and teachers affect each other's self-concept, e.g.,' grading, disciplining, paying attention. Suggest some reforms.

71"U 21

OUR VALUES AND FEELINGS INFLUENCE OUR CHOICES

Purpose:
To help young people understand the significance of personal values and to appreciate how our values are influenced and how our values affect our behavior.
Resourse: "Trying Times," part of the Self, Incorporated Film Series, produced by the Agency for Instructional Television and available from the Georgia Educational TV Network and the State Department of Education Film Library.
ACTIVITIES
VALUES AND FACTS (3)
1. Ask the class to discuss the difference between "value judgments" and "factual judgments". Both of these are normal responses to everyday situations, and often the two types of judgment are intertwined.
A "valljejudgment" is a personal reaction to a statement or situation based on feelings. These feelings help us decide whether something is "good" or "bad," acceptable or unacceptable. Either our own personal preferences or standards set by a social group determine our value judgments.
A "factual judgment" is based on direct experience or observation. It can be tested for its accuracy. Factual judgments usually don't involve the question

of good or bad, although we may have strong feelings about the "facts." (For example, it's a fact that the suicide rate among young people has increased drastically; our emotional reactions to that fact are value judgments.)
2. Ask the class to decide which of the following statements are factual judgments and which are value judgments:
It is important to listen to one's own values. Teenagers should not smoke or drink. The moon is 238,857 miles from the earth. The cerebral cortex is the outer covering of the brain. It is important to fit into a group. Boys with long hair look better than girls with long hair. Women and men should have equal opportunities for work. Students are not allowed to smoke in your school. In 1968, there were 666 television stations in the U.S.
3. Who Counts The Most? - Most people are concerned about what other people think of them. This exercise should help people clarify how others influence their own behavior. Prepare a handout for students to do individually without signing. Collect handouts and redistribute so that students' lists remain anonymous. Tabulate responses on the blackboard.

22

Who Counts the Most?

How important are the opinions of each of these people in determining what you do? (Put a number from 1 to 6 in each blank. A rank of 1 is high. A rank of 6 is low.)

Brothers/

Parents/

Best

Other

Other

Self

Sisters

Guardians

Friend

Friends

Adults

How you dress?

How hard you work in school?

What you want?

If you smoke?

How you wearyour hair?

What you do outside of school?

If you date?

Who influences you the most?

Compare results with other members of the class, and discuss why the answers may be different.

23

WHAT INFLUENCES YOUR CHOICES?
Note: This activity is intended to help young people explore the way they go about reaching decisions: the alternatives they see, the principles underlying their choice of alternatives (i.e., some alternatives would not even be considered - why?), and the questions they consider in reaching a choice. Very often we make choices based on some arbitrary principle (i.e., the oldest should have the room by himself) or we assume that we should always (not just when we truly want to) give up what we want or need for the sake of someone else. Help class members use this situation to appreciate their own needs as important. Even though they are the youngest, it may make more sense for them to have the room alone, if it is important to them.
1. Present the followi ng situation to the class and ask for their suggested solutions to the problem.
Pretend that you have two brothers (if you are a boy) or two sisters (if you are a girl). You are the youngest. You have just moved into a new house or apartment, and the three of you must decide how you will share the two bedrooms. What do you think would be the best possible arrangement? What questions did you consider in making your choice?
Consider a variety of situations:
Suppose one sibling plays a musical instrument and needs a place to practice.
Suppose one sibling is more of a "loner. " Suppose one sibling has very different habits - is neater or messier, for example.
Suppose you are the person in the above situations.
Suppose it doesn't matter to any of you whether you share or have a room alone.

Variation: Divide the class into groups of three and ask each group to assume the roles of three brothers or three sisters. Ask them to consider the above situations or any new circumstances they want to introduce (that are plausible).
2. Ask the class to think through their "decision making" processes in activity Number 1. Can they, as a group, come up with a sequence of mental processes that we usually go through when we make important choices?
Define the problem.
Gather information that relates to the problem.
Look at choices.
Examine own values, interests, and needs in relation to choices.
Consider short and long-term effects of various choices. Rank the choices in order of preference and arrive at a decision.
Take action on decision.
Reevaluate choice and consider whether a different choice should be made.
3. The "decision making" process outlined above is very rational. Often, our emotions or group pressure have more influence on our decisions than "facts" or reason. Our decisions are not always rational. Consider the following:
Deciding to smoke when we know smoking damages our he'alth.
Eating heavy when we need to lose weight.
Having sex without birth control when we don't want to have a baby.
Driving when we've had too much to drink.

24

YOU ARE ALWAYS CHANGING

Purpose:
To help young people recognize the changes that occur in their lives and to appreciate that some changes are natural, while others are influenced by our choices.
ACTIVITIES
CHANGES
1. Life Lines (1) - Divide the class into small groups (3-5 people) and give the following instructions:
Part I Draw a line horizontally across the middle of an 8V2 x 11-inch blank paper. The line represents your life from birth (at the left end) to the present (at the right end). Privately review the years you have lived. Along the line label the events that were turning points in your life. You may wish to discuss some of the events with your group. What caused or led to the turning points? Are many of the turning points in your life similar to those of other group members?
Part II Draw a line horizontally across the middle of an 8V2 x 11-inch blank paper. The line represents your expected life from the present (at the left end) as far into the future as you wish (toward the right). Privately imagine the years you have ahead of you. Along the line, label the events you believe will be turning points in your life. You may wish to discuss some of the events with your group. Are there things you can do now to make your

expected future become your probable future?
2. Ask students to list privately 20 adjectives that describe themselves as they are now. List these adjectives down the left side of the page. In a column to the right of the list, put a checkmark by each adjective that would not have been on the list five years ago. Down the right of the page, list adjectives not currently on the list, but that would probably be on the list five years from now. Divide the class into small groups to share their descriptions. Ask them to notice in what ways they have changed, and in what ways they expect to change. How have they stayed the same?
3. liThe Age of the Non-Man"
Note: We experience change in ourselves as we grow physically and emotionally, and we also experience change in the world around us. Social values change, and modern technology introduces us to new life styles. This activity presents one person's view of our future world and asks readers to explore their personal viewpoints about the life style he predicts.
Read liThe Age of the Non-Man" (see Appendix). Discuss with the class:
Think of some ways that U.S. society has changed in the last 100 years. Think of changes in values (e.g., the importance of marriage, family, material possessions) as well as changes in technology (automobiles, airplanes, telephone, computers, etc.)and changes in styles of living (rural to urban, increased mobility).
For each change, think of the advantages and disadvantages brought about by the change. In general, do you agree or disagree with the change?
liThe Age of the Non-Man" suggests that modern man is trying to escape

25

the "bothers" of life (fuzz on peaches, bees that sting, etc.)andasaresult, he has escaped life altogether. Do you agree or disagree? Is escape a good alternative? How do some people try to escape (e.g., alcohol, other drugs, suicide)?
(Note: If students feel strongly that "escape is never good," have them consider times when it might be helpful - for example, getting away from
it all for a weekend. When is escape
helpful and when is it not?)
I THINK I'VE CHANGED
Note: This activity provides the opportunity for

people to share the changes they have experienced as a result of participating in the "Life Skills" exercises. It is especially helpful as a structured closure at the end of the time that the group will be participating in "Life Skills" activities together (e.g., end of school year).
Ask students to form a circle in the center of the room. Anyone who wishes may start by telling how she feels she has changed during the time she has participated in this program. Ask people to limit their time to five minutes, and to share only those changes they have observed since the time when the class first began the Life Skills activities. Some people may be interested in finding out how (or if) they have changed in the eyes of others.

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26

FEELINGS
TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE BE MORE ACCEPTING OF ALL FEELINGS
To identify feelings To accept all feelings as legitimate To claim feelings rather than camouflage them To recognize personal responsibility in choosing how to act on a feeling

ALL FEELINGS ARE NORMAL

Purpose:
To help young people accept all feelings as legitimate.
To help people recognize that we all have emotional needs and that there are many ways to satisfy those needs.
ACTIVITIES

I NEED (2)
Ask each student to complete the following sentences. Discuss in class.
I need to be loved because ... I am loved by ... I need to belong to something because ... I belong to ... When someone needs me, I feel ...

HOW DO YOU FEEL?
Pass out a copy of "How Do You Feel?" to each person (see Appendix). Ask the class to complete the sentences and, on a volunteer basis, discuss the answers. Leading questions for discussion:
Did any of your answers surprise you? Did the answers of other students surprise You? Do you think most of your answers are similar to those of other students?
NEEDS (2)
As a class, list physical and emotional needs, e.g., food, rest, security, belongingness, achievement, recognition, self expression, and list ways in which these needs can be met. The teacher then divides the class into groups of five. Each group tries to list twenty ways by which individuals can meet an emotional need (the group chooses which need to work on).

