For teens and pre-teens, staying true to oneself can be a tough act to pull off. This program, presented in a drama format, presents five scenarios where teens are asked to make critical decisions in typical peer pressure situations – whether to raid a liquor cabinet when the parents are not home, teasing and bullying a vulnerable kid out of sight of teachers and parents, excluding a girl from their regular lunch table, being pressured to shoplift in a local mall and being tempted to cheat on an exam because other teens got advance copies of the test. In each scenario, the action stops at a critical juncture and students review six steps to making the right choice: listen to your inner voice, what would you do if you were alone, take a time out, imagine your parents are watching you, is it against the law and finally, is it worth the risk?
Includes:
video, plus teacher’s resource book, student handouts and pre/post tests in digital format
Awards
Columbus International Film & Video Festival: Honorable Mention
Reviews
Highly Recommended “One thing about peer pressure is that you might not even know it is happening. That’s why this teacher that I had last year …always told us to keep our antenna up, you know – pay attention.”
This insightful comment by a student in the introduction sets the stage for another extraordinary film for teenagers from Human Relations Media. Although brief, the film effectively uses peer students to help instruct and inform teenagers about 5 strategies for managing peer pressure. The realistic scenes, the use of diverse students, and excellent content of the videocassette provide an experience for teenagers that will be instructive, beneficial, and useful. There are effective scenarios and good questions to help develop discussion in classes. The accompanying electronic music and use of graphics also sets the pace for the film. In addition, the resource guide for teachers summarizes the film and includes varied and creative student activities.
Although this film is not a part of a series, one additional videocassette (Drama Queens and Tough Guys), and the DVD (Open Arms? Open Eyes!), both distributed by Human Relations Media, will complement this videocassette and provide additional information for areas of interest and importance to teenagers. A great choice for junior high and high school collections as well as university and college collections in psychology and social work. Highly recommended!!
- Walden, Mervyn H. Sterne Library, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Educational Media Reviews Online (EMRO)