In this lesson we ask the students what qualities they think a good friend would possess and why they think that.
We then discuss the traits one might see in someone who is not a good friend and why they think that.
We talk about all the different places we go to where we can have friends. Places such as:
Then, using a situation in their planners we work through peer pressure.
The planner situation is:
Corey is leaving school one day and sees some of his friends. They ask him to come over and join them. When he gets there he sees that they are smoking cigarettes. The comments made to Corey by the group go like this:
Juan: “Hey Corey, you don’t smoke, you aren’t one of us.”
Phil: “Hey Corey, how are you doing? Want a cigarette?”
Tyrone: “Yeah, here you go, you’re not a chicken, are you?”
James: “If not now, I’ll have some tonight at the game.”
Chang: “Wait Corey, we are both planning on joining the soccer team - these things may slow us down.”
Roberto: Roberto doesn’t say anything; he keeps his hands in his pockets. He shrugs and looks silently at Corey. Roberto doesn’t take any of the cigarettes.
We ask the students to think about this scenario, then ask who is a friend to Corey? Who is not?
How do you know? What is this called when some of the group is trying to get Corey to accept a cigarette?
We explain that Peer Pressure happens when people about their age try to get them to do something. Peer Pressure comes in many forms.
We ask, can friends apply pressure and still be our friends? Why do you think that?
We explain the different forms of peer pressure:
Positive Peer Pressure - when someone urges you to do something that is good for you, it can sound like “Come on, let's practise our spelling words one more time.”
Friendly Peer Pressure - when someone who is your friend tries to get you to do something you may or may not want to do. It can sound like “But we’ll have fun together!”
Indirect/Tempting Peer Pressure - when someone tries to persuade or convince you to do something you do not want to do, it can sound like “If we go to the party, I know they will have beer there.”
Teasing Peer Pressure - when someone makes fun of you to try to get you to do something you do not want to do, it can sound like “Are you a chicken?”
Heavy/Bullying Peer Pressure - when someone threatens you physically or verbally in an attempt to get you to do something you do not want to do, it can sound like “If you don’t, you’ll be sorry, or I won’t be your friend anymore.”
Using the information on Peer Pressure, we ask the students to revisit the scenario and help Corey identify and respond to the different types of peer pressure he is facing. We use the Decision Making Model to help Corey respond to the pressure appropriately.
We wrap up the session with an opportunity to review and reflect on the information shared in DARE class by asking review questions and having students write about what they learned in their DARE Planners.
And that is lesson six!
Cpl Beth Campbell