29

FEELINGS AFFECT YOUR BEHAVIOR

Purpose:
To help people appreciate how strong feel ings can influence our behavior and the be havior of others.
Note: Sometimes, conflicts occur when two people in very different moods collide. One person is tired and irritable, and the other person is feeling energetic and wants to share the energy, give attention and be received with enthusiasm. These exercises help students accept such periodic collisions as "natural" and understand that their own feelings often influence their interactions
with others in a way they did not intend.
Resource: "What's Wrong With Jonathan?" part of the Self, Incorporated Film Series, produced by Agency for Instructional Te/e vision and available from the Georgia Educa tlonal TV Network and the Georgia State Department of Education Film Library.
ACTIVITIES
INF,=-UENCE OF EMOTIONS 1. Discuss how emotions can influence rou-
tine activities and make them unsafe, e.g., driving a car, babysitting. Ask students to relate personal experiences. (2)
2. Ask for volunteers to role play the following situations:
Mother comes home from work with a splitting headache and feeling very tired. Child has waited excitedly for mother to come in so she can show the mother a special picture she has painted. Child excitedly asks mother to come to her room. Mother is irritatated; doesn't want to be bothered right now.
Child wakes up in a bad mood. He has a hard time getting out of bed and is running late for school. Father teases

him about his bad mood - then begins to rush the child so he will get to school on time.
After each role play, discuss the following:
What did you hear the parent saying? What was the parent feeling?
What did you hear the child saying? What was the child feeling?
Were the parent and child saying what they were feeling?
In what ways would you react differently if you had been the parent? the child?
What similar situations have you had in your family?
When situations such as this arise in the future, will there be any changes in your reactions? Explain.
HERE AND NOW FEELINGS (4)
Note: Children learn by watching adults in
real situations. This is an example of using a
naturally occurring "teachable moment" to model some of the behaviors (e.g., sharing feelings, problem solving) demonstrated in other activities.
At some time when things are not going well and students seem to be working against each other, stop whatever activity is going on. Share your feelings with the class. ("I'm feeling frustrated because we don't seem to be working well together today," is sharing feelings. "You kids are driving me crazy!" is blaming the kids for the way you feel.) Let them know that your feelings do not stem only from the way things are going in the group at any particular time. Explain that sometimes you have problems at home or at work that are not related to anything that happens in the class. After you have shared your feelings, ask students to share their feelings and any ideas they have about why things are going so badly. Ask for suggestions to improve the situation.

30

WE SHOW FEELINGS IN MANY WAYS

Purpose:
To help people recognize acceptance and de nial of feelings in themselves and in others.
Note: When we have strong feelings, sometimes we are able to accept the feelings, to admit what our true feelings are, but often we deny our feelings and pretend that we feel differently from the way we really feel inside.
ACTIVITIES
ACCEPTING FEELINGS (4)
Discuss with the class the difference between "acceptance" and "denial" of feelings. Read the situations below. Read the first situation and identify the "accepting response" and the "denying response" as an example. For the remaining four situations, read each situation and responses, but ask the class to identify which response is "accepting" and which is "denying".
You used to do well in science, but lately you've been doing poorly.
Accepting response: I am disappointed and discouraged, too. Denying response: I don't care anyway!
The teacher just yelled at you for not payattention.

Accepting response: My feelings are hurt, I'm embarrased. Denying response: The teacher didn't really mean it.
Your poem won first prize. Accepting response: I'm really glad. Denying response: It wasn't that good.
Someone just took your new bike without your permission. Accepting response: I don't like it at all. Denying response: Oh, it doesn't matter.
Someone just cheated in the game. Accepting response: I'm mad when someone doesn't play by the rules. Denying response: What's the difference.
Now read the next five situations. Ask people to volunteer examples of "accepting" and "denying" responses.
Your best friend just moved away from your school.
Your friends won't let you play in their game.
You've been chosen for an important part in the Christmas play.
You just cheated on a test. Someone spilled paint on your new shirt on purpose.

31

EVERYONE EXPERIENCES STRESSFUL FEELINGS

Purpose:
To help people understand that everyone ex periences stress at different times, and to help them recognize possible external and internal sources of stress.
To help people deal with feelings of anxiety and insecurity.

operating. One voice says, "Do this" and another says, "Do that." Ask each student to choose a conflict in which the internal voices have been operating, e.g., whether or not to save one's allowance. Students then write a dialogue between the two voices. Read to the class and discuss.
ANXIETY AND INSECURITY

ACTIVITIES
SOURCES OF STRESS (2)

1. Discuss with the class: "We All Feel Anxious Sometimes." What is "anxiety"? How does it feel? What are some things that make us feel anxious?

As a class, list sources of emotional stress, e.g., death, divorce, marriage, work, retirement, a serious illness in the family, accidents, financial problems, moving, an engagement, a date, a job, school - and discuss possible effects of the stresses.

2. Discuss headaches or stomach aches and how they represent anxiety. Then find solutions. Ask children if they have ever had a headache on a test day?
3. Role-play

DO TH IS, DO THAT (2)
Explain that when we are confronted with a dilemma, several voices within our head begin

Divide the class into groups of five. Ask each group to role playa stressful situation ending with a solution. Discuss how the actors solved the problem.

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32

-~.

PEOPLE REACT DIFFERENTLY TO STRESSFUL SITUATIONS

Purpose:
To help people explore ways to respond to their personal sources of stress.
ACTIVITIES
EMOTIONAL CRISIS (2)
Ask each person to collect newspaper articles that describe how an individual reacts to an emotional crisis. Discuss the emotional need which the person may be trying to satisfy. In what other ways might the emotional need have been met?
HANDLING STRESS (2)
Ask each person to describe how he handles anger or frustration. List the various ways on the board. Discuss the possible reactions to

these behaviors. Discuss alternative ways of reacting.
RECENT EXPERIENCE (2)
Ask each student to write a description of a few strong emotions she has experienced in the past few days. Also, include a brief description of the situation in which the feelings occurred. She should answer the questions:
How did you respond, physically and mentally, to the situation? What were the reasons for your responses?
TWO-DAY LOG (2)
Keep a two-day log of the emotional reactions displayed by people around you. Discuss or write a report on the effect these reactions had on you and other people who were present. (Include in your personal journal - see "Notes to Myself.")

33

SUCCESS AND FAILURE ARE NORMAL EXPERIENCES IN GROWING UP

Purpose:
To help young people explore the feelings associated with success and failure; to help them see failure as a temporary setback and recognize that the standards we set for "success" and "failure" change as we grow up.
Note: Sometimes, when we've given our very best effort, we don't reach the goal we had intended. If the goal is especially important, the initial feelings of disappointment can drain enthusiasm and self confidence. These activities help young people appreciate that no one is successful all of the time, that everyone experiences the feelings of disappointment, and that there are ways we can help ourselves live with temporary setbacks.
Resource: "Down and Back," part of the Self, Incorporated Film Series, produced by the Agency for Instructional Television and available from the Georgia Educational TV Network and the State Department of Education Film Library.
ACTIVITIES
SUCCESS AND FAILURE
1. Ask the class to generate a list of "Situations" that cause teenagers to experience feelings of failure and disappointment. Divide the class into teams and ask each team to develop a short skit around one of the situations showing how they think they would deal with the disappointment. Each team can present its skit to the entire class and class members can suggest alternative ways of responding to feelings of disappointment.
2. Ask the class to volunteer personal ex-

periences that illustrate the situations below. What were the feelings? How did they handle the situation? (3)
Sometimes when you achieve something it becomes unimportant.
Sometimes when you fail at something, it becomes less important than you thought.
Sometimes when you think something is really important, it becomes less important as time goes by.
3. Divide the class into small groups (5 - 6 people). Each group member should write on a 3 x 5 card an important personal goal (to lose 10 pounds, to be a cheerleader, to improve math grade, etc.). Do not put names on the cards. All cards should be put in a pile and drawn out one by one. One student in the group should read each card as it is drawn. All efforts should be made to insure the author's anonymity, unless he volunteers ownership. All members (including the author) can offer suggestions for reaching the goal.
This activity can be carried further by having each member map out a plan for reaching her goal (for example, set up a time schedule for losing 10 pounds and the action she will take - diet, exercise, etc. - to accomplish her goal). Each student can keep a daily or weekly log of her activities related to her goal, her "successes" or"failures" and her feelings about her successes or failures. The group may choose to meet periodically so members can share their progress (of course, at this point anonymity would be given up). Members can encourage each other and help reevaluate the action being taken.

34

PROBLEMS CAN BE DEALT WITH CONSTRUCTIVELY

Purpose:
To help young people consider different ways of responding to problems and to rec ognize the difference between constructive and nonconstructive solutions.
ACTIVITIES
DEAR ABBY (2)
Ask each person to write a "Dear Abby" letter expressing one of his emotional problems or a problem of someone he knows. Explain beforehand that the letter will be discussed. Students need not sign their real name. They can make up names that reflect the problem such as "Worried" or "Broken Hearted." As a class, discuss the problem, alternative solutions, and the advantages and disadvantages of each solution.

ROLE PLAY STRESSFUL SITUATIONS (2)
Pass out 3x5-inch cards to each student. Ask the students to write down one stressful situation and turn it in, e.g., getting caught smoking by one's parents, telling parents that their car was damaged in an accident while you were driving. Assign roles to students and ask them to act out the situation, coming to a solution. As a class, discuss alternative solutions.

SOLUTIONS FOR FAMILY CONFLICTS
As a class, list areas of family conflict. Divide the class into small discussion groups. Choose the conflicts most frequently listed and assign each group a conflict situation to discuss and propose resolutions for. Report to the class for further discussion.

WORRY SOLUTIONS (2)
Ask each student to compile a list of things that worry him most. Compile a master list anonymously listing the worries. Propose resol utions.

35

PROBLEMS CAN BE DEALT WITH NONCONSTRUCTIVELY

Purpose:
To help young people consider different ways of responding to problems and to recognize the differences between constructive and non-constructive solutions.
Note: Most people who try drugs and alcohol do not become "abusers," but some do, for different reasons. Sometimes drugs area way
of dealing with a very uncomfortable problem.
Certainly suicide shows that the person saw no other way out. And the suicide rate among young people has increased 250% in the last 20 years. These two topics deserve more attention than they are given here. This would be a good time to invite someone in from the community mental health center, community crisis center or other agency that works with people in temporary crisis. He or she can talk informally with the class to help them understand that nearly everyone experiences severely uncomfortable times in their lives, that sometimes we need help especially from
friends and maybe from a counselor, that
asking for help does not mean you are "weak," "sick," or "crazy. "
ACTIVITIES
SUICIDES (2)
Ask the class to bring articles to class that describe a suicide. Discuss the articles. Ask

questions about suicide. For example: How do you think the person must have felt? What are the causes of suicide? Have you ever known anyone who committed suicide?
What are the effects of suicide on a family?
Have you ever known anyone who has contemplated suicide?
DRUG ABUSE (2)
Discuss reasons for drug abuse and alcoholism, e.g., boredom, trying it for fun and getting hooked, doing what everyone else does, etc. Ask the following questions:
How can this be a destructive method of dealing with problems?
Why do people choose these methods?
What problems does this solve?
How can this be harmful to a family and to society?
What is drug abuse? What is alcoholism? How would you define them?
Is there anything you can do to prevent drug abuse? Alcoholism?

36

TIME ALONE IS IMPORTANT

Purpose:
To help young people explore their personal needs for privacy and learn to deal with their feelings when privacy is not available.
Note: Young adolescents need time to sort things out, to adjust to changes, and to day-
dream. Most arrange a private place and time
alone to explore their own "inner space." Occasionally, they live in situations where they are inadvertently denied this opportunity,
and sometimes parents or friends feel that a
young person should not be allowed quiet times alone.
Resource: "No Trespassing," part of the Self, Incorporated Film Series, produced by the Agency for Instructional Television and avail able from the Georgia Educational TV Net work and the State Department of Education.
ACTIVITIES
INNER SPACE (3)
These exercises help students learn ways to reduce the tension they might feel as a result of lack of privacy.
1. Have students think of ways they can utilize the natural privacy of their minds. (Self-reflecting, fantasizing, meditating, listening to music, reading, writing, thinking, daydreaming.)

2. Have students do a tension-reducing exercise. For example, ask students to stretch very hard with their arms above their heads, relax completely, and then close their eyes and put their heads on their desks. If possible play some quiet, reflective music for them. Then have students talk abut what feelings they had, what parts of the music had special meaning for them, etc.
3. Ask students to imagine that they are traveling through their own blood streams. What can they see? What places do they like best? What places don't they like?
4. Have students explore their own "inner spaces" during the week. Ask them to keep personal diaries, recording their thoughts and feelings during this exercise. They should note whether their feelings change or stay the same over the one-week period. (This can be a part of their personal journal. See "Notes to Myself".)
PERSONAL PRIVACY CHECKLIST (3)
Hand out copies of the "Personal Privacy Checklist" (see Appendix). This activity encourages students to analyze their own personal privacy needs. They may want to review their answers periodically to keep in touch with their changing attitudes.

37

BEING WITH OTHERS
(Interpersonal Relationships)
TO HELP YOUNG PEOPLE FORM MORE SATISFYING PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH SIGNIFICANT OTHERS
To express feelings and needs verbally to others and to feel less scared and anxious in doing so To accept the feelings and needs of others as important to them To negotiate productively where a conflict of needs exists

COMMUNICATION SKILLS PROMOTE POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS*

Purpose:
To help young people recognize common problems in interpersonal communications.
Note: See Appendix for "Overview of Communications. "
ACTIVITIES
PROBLEMS IN COMMUNICATION (2)
1. Voting exercise - Read aloud the following questions that deal with communication. After each question is read, students will take a position by a show of hands. Those who wish to answer in the affirmative raise their hands. Those who choose to answer negatively point their thumbs down. Those who are undecided fold their arms. Those who want to pass simply take no action at all. Discussion is tabled until after the teacher has completed the entire list. Voting provides a simple and rapid means by which every student in the class can make a public affirmation on a variety of value issues. The teacher votes, too, but he does not make value judgments concerning the answers of the students. Suggested questions dealing with communications are: How Many of You:
Find it difficult to listen to people sometimes? Feel free to discuss sex with your peers? Have a communication problem with your parents?

Feel frightened when you speak in a large group?
Have a friend to discuss problems with?
Feel your parents lack understanding of your problems?
Wish you could communicate better?
Think a communication unit might improve your ability to understand other people?
Would like to understand your parents better?
Would like to communicate better with the opposite sex?
2. Letter from a Boy - Read "Letter From A Boy" (see Appendix). Discuss the communication problem. Leading questions might be:
What was the problem?
How could it have been resolved?
How would you deal with the same problem? What do you think the parents' viewpoint is? 3. Communication Fails Because - Askthe class to discuss reasons for two persons failing to communicate. These questions should be considered: What types of problems make it difficult for two persons to understand each other? What failures in sending, listening and responding cause communication gaps?
Discuss students' answers. Draw out suggestions such as:

'The entire section on communication skills is taken from Life Skills for Health - Focus on Mental Health, Teachers Guide for Grades 79, North Carolina Dept. of Public Instruction.
41

Inaccurate expression of one's thoughts. Failing to listen to all that is being said. Trying to say too much in one statement. Two individuals not talking about the same thing while they are in a con versation with each other.
Purpose: To help people appreciate the need to listen in productive communication.
ACTIVITIES
LISTENING (2)
Group the class into dyads. Ask one in each pair to discuss a topic, e.g., "The Happiest Moment of My Life" or "The Most Important Person In The World." The speaker talks for five minutes. Ask the listener to summarize whait the speaker said. Do nottell the listener he will do this prior to the exercise. Discussion follows:
How much did the listener remember? Was there a problem in communication?
Purpose:
To help young people recognize the different ways we respond in communication; to help them evaluate their communication style and consider alternative styles.
Explanatory Note: The purpose of the Clarifying response is to increase accuracy in communications. Additional benefits include letting the speaker know that you are interested in what he has to say and that you really want to understand him. The Clarifying Response
is a method of overcoming a built-in weak-
ness of the human nervous system - all information received by the brain in categorized and interpreted before it is accepted. Human brains do not accept raw data. Clarifying Responses enable the listener to check

the accuracy of these categorizations and interpretations before he acts on them.
Methods of responding for clarification include:
Paraphrasing - restating the other per son's expressed idea in your own words without judgment or interpretation of the content. Summarizing - expressing the essence
of the other's thought in a few words,
especially before stating your own meso sage. Advancing Tentative Examples - stating a specific example of a general statement made by the other person. Requesting Further Information - if you are unable to do any of the above, then you need to hear more about the meso sage; so ask for it.
ACTIVITIES
RESPONDING (2)
1. Body Language of Listener - This activity can be combined with the following one (#2) to save time. Group the class into dyads. One person is the listener and one person is the speaker. The speaker talks about a teacherselected topic, e.g., "My Most Embarrassing Moment" or "What I Want To Do After High SchooL" The listener responds non-verbally with positive body language, e.g., nodding of the head, eye contact, facial expressions, posture. As a class, discuss the effects of positive body language on the speaker. Also, ask students to identify or discover ethnic differences in body language. Do these differences ever cause communication problems?
2. Verbal Door Openers - Verbal Door Openers invite the speaker to say more. Examples of Verbal Door Openers are:
"I See" "Really" "Oh"

42

"Tell Me More"
"Tell Me About It"
Group the class into dyads. The speaker talks about a topic, e.g., "My Pet" or "Why I Like My Parents." The listener practices using Verbal Door Openers. Discuss the feelings that the listener and the speaker had during the exercise. Have the students think of Verbal Door Closers after the exercise.
3. The Clarifying Responses: Paraphrasing - Divide the class into dyads. Explain the purpose of Paraphrasing and the process.
Two Rules For Paraphrasing:
Restate the other person's expressed ideas in your own words; don't mimic or parrot the exact words of the other person.
In Paraphrasing another person's statements, avoid any indication of approval or disapproval. Refrain from blaming, interpreting, giving advice or persuading.
Ask the pairs to practice paraphrasing as follows:
"A" makes a series of statements to "B." "A" tries not to make bland statements, but tries to say something that he has some feelings about and that can have real meaning. After each statement in the series, "B" paraphrases what "A's" remark meant to him. "A" indicates the accuracy of each of "B's" attempts to paraphrase. There is to be no discussion concerning agreement or disagreement with the statements. "A" simply makes the statement; "B" paraphrases it back; and "A" indicates the accuracy. Reverse the procedure. "B" makes three statements to "A;" after each one, "A" paraphrases it back. Answer the following questions and discuss:
How did it feel to make a statement and have your partner paraphrase it?

Did it make you feel like he was really listening? How did it feel to paraphrase a statement made by your partner? Did you find yourself thinking about what was being said to you?
Other Clarifying Responses
Repeat the previous exercise with different dyads. Ask the listener to practice other clarifying responses, e.g., summarizing, giving examples, requesting additional information. Typical phrases used in beginning a clarifying response include:
"Are you saying?" ... (restate in other words) "Does that include?" ... (cite a point) "Would this be an example?" ... (then, state one) "I heard you say" ... (then, summarize)
Sample Conversation: Speaker: "I don't like Miss Jones." Listener: "Are you saying you don't care for her teaching techniques?" Speaker: "Yes, I am. She is so boring I want to fall asleep." Listener: "Can you give me an example of what she does that causes you to feel sleepy?" Speaker: "Yes, every day she asks us to read a chapter and answer the questions. "
LISTENING FOR FEELING (2)
Explanatory Note: The emphasis of previous exercises has been on the content of messages, i.e., understanding what the speaker is saying. Listening For Feeling includes understanding what the speaker is saying,
but it is also a process in which the listener
identifies, accepts, and verbalizes the feelings that the speaker is experiencing.
Listening for Feeling is like paraphrasing,

43

but feelings are paraphrased, not content. Listening for Feeling is important because feelings are often at the heart of inter- and intrapersonal problems. Listening for Feeling brings feelings out in the open. Without an active effort to bring feelings out in the open, they often remain hidden. The reasons for this include:
Many people are ashamed of their own feelings or believe that it is not proper to express emotions.
Many people believe that their feelings will not be accepted by the listener.
Many people are not aware of their own feelings or are unable to define the source of their general discomfort.

and the listener change roles. Allow approximately ten minutes for each "speaker" and give a time warning when only two minutes are remaining. Group the students in different pairs as often as time allows. At the completion of the exercise, give people an opportunity to describe the difficulties or pleasures they encountered. Encourage students to complete any unfinished conversations outside of class. The teacher and the students should practice Listening For Feeling whenever the opportunity arises in future classes.

Listening for Feeling is a powerful tool and
should be used only when the listener is genuinely interested in the speaker, when the listener genuinely accepts the speaker, and when the listener genuinely desires to participate in the resolution of a problem.

Sample Conversations:

Speaker: "My parents just don't under stand me. They say I have to be in by ten o'clock on Friday night. They are so dumb."
Listener: "It sounds like you are angry with your parents."
Speaker: "I accepted a date with Dan, and then Bill asked me out. I'd much rather go out with Bill. I don't know what to do."
Listener: "Sounds like you are unhappy."
Exercise:
Ask the students to practice Listening For Feeling. Divide the class into dyads. One student is the speaker. He discusses a topic that he has a personal concern about, e.g., problems with the opposite sex, his communication prob lems, an unwanted habit. The second person paraphrases the speaker's message at the "feeling" level. Next, the speaker

Purpose:
To help young people recognize the differ ence between nonproductive styles of com munication, such as blaming and name calling, and more productive communication.
Explanatory Note: An important part of communication is letting another person know the results of his behavior. Previous exercises have focused on listening - this one deals with the sending of productive messages.
None of us can ever know, by observation alone, all of the effects on other people of what we say and do. Unfortunately, those

44

effects are not always positive. We often hurt people or cause them problems without being really aware of it. Therefore, it is incumbent upon each of us to inform others of the problems they are causing us (give them feedback) if we expect them to change their behavior.
Convel;sely, it is also important to let someone know how he is being helpful. Simple "thank you's" are often sufficient, but more precise statements will be more meaningful to the helper and will be more likely to result in continued helpful behavior.
ACTIVITIES
GIVING BEHAVIOR FEEDBACK (2)
The following exercises illustrate a method of giving feedback that is precise, not threatening, and not judgmental of the personality or motives of the other person. The method is described in separate steps: 1. Describing Behavior Accurately, and 2. Describing Effects of Observed Behavior. These exercises should be done together.
1. Describing a Behavior Accurately When giving feedback, it is important to let others know the exact behavior(s) that the speaker is referring to. The specific behavior should be described as simply and clearly as possible, without namecalling, placing a value judgment on the behavior, or making accusations. The motives, characteristics or attitudes of the person whose behavior is being described have no place in giving feedback. Only behavior that is observable is included.
Example: "Jim, you've talked more than others on this topic. Several times you've cut others off before they had finished." Not: "Jim, you always want to hog the center of attention." (identifying a motive) Not: "Jim, why are you always so rude

to other people?" (naming a trait and giving no evidence of specific behavior)
Example:
"Bob, you've taken the opposite of nearly everything David has suggested tOday." Not: "Bob, you're being stubborn." (name-call ing) Not: "Bob, you're just trying to show David up." (an accusation stating a motive)
Exercise: Describing A Behavior Accurately Read non-productive descriptions of behavior to the class and ask them to supply more precise descriptions.
"This is a rowdy class." "That girl is thoughtless."
"Mom doesn't understand me."
"John is stupid" "Tom is a pest."
2. Describing Effects of Observed Behavior
After describing observed behavior in precise terms, the speaker should describe the effects of the behavior. The effects are often of two types: observable and emotional. Feedback should be given as soon as possible following a behavior.

45

Example: Giving Behavior Feedback

OBSERVABLE OBSERVABLE EMOTIONAL

BEHAVIOR

EFFECT

EFFECT

When you hit cause black

me, you

and blue

marks and

I feel angry.

When you talk the class does I feel un-

while I'm

not hear me important.

talking

and

When every- nobody hears I feel one speaks at anything and frustrated. the same time

When you spend time helping me with my homework

I get better grades and

I feel proud of my work.

When you take lam more

I feel re-

the time to willing to go spected.

explain things along with

tome

your ideas and

Exercise: Describing Effects of Observed Behavior
Explain the process of describing the effects of observed behavior. Each person writes examples like those above. Then, these are shared with the class.
Students are encouraged to practice giving feedback outside of class - but warn them not to overdo it. Also, suggest that it is sometimes easier to learn the method by concentrating on giving positive feedback for practice.

precisely? How could the speaker tell the listener the effects of the behavior? Ask students to create or report other examples.
A girl asks her boyfriend, "Why can't you ever be any place on time?" What might the girl have said that would have described her feelings openly?
You notice that a person in the group who was talking a lot has suddenly become silent. What might the person have said that would have described his feelings openly?
During a group meeting, you hear John tell Bill, "Bill, you're talking too much." What might John have said that would have described his feelings openly?
Sally abruptly changed the subject after Ann made a comment. What might Sally have said that would have described her feelings openly?
A mother says to her son, "Your hair looks terrible!" The son replies, "Get off my back!" How could they both have described their feelings more openly?
The teacher says to a student, "Your work is too sloppy." How could the teacher have described the situation better?
SELF EVALUATION (2)
Ask each student to write an evaluation of the unit. Ask him to identify:
What he has learned about himself as it related to communication How she has improved in her communication skills How he would improve this unit.

Exercise: Practice Giving Feedback
Discuss the following situations. How could the behavior be described more
46

MEANINGFUL COMMUNICATION IS IMPORTANT IN GROUP INTERACTION

Purpose:
To help young people recognize their individ ual roles and the roles of others in group communications.
To help young people recognize the forma tion of norms, emergence of leadership, and development of cohesiveness in a group.

This technique can be used throughout the year to emphasize the idea of including everyone in the group talk. Below is a sociogram that illustrates what takes place in a group.

ACTIVITIES

GROUP PROCESS (2)

1. String Exercise - Have a topic set up for discussion - preferably something to do with communication. Some examples follow:
What are some ways of communicating non-verbally?
Why are some people constantly putting down others?
How could communication in this class be improved?
Have the class break into groups of seven or eight persons. Give each group a ball of string. As the group begins to discuss the topic, the string should pass from one speaker to the next. Only the person holding the ball of string can speak and when another person wants to speak, the string is unraveled to him. After a few minutes, a sociogram is being revealed to the group. Group members can see who has and who has not talked; they can see who is dominating the conversation; and they can include those who have not spoken up before. Now do the exercise again with another topic. The purpose is to do a better job of including everybody.

2. Drug Attitude Game - Divide the class into small groups. Ask the groups to do the "Drug Attitude Game" (see Appendix). Each individual fills out the page by himself, then a group consensus is sought. The groups are allowed fifteen minutes to seek the group consensus. Then each group has five minutes to discuss the roles that personal values and the quality of the communication within the group played in group decisionmaking. The discussion can be expanded to include the whole class in identifying what they have learned as a result of the exercise. Note: Remember that the purpose of this exercise is to discuss values, communication and decision making, not drugs. For variation: before class discussion of roles ask students to complete the "Observations of Group Process" (see Appendix).
3. Group Art Project - Divide the class into groups of about five or six. Give each group a shoe box filled with art materials, e.g., clay, blocks, macaroni, paper clips, construction paper. Their task is to

47

develop a group art project. The rules are:
Each member has to participate and add to the project. The project must have a theme and a title (something to do with communication).
When the projects are completed (approximately 15-20 minutes), have each group select a spokesman to explain the

project and each member's contribution. When each group has finished explaining its project to the class, have them answer the following questions individually:
Who was the leader in the group?Why?
Do you feel closer to members of this group as a result of working with them? Why?
What things did you learn from this activity?

48

FAMILY IS A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP

Purpose:
To help young people appreciate "Family" as a special interpersonal relationship that can take on many structures in our society.
Resource: "Contemporary Family Life" is an innovative course guide which allows teen agers to experience simulated family situa tions. The class divides into "family units" and actually goes through the process of buying groceries, making a bUdget, buying a house, and facing possible unexpected events. For information, write to Clifford Allen, Park Rose High School, 11717 North east Shaver Street, Portland, Oregon 97220.
ACTIVITIES
FAMILY IS ...

look at it again privately after the activities associated with "Family Life" are completed. Some of their views might change.
Purpose:
To help young people explore their roles in the family and to consider their responses to family problems.
Resource: "Family Matters," a part of the Self, Incorporated Film Series, produced by the Agency For Instructional Television and available through the Georgia Educational TV Network and the State Department of Educa tion Film Library.
ACTIVITIES

1. Ask the class to share their views:
What is a "Family?" What are the different familystructures you are aware of? (e.g., one-parent family, no-parent family, childless family, living with grandparents or other relatives, etc.)
Note: Point out that there are many different situations we call "family".

2. Your Family (3) - To help students think

about their attitudes toward their own

families, write some open-ended state-

ments on the board for them to fill in

privately. (Examples: A family consists

of ... The purpose of a family is ...

Everybody needs

The best thing

about my family is )

Have students keep what they write and

FAMILY ISSUES (2)
1. Decisions - Ask the class to discuss the extent to which they think they should be involved in a family decision-making process. Request them to list examples of decisions in which they should have a part, those which they should be allowed to make themselves, and those which are not their concern.
2. Family Council - Role-play a family council that considers a problem and reaches a solution based on the following:
The problem must be identified. Each person should be able to state his feelings. Every suggested solution should be examined seriously. In finding a solution, both parties may have to compromise.

49

Explain that this is not the only way to solve family disputes.
(If class cannot think of a problem, consider the following: (1) Parents want help with chores; children have not been cooperating. (2) Son wants to quit school. (3) Teenage daughter is pregnant. (4) Sonl daughter is caught at school with marijuana. (5) Family has been transferred to another city; children don't want to leave.)
RUNNING AWAY
Note: Sometimes family problems reach a
crisis state. If it becomes apparent during
discussion that a student is being abused at
home, you may elect to intervene. Mistreated children should be referred to someone qualified to deal with such problems.
But be sure to distinguish between truth and fantasy - the child who is battered and the child who thinks he is battered. Both children have problems, however, and should receive help.
Many states have passed laws which require teachers, social workers, physicians, and others to report suspected instances of child abuse and/or neglect to designated agencies. Each teacher should become familiar with the status and requirements of "battered child" legislation in Georgia.
Resource: "Two Sons," part of the Self, Incorporated Film Series, produced by the Agency for Instructional Television. The Inside/Out Film Series, also produced by AIT has a film on running away from home appropriate for 9-11 year aids entitled "Home Sweet Home." Both films are available from the Georgia Educational TV Network and from the State Department of Education Film Library.

want to provide the opportunity for him to share his experiences and feelings.)
2. Give the class the following list of partially completed sentences. Ask them to choose one and complete the thought. Some may wish to use their own topics.
If I were a mother (or father), I would treat my child ... The difference between someone's disciplining me and mistreating me is ... If you were my real friend, you would run away with me because ... If I suddenly did not have a home, I would ...
Purpose:
To help young people become aware of the support services available to the family.
To help young people appreciate the chang ing role of the family.
ACTIVITIES
FAMILY IN SOCIETY (3)
1. Family Services - Have the class prepare a descriptive directory ofcommunity supportive family services. (For example, family counseling services, clinics, welfare offices, family education services, etc.) Good sources of information are local newspapers, local governmental agencies and churches.

1. Ask the class to share times when they felt like running away from home. How did they feel? Where did they stay? (If someone actually ran away, you may

2. Changing Family - Ask students to prepare a list of questions similar to the ones below. They may want to interview persons particularly qualified to speak on

50

the subject of the family. (Family counselors, marriage counselors, social workers, sociologists, religious leaders, etc.) If they prefer, students could invite a guest speaker (or panel) to the classroom. Provide speakers with a list of questions beforehand.
Some topics that could be covered are:
What is the life style of the traditional family? Has it changed? How? Why?
In 1970, one-fifth of the people between ages fourteen through seventeen did not live in two-parent families. What will become of the traditional family structure in the future?

What are some advantages and disadvantages of the extended family? Of communes? Of couples living together without being married? Of single parenthood? Can any of these styles strengthen the traditional family? Could any destroy it?
Is communal life "coping" or "copping out"? Why?
Agree or disagree with this recent statement by anthropologist Margaret Mead: "In the end, it will be the family way of life that will persevere. The family changes, but it will never disappear. Every attempt to eliminate the family has failed." Discuss.

51

PARENTHOOD IS A RESPONSIBILITY

Purpose:
To help young people explore the role of "parent", to consider that role as It relates to their own parents and as It relates to their decision about becoming parents.
Note: Parenthood is a critical issue for teen-
agers to consider. The majority will become parents some day; some will be parents as teenagers. In 1970, one of every ten girls were mothers at age seventeen. Sixteen percent of them already had two children by age seventeen. Many teenage parents have not fully considered the responsibilities of parenthood or the physical risks involved in pregnancy at such an early age. This topic could easily be developed as a full unit. Local health departments and March of Dimes chapters may be helpful in putting together
a program on parenting, family planning and
teenage pregnancy.
ACTIVITIES
PARENTING
1. Opinions on Parents (2) - Divide the class into groups of six. Ask each individual to complete the questionnaire, "Let's Talk About Parents." Discuss answers within the groups.
Let's Talk About Parents What communication problems are there in a home? Do you think parents are more tolerant of teenager's ideas than teenagers are of parent's ideas? Do you think teenagers should question parental advice? Why or why not? Do you think parents today, considering our changed environments, protect their teens too much? Not enough?

How would you do this differently if you become a parent? If you were a parent, how would you want to be? Why do you sometimes see things differently from your parents?
What motives do you think parents have when they establish rules for their children?
2. Defining the "Good Parent" (3) - Ask the class to work in small groups and create a list of characteristics of a good parent. Throw out these questions for their discussion:
Do young people learn to be parents from the way their own parents behave? Why or why not? Is knowing how to be a good parent an instinct we are born with?
3. The Responsibilities of Parenthood Ask the groups to share the lists they developed on "Defining the Good Parent"(Activity 2). As a class, put together a composite list on the board. Ask the class to consider:
Imagine yourself as the "good" parent you have described. What responsibilities do you have? How would you handle these situations:
You have a small child. Friends call and invite you to come over for an "at the spur of the moment" party. You really want to go.
You have very little money. You want a new record album, but your baby needs new shoes.
Your baby is sick and has been crying most of the night.

52

How does being a parent change your life? (Consider the joys of parenthood and the ties of parenthood.) If you were a parent now, where would you live? How would you support your child? What changes would you have to make in the way you spend your time? In the plans you have for the future?
53

RESPECT FOR THE DIFFERENCES IN PEOPLE IS IMPORTANT

Purpose:
To help young people appreciate Individual differences and to understand the barrier that stereotyping presents to the recognition of Individual qualities.
Note: A stereotype is a standardized mental
picture held in common by members of a group. It is an over-simplified opinion or attitude. Saying that all redheads have short tempers or that all fat people are jolly makes it appear that people fall into molds and patterns. Today the stereotyping of male and female roles is getting much attention. The humanness of both men and women may be limited if these roles are narrowly defined. It is important to understand that narrow attitudes concerning "appropriate" roles for men and women are both individual and structured into society. (1)
Resource: "Different Folks" (Sex Role Identi fication), a part of the Self, Incorporated Film Series, produced by the Agency for Instruc tional Television and available through the Georgia Educational TV Network and the State Department of Education Film Library.
ACTIVITIES
LABELING PEOPLE
Ask the class to look at a group of six pictures of people's faces (collected by the teacher). Students can write a brief characterization of each person (include what they think he or she does for a living) based upon their impressions of the person from the photograph.
If possible, actual biographical information

should be available for each person pictured so, after the exercise, students can compare the character sketches they produced with the person's actual biography. Try to include a few surprises (e.g., a "grandmother" type who is a nuclear physicist). How accurate were the students' impressions? How much information is needed about someone to tell what kind of person he or she really is? How often do we make false judgments based on appearances?
STEREOTYPING MEN AND WOMEN
1. Value Continuum (1) - Indicate an imaginary line on the floor to serve as a "value continuum." One end of the continuum should be marked as "total agreement" and the other end as "total disagreement." The middle point is neutral or "no opinion." As you read each of the following statements, ask participants to "take a position" on the continuum in response to each statement. Allow a few minutes after each statement to discuss the different points of view and to explore why people change positions when a new statement is read.
Men are less emotional than women.
The desire to give birth is natural to women.
Women are superior to men.
Men should be more tender and soft.
Women should run the household.
Fighting is natural to men.
Women tend to be more artistic than men.
2. Stereotyping in the Media (1) - Ask your class to watch television programs and commercials for one week and to notice printed advertising for male and female

54

stereotypes. yvhat are the stereotypes? How are they portrayed? (For example, most laundry and other cleaning detergent commercials show women in the "housework" role. Men, on the other hand, buy the tires and lawnmowers.) Bring results to class and compare them.

3. Roles for Men and Women (3) - Put this or a similar list of categories on the board:

scientists explorers philosophers judges entrepreneurs

artists newscasters statesmen novelists inventors

Ask students to write as many names of actual people as they can for each category (5 minutes). Now have them put an "F" beside each woman's name listed. If they did not have a woman in each category, ask them to list one.

Discuss:
Why did or didn't you think of women's names for each category?
Are the learning materials available to us (such as textbooks) slanted more towards one sex than another? How can you tell? Give some concrete examples.
How do schools affect our thinking about roles and achievements of men and women?
Students might select a woman and a man from one category and report to the class the contribution that these people have made.

typist soldier prison warden bus driver

plumber hair stylist telephone operator homemaker

Now, through discussion, determine how the majority of people classified each and why. For example, if most people classified doctor as "M" was it because there are more male doctors or because they feel men are better suited to be doctors than women are? Has the class stereotyped sex roles? Do they think stereotyping should be prevented, and if so how could they personally help pre vent it?

5. Look at the Language (3) - Make a list of
English words that include the root man, even though the words refer to both sexes. (For example, human, chairman, workman, ombudsman, postman.) List other words that have a similar bias or emphasis. Should we change the language to accommodate the demands for equality? Why or why not?

4. Stereotyping Occupations (3) - Ask students to put an "M" by each job they think of as a male occupation, and an "F" by the ones they would classify as female:

doctor nurse pilot

coal miner electrician elementary school teacher

55

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH MEMBERS-OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IS PART OF GROWING UP

Purpose:
To help young people explore their expectations about being a "man" or a "woman" in relationship to a member of the opposite sex.
In the early teen years, young people begin to change their attitudes toward members of
the opposite sex. Teasing and badgering, or at best, indifference, are replaced by a grow-
ing desire to be attractive to each other. Concern for appearance increases, and "dating" takes on primary importance as young people go through that awkward
period of learning a new set of social skills. Dating is a significant stage in interpersonal
relationships because it lays the groundwork for mature male-female relationships that will develop later. The informal "rules" for dating - who to date, where to go, how to act - are strongly shaped by peer groups. Sometimes the rules can be barriers to building real relationships. These exercises help young people explore their ideas about dating and how it affects their development as people.
Resource: "Getting Closer," part of the Self, Incorporated Film Series, produced by Agency for Instructional Television and avail able through the Georgia Educational TV Network and the State Department of Education film library.
ACTIVITIES
DATING
1. "Should You" Survey (3) - The purpose of this activity is to have students com pare their own views about dating with a class consensus on the same topics. Give each person two copies of the
56

"Should You?" questionnaire. One copy is for them to save for their own use. One copy is to hand in anonymously. Have students complete both questionnaires, and compile a class profile from the questionnaires that were handed in. Discuss the results, and then ask students to privately compare their own questionnaires with the class profile. Finally, give students a third copy of the "Should You?" questionnaire. Ask them to fill it out again, comparing their original answers with their answers on the third questionnaire. Did their answers change? Why?

Should You? (Circle one answer for each question)

Should you date? Yes, No, Don't know

Should there be a certain age to begin dating? Yes, No, Don't know

Should parents have a say

about whether their teenage

children date

or not?

Yes, No, Don't know

Would you be upset if you

wanted to date but were not

allowed to?

Yes, No, Don't know

Should you be upset if you

want to date but don't

get asked?

Yes, No, Don't know

Should a girl ask a boy for

a date?

Yes, No, Don't know

Should boys and girls do

things in groups rather

than date?

Yes, No, Don't know

Should a girl ask a boy to do

something with her (not

a date)?

Yes, No, Don't know

Should you compete with others

for someone's

attention?

Yes, No, Don't know

Should a parent or another adult

be present when boys and girls

get together at someone's

house?

Yes, No, Don't know

Should a parent or another adult

be present when boys and girls

get together for a public

dance or party?

Yes, No, Don't know

2. Ask the girls in your class: "What do you believe makes a girl attractive to a guy?" Put their "beliefs" on the board. Then ask the boys: "What makes a guy attractive to a girl?" Put their statements at the other end of the board. (Leave room beside each list for the last part of this activity.) Discuss with both the girls and the boys:

Do any of your "beliefs" keep you from really being yourself? (Do you pretend that you couldn't care less about someone when in reality you want that

person to like you!)
Are you willing to do things you don't want to do just to please the person you want to like you? (Note: Discuss a range of examples here - from simple issues, like pretending an interest in
sports or a type of music to more com-
plicated issues that could involve personal risks, such as trying drugs orsex. Discuss the difference between deciding to let the other person have his way because you truly want to please him, and giving in because you're scared he won't like you if you don't.)
To conclude this activity, ask the guys in the class: "What makes a girl attractive to you?" Put their comments on the board beside the earlier statements the girls made about what they believe makes them attractive. How do the two

57

"lists" compare? Are there any surprises? Do the guys want girls to be "themselves?" Now ask the girls: "What makes a guy attractive to you?" Make the same comparison with the boys' earlier list.
3. Ask for volunteers to role play the following situations.
Asking someone for a date. Meeting your date's parents for the first time. How to say "No" when asked for a date. (Discuss how the other person might feel when refused a date.)
MASCULINITY/FEMININITY
1. Discuss the meaning of "masculinity" and "femininity." Put two lists on the board, one headed "masculine" and the other headed "feminine." Ask the class to brainstorm adjectives or characteristics for each list. Look back over the lists. Have any soft, warm, tender, emotional words been listed under masculine? Have any strong, ambitious, assertive words been listed under feminine?
Ask the class: Can a boy/man be "masculine" and "tender"? Can a girl/woman stand up for herself or hold a powerful position and still be feminine?

2. Collage (2) - Divide the class intogroups of five. Ask each group to make a collage of magazine pictures or to do original art expressing their feelings and thoughts about "What Makes A Man" or "What Makes A Woman." Discuss with the whole class.
3. Sexuality (2) - As a class make up a definition for sexuality. Ask the class, "What does the word sexuality mean to you?" Example: Sexuality deals with the facts concerning sexual maturation, pregnancy, birth control, etc., but more importantly, it deals with basic attitudes and orientations to all human relationships.

58

BELONGING TO A GROUP HAS ITS PROS AND CONS

Purpose:
To help young people appreciate the ad vantages and disadvantages of belonging to a clique.
Note: Cliques are an important part of the life of most young teenagers. Sometimes young
people are part of a group. Other times, they
are excluded. Often they feel that to be "in" is good and to be "out" is bad. It is true that
being part of a group provides security. It is also true that being out of a group may give
more opportunities for freedom and individuality. On the other hand there are drawbacks to being included and to being on your own.
Resource: "The Clique," part of the Self, Incorporated Film Series produced by the Agency for Instructional Television and avail able through the Georgia Educational TV Network and the State Department of Educa tion Film Library.
ACTIVITIES
CLIQUES
1. Ask the class to discuss these questions.
What is a "clique"? Are cliques "OK" or "not OK?" How does it feel to belong? How does it feel when you want to belong, but don't?
2. Silhouettes (3) - Ask the class to choose partners and work in pairs to help each other trace profile silhouettes. First, one person stands with head in profile in front of construction paper. The partner shines a light so that the first person's

profile causes a shadow on the construction paper. Then switch, and first person traces silhouette of her partner. Cut out silhouettes. On one side of their paper silhouettes the class can list the feelings they experience when they are part of a group. On the reverse side of the silhouette write down their feelings when they are excluded from a group that they would like to belong to.
Consider:
When do you have more positive feelings?
When do you have negative feelings?
How would your feelings change if the group were one that you did not want to belong to?
3. Divide the class into groups of five. After the grouping is complete, tell the class that any group with five members no longer qualifies - they must now make groups of four. (There will be feelings of rejection; some will try to solve the problem by using "one potato, two potato," some will volunteer to leave; some may assume leadership and exclude another member.) After the selection takes place, ask the following questions:
How did you feel when asked to get into groups of five?
How did you feel when asked to reduce your group from five to four?
How did you feel when you found that you were still in the group? (Ask only those in the original group.)
How did you feel when you were rejected? (Ask those who had to leave the original group.)

59

OVERVIEW OF COMMUNICATIONS
Experts say ... PEOPLE PROBLEMS ARE OFTEN CAUSED BY COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWNS ... What causes this communication problem? Is it that we do not know the English language? Actually, people have listening problems more than speaking problems.
Listening is an art. The listener must understand a message and show that he understands a message. Because of the importance of the listener to the communication process, the focus of the following material is on the listener.

TECHNIQUE
BODY LANGUAGEDOOR OPENERS

DEFINITION
Movements of the body that illustrate an interest in the speaker and his message

EXAMPLES OF METHODS
1. Nodding of the head 2. Appropriatefacialexpression 3. Eye contact

VERBAL DOOR OPEN ERS Verbal statements that give the speaker an invitation to say more

-
1. "I See" 4. "Tell Me More" 2. "Oh" 5. "Tell Me About 3. "Really" It"

CLARIFYING RESPONSES Statements that reiterate the message or statements that show that the message needs further clarification

1. Paraphrasing 2. Summarizing 3. Advancing specific examples 4. Requesting additional
information

LISTENING FOR FEELING Identifying and verbalizing the feelings in a message

Speaker: My parents are terrible. They're setting a curfew of 10:00.
Listener: Sounds like you are angry with your parents.

GIVING BEHAVIOR FEEDBACK

Giving feedback to another person about your feelings in response to the other's behavior

"John hit me and hurt my arm and I feel angry." NOT: "John is a mean brat." (This is name-calling.)

The entire section on Communication Skills is taken from Life Skills for Health - Focus on Mental Health, Teachers Guide for Grades 7-9, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

63

HOW SELF-CONFIDENT AM I?

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING ITEMS TRUE OR FALSE

1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. _ _ _ 25.

Starting a conversation with a stranger is usually easy for me. I dislike getting up stunts to put life into a party. I never become extremely excited about a situation.
Making up my mind is usually hard for me. Ilike to meet important persons. I think I am a shy person. The presence of important people does not make me self-conscious. Criticism usually makes me feel bad. I rarely feel nervous. It does not take much to make me blush. Seldom do I feel just miserable. When others disagree with me, I feel discouraged. It takes more than praise to convince me I am succeeding. I often go out of my way to avoid meeting someone. I usually solve my problems without help. Others seem to want to take advantage of me. I do not experience feelings of inferiority. A good sales talk makes it hard for me to say "no." My feelings are not easily hurt. Many times I have "up" and "down" moods: I would not mind making an important speech in public. I get stage fright easily. Having someone watching me work does not bother me. Scoffing and teasing make me uncertain of myself. I think I am fairly self-confident.

"How Self Confident Am I?" from John and Dorothea Crawford, Better Ways of Growing Up, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1964), pp. 77-78. Copyright 1964 by Fortress Press and reprinted with the permission of the publisher.
65

THE AGE OF THE NON-MAN
by Russell Baker
This is an activity to help you analyze some of man's modern problems.
How far is American know-how from producing a disposable man?
Closer perhaps than it seems. Sears, Roebuck and Company is already marketing a stingless bee, for people who want to keep bees without really being bothered. The stingless bee, of course, was inevitable, just as the disposable man is. It is merely the latest in a long line of breakthroughs that have brought us into the Nothing Generation, or, as social psychologists might call it, the Non-Age.
The purpose of the Non-Age is to make it possible for the Nothing Generation to get through a complete non-life without any of the untidy bothers of living, like bee stings. Hence, the non-bee.
Other adjuncts of the good non-life include the fuzzless peach, the seedless grape, and the odorless booze (vodka). All serve the same basic function as the stingless bee. They relieve man of the need to come to grips with nature by devising schemes to keep peach fuzz off his chin, seeds out of his appendix and neighbors from knowing that he is snockered.
The child of the Nothing Generation is naturally swaddled in a disposable diaper. As he grows, he goes to a painless dentist. His father lives in a no-down payment house and wears a wrinkle-free, drip-dry wardrobe. On formal occasions he wears a clip-on tie.
The essence of non-life is non-involvement, more positively known as playing it safe. And so literature has created the anti-hero for the anti-theater and the anti-novel. The anti-hero sits around in garbage cans doing nothing for hours, except saying "no" to life and waiting to be disposed of. He is a great favorite of the Nothing Generation, which can listen to him for hours, even on caffeine-free coffee.
When the anti-hero wants to carbonate his stomach, he takes a non-caloric soft drink. It comes in a disposable, no-deposit, no-return bottle, or a throwaway can. For amusement, he sits in de-humidified air watching non-actors perform non-dramas about non-people and absorbing advertisments which tell how to take the misery out of washday, the odors out of living, and the challenge out of opening a milk can.
The beauty of the Non-Age is that it makes non-life so easy and creates so much leisure time to enjoy non-living. The disposable diaper, for example, not only takes half the agony out of parenthood, but also gives the parents time to drink more odorless booze, without offending baby's delicate nose.
The throwaway bottle saves them from the unpleasantness of seeing junior sulk when ordered to take the bottle back to the store. It also gives them a chance to worry each other about why junior has nothing to do with his time but wolf fuzzless peaches and seedless grapes.
The Non-Age, fortunately, provides for junior, should the non-life hang heavily on his hands
67

and make him edgy. The doctor will prescribe some tranquilizers to keep him in a non-emotional state. The prescription will be written with a throwaway pen. In this state junior may be induced to turn down the anti-music on the phonograph, and turn his hand to something perfectly unchallenging, like keeping stingless bees. The stingless bee, incidentally, reaches the market at the same time as the topless bathing suit and the topless evening gown. Both will soon take the last disturbing shred of curiosity out of anti-hero. What next in the march toward a better non-life for all Americans? The workless job is already well developed. The disposable conscience is old hat. There is room perhaps, as recent events in St. Augustine and Mississippi suggest, for the painless truncheon, though a case can be made that when safe, uninvolved, non-living becomes absolute, everything will be painless. No. What the nothing generation needs for self-completion is the disposable man. He will be able to pass from disposable diapers to the trash can, leaving no trace but an estate for his disposable children.
How do you feel about what the author has written about change? What are some needs of modern man in the "Space Age"? What resources will man need to develop to function fully in such a world? How do the immediate physical setting and the space age technology influence
behavior? What alternatives do you have to our becoming "disposable men"?
The New Model Me, The Educational Research Council of America (Cleveland, Ohio) and the Lakewood City (Ohio) Public School System, 1973.
68

HOW DO YOU FEEL?
On a sheet of paper, complete each of these statements. No one else will see these unless you choose to share them. This is simply an exercise for learning about yourself. Be truthful!
1. I love . 2. I hope . 3. I fear . 4. I wish . 5. I hate . 6. I respect ... 7. I'm embarrassed when ... 8. The thing that bothers me most is ... 9. The thing I am most afraid of is ... 10. I want most to be . 11. I Iike myself when . 12. I don't like myself when ... 13. The person who worries me most is ... 14. I feel really sad when ... 15. I am happy when ... 16. The one thing that really makes me angry is ... 17. My greatest interest in life is ... 18. The person who means the most to me is ... 19. The ones who love me most are ... 20. In leisure time, I like most to ...
69

PERSONAL PRIVACY CHECKLIST

(Answer True or False)

Check the feelings that you most often exper-

_ _I have a special time to go for a walk. ience when you are alone:

_ _I take time to reflect.

D lonely

D sad

_ _I like to listen to music very much.

D happy

D relaxed

_ _I often daydream, fantasize, or

D excited

D miserable

meditate to help me relax. _ _I have a special place where I can be
alone. _ _Noise around the house doesn't
bother me.

D envious D left out D tired D depressed

D calm D jealous D content D angry

_ _No one bothers me while I am dressing.

_ _ People accept me as I am.

Check the things that you agree with:

_ _I like to work on my hobbies by myself. D I wish I had more time to be alone.

_ _When I am alone I like to read.

D I don't want to be alone so much.

_ _I prefer sports that I can do alone,

D I want to spend more time with my friends.

rather than team sports.

D I need a place where I can be by myself.

_ _I am just as happy when 1am alone

D My family doesn't leave me alone enough.

as I am when I am with my friends. D 1am happy with my life just the way it is.

_ _I like to explore my environment by

D Sometimes I just want to get away from

myself and discover new places and

people for a while.

things I've never seen.

D 1wish I could do things with my friends

more than I do.

Reprinted from "A Guide To Self, Incorporated," 1975, Agency for Instructional Television.
71

LETTER FROM A BOY
"It is too late for us because the damage has been done, and our child has a record ... but maybe if we share this letter it will help other parents. Thank you very, very much."
Parents of a child
Dear Folks:
Thank you for everything, but I am going to Chicago and try to start some kind of new life.
You asked me why I did those things and why I gave you so much trouble, and the answer is
easy for me to give you, but I am wondering if you will understand.
Remember when I was about six or seven and I used to want you to just listen to me? I remember all the nice things you gave me for Christmas and my birthday and I was real happy
with the things for about a week at the time I got the things, but the rest of the time during the
year, I really didn't want presents. I just wanted all the time for you to listen to me like I was somebody who felt things too, because I remember even when I was young, I felt things. But you said you were busy.
Mom, you are a wonderful cook and you had everything so clean and you were so tired so much
from doing all those things that made you busy, but you know something, Mom? I would have liked crackers and peanut butter just as well- if you had only sat down with me a little while during the day and said to me: "Tell me all about it so I can maybe help you understand."
And when Donna came I couldn't understand why everyone made so much fuss because I didn't think it was my fault that her hair is curly and her teeth so white, and she doesn't have to wear glasses with such thick lenses. Her grades were better, too, weren't they?
If Donna ever has children, I hope you will tell her to just pay some attention to the one that doesn't smile very much because that one will really be crying inside. And when she's about to
bake six dozen cookies to make sure first that the kids don't want to tell her about a dream or a
hope or something, because thoughts are important too to small kids even though they don't have so many words to use when they tell about what they have inside them.
I think that all the kids who are doing so many things that the grownups are tearing their hair
out worrying about are really looking for somebody that will have to listen a few minutes and
whoJeally and truly will treat them as they would a grownup who might be useful to them. You know - polite to them. If you folks had ever said to me: "Pardon me" when you interrupted me, I'd have dropped dead. If anybody asks you where I am, tell them I have gone looking for
somebody with time because I've got a lot of things I want to talk about.
Love to all,
Reprinted from the KANSAS CITY STAR, Kansas City, Missouri.
73

DRUG ATTITUDE GAME
This is a game which attempts to show that any number of people in a group will have similar views on some types of people involved in a drug subculture and widely divergent views on other types of people involved in the same subculture. Often people believe that large numbers of their peers, including their friends, view these drug subculture participants in the same way. This game presents an opportunity for the group to discover that members of the group view the participants in a drug subculture differently and then allows them to discuss the results.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Read the descriptions of the fictitious people listed below and rank them on the basis of how strongly you feel about their negative characteristics. Number 1 would represent the character which you feel has the most negative characteristics and number 10 would have the least negative characteristics. For example, one might rank a person who deliberately gives a child an apple in which he has hidden razor blades as the number 1 choice and a person who cheats on his diet by having a candy bar as number 10.

RANK

CONSENSUS

_ _MOTHER DROPPER - Mother who uses tranquilizers, diet pills, sleeping pills, and booze but gets upset when her kids use drugs.
_ _GAPPER - Mother who jumps the generation gap by participating with her offspring and their friends in taking dope. She wants to be a pal.
_ _BUMMER FREAK - A guy who thinks he is doing a service by finding kids on acid trips and intentionally freaking them out. He thinks that if they have a really bad trip, they won't take acid again.
_ _JESUS FREAK - A fellow who goes around pushing religion as an alternative to taking dope.
_ _BURN ARTIST - A guy who sells a mixture of Nestle's Quick and saccharine as mescaline for $3.00 a hit.
_ _RED FRIEND - A person who obtains a large supply of reds and passes them around at school.
_ _BIG BROTHER - A 17-year-old who turns on his 12-year-old brother.
_ _FATHER CONFESSOR - A father who calls the police when he discovers his son is a dealer.
_ _TALKING TEACHER - A teacher who knows a lot about drugs and reaches out to help somebody, establishes a trust relationship, and feels he is helping the student by informing his parents about his drug-taking behavior.
_ _CONCERNED FRIEND - A student who urges another student to seek professional help for a drug problem. The other student won't admit he needs or wants help, but he constantly is urged to seek it.

Reprinted from Doug Goodlett, Health Education Coordinator, Olympia, Washington.
75

OBSERVATIONS OF GROUP PROCESS
TO THE TEACHER: Do not give this sheet to the students until completion of "Drug Attitude Game." Ask the students to complete these questions individually. Discuss the answers in small groups. Ask one person from each group to report the findings to the class.
1. How did the group come to a consensus?
2. What were some of the problems?
3. What was the reasoning for reaching the final decision?
4. What role did you play in the group - leader, devil's advocate, follower, encourager, etc.?
5. If the Drug Attitude Questionnaire were repeated, what would you suggest that your group do differently?
Reprinted from Life Skills for Health: Focus on Mental Health Guide for grades 7-9, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
77

ADDITIONAL READING

CLASSROOM STRATEGIES ("HOW TO" BOOKS)
Advanced Value Clarification (1977) by Howard Kirschenbaum University Associates, Inc. 7596 Eads Avenue La Jolla, California 92037 Cost: $7.95
Clarifying Values Through Subject Matter (1973) by Harmin, Kirschenbaum and Simon Winston Press 25 Groveland Terrace Minneapolis, Minnesota 55403 Level: grades 6-12 Cost: $3.00
Group Processes in the Classroom (1971) by Richard Schmuck, Patricia Schmuck William C. Brown Company Publishers Dubuque, Iowa
100 Ways to Enhance Self-Concept (1976) by Canfield and Wells Prentice Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632 Level: all ages Cost: $5.95
Personalizing Education: Values Clarification and Beyond (1975) by Howe and Howe Hart Publishing 15 West 4th Street New York, New York 10012 Cost: $5.95
Reaching Out - Interpersonal Effectiveness and Self-Actualization (1972) by David Johnson Prentice-Hall Box 10406 Newark, New Jersey 07101 Level: high school Cost: $5.95

Reality Games (1972) by Saville Sax, Sandra Hollander The Macmillan Company 866 Third Avenue New York, New York 10022
Role Playing for Social Values: Decision Making in Social Studies (1967) by Fannie R. Shaftel Prentice-Hall, Inc. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632
Strategies in HfJmanistic Education (1975) by Timmerman and Ballard Mandala Box 796 Amherst, Massachusetts 01002 Cost: $5.95
Teacher Effectiveness Training (1974) and Parent Effectiveness Training (1970) by Thomas Gordon Peter H. Wyden, Inc. 750 Third Avenue New York, New York 10017
Values Clarification: A Handbook of Practical Strategies for Teachers and Students (Teacher's Guide) (1972) by Simon, Howe, Kirschenbaum Hart Publishing 15 West 4th Street New York, New York 10012 Level: all ages Cost: $4.95
Values Education Sourcebook (1976) by Superka, Ahrens and Hedstrom Social Science Education Consortium, Inc. 855 Broadway Boulder, Colorado 80302 Cost: $10.95

79

Value Exploration Through Role-Playing (1975) by Robert Hawley Hart Publishing 15 West 4th Street New York, New York 10012 Level: junior and senior high school Cost: $4.95
Values and Teaching (1966) by Raths, Harmin and Simon C. E. Merrill Publishing 1300 Alum Creek Drive Columbus, Ohio 43216 Cost: $5.50
PROGRAMS AND CURRICULA
Deciding (1972) Deciding: A Leader's Guide (1972) Decisions and Outcomes (1973) Decisions and Outcomes: A Leader's Guide ( 1973) Publications Order Office College Entrance Examination Board Box 592 Princeton, New Jersey 08540
DUSO D-2, Developing Understanding of Self and Others (1970, 1973) by Dinkmeyer American Guidance Service Publishers Building Circle Pines, Minnesota 53104 Cost: $110.00
Dimensions of Personality Series Now I'm Ready (Grade One Teacher Edition) I Can Do It (Grade Two Teacher Edition) What About Me (Grade Three Teacher Edition) Here I Am (Grade Four Teacher Edition) I'm Not Alone (Grade Five Teacher Edition) Becoming Myself (Grade Six Teacher Edition)
Pflaum/Standard 38 West Fifth Street Dayton, Ohio 45402
Dimensions of Personality: Search for Meaning (1974) (kit with teacher's guide and 72 spirit masters)

by Ronald Klein Pflaum Publishing 2285 Arbor Boulevard Dayton, Ohio 45439 Level: junior high school Cost: $44.95
Dimensions of Personality: Search for Values ( 1972) by Gerri Curwin
Pflaum Publishing 2285 Arbor Boulevard Dayton, Ohio 45439 Level: high school Cost: $44.95
A Guide To Self, Incorporated and Self, Incorporated Film Series (1975) Agency for Instructional Television Box A Bloomington, Indiana 47401 Level: 11-13 years Cost: Free (Note: Contact Georgia State De-
partment of Education Film Library or the Educational T. V. Network.)
Inside/Out: A Guide for Teachers
National Instructional Television Center Box A Bloomington, Indiana 47401 Level: 8-10 years Cost: Free (Note: Contact Georgia State De-
partment of Education Film Library or the Educational T.V. Network.)
Learning to Decide Program: Teacher's Course Book (Grades 4,5,6) Educational Research Council of America Rockefeller Building Cleveland, Ohio 44113
Ufe Skills for Health (1974) by Frye and Rockness
Peggy Rockness Division of Health, Safety, and Physical Education North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Education Building Raleigh, North Carolina 27611 Level: grades K-12 (4 guides: K-3; 4-6; 7-9; 10-12) Cost: $7.00 per set

80

Self-Enhancing Education (1966) by Norma Randolph, William Howe Pennant Educational Materials 4780 Alvarado Cyn. Road San Diego, California 92120
A Teaching Program for Education in Human Behavior and Potential: Teacher Handbook (Grades K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) Educational Research Council of America Rockefeller Building Cleveland, Ohio 44113
Toward Affective Development (TAD) (1974) by Dupont, Gardner and Brody American Guidance Service, Inc. Publishers Building Circle Pines, Minnesota 55014 Level: grades 3-6 Cost: $90.00
Values and Decision-Making Program Tea"Cher's Guides
Understanding Human Behavior and Readings in Human Behavior (Grades 7,8,9,10) Educational Research Council of America. Rockefeller Building Cleveland, Ohio 44113

BACKGROUND READING IN AFFECTIVE DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION
Human Relations Development (1973) by George M. Gazda Allyn & Bacon Boston, Massachusetts
Human Teaching for Human Learning: An Introduction to Confluent Education (1971) by George I. Brown Viking Press 625 Madison Avenue New York, New York 10022 Cost: $2.95
The Other Side of the Report Card (1975) by L. Chase Goodyear Publishing Co., Inc. Pacific Palisades, California 90272 Cost: $8.50
Real Learning, A Sourcebook for Teachers by Mel Silberman, Jerry Allender and Jay Yanoff Little, Brown and Company Boston, Massachusetts Cost: $7.95

NOTE: Prices noted are sUbject to change and are offered as estimates only. 81

Published for the Georgia Department of Human Resources
by Editorial Services Department of Conferences Center for Continuing Education University of Georgia

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GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES DIVISION OF MENTAL HEALTH AND MENTAL RETARDATION

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PREVENTION UNIT

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In cooperation with the
GEORGIA STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION