School Health Education to Prevent AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) : Teachers' Guide (UNESCO - WHO, 1994, 117 p.): Unit 2. Responsible behaviour: delaying sex: 18 Being assertive every day

School Health Education to Prevent AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) : Teachers' Guide (UNESCO - WHO, 1994, 117 p.)

Unit 2. Responsible behaviour: delaying sex

		(introduction...)
		1 Reasons to say NO - Reasons for delaying sex
		2 To delay or not to delay (a, b) - Case Study - Reasons for and against sex
		3 “Lines” and more “lines” - Pressure to have sex
		4 Guidelines: help to delay sex - Help for delaying sex
		5 What to do? - Case studies on sex for delaying sex
		6 Affection without sex? - Alternatives to sexual intercourse
		7 What’s next? - Ranking physical activities
		8 Am I assertive? - Definition of passive, aggressive, and assertive behaviours
		9 Who’s assertive? - Case studies - types of behaviours
		10 Assertive messages - Four steps to assertive behaviour
		11 Your assertive message (class) - Four steps to assertive behaviour
		12 Your assertive message (individual) - Four steps to assertive behaviour
		13 Responding to persuasion (demonstration) - How to refuse, delay, bargain
		14 Responding to persuasion (class activity) - How to refuse, delay, bargain
		15 Responding to persuasion (individual) - How to refuse, delay, bargain
		16 You decide - Activity on gender differences
		17 Dealing with threats and violence - Case study on violence in dating
		18 Being assertive every day - Take-home activity on being assertive

18 Being assertive every day - Take-home activity on being assertive

Purpose

There is a need to transfer the skills that are taught in the classroom to everyday life. Therefore, it is important for the student to learn to be assertive in his/her daily activities.

What the teacher does

1. The teacher explains to the students how this activity is done. Have the students develop their plan at school and practise it at home. Here are a few key points that you should emphasize:

· Tell the students the purpose of the activity - there is no sense in learning how to be assertive in the classroom if you don’t apply what you have learned to your everyday life.
· Explain that the “Personal plan” is a way of carrying out your plan, a contract with yourself and finally an evaluation of how you did.
· Have them select an assertive goal - get them to make their goal specific, for example, “to say how I feel when Susan puts me down.” Goals can include: handling criticism; giving compliments; asking a favour; showing you are hurt; giving your own opinion; making new friends; saying “no” to something, etc.
· The dates should also be specific, for example, “start on Monday, July 1 at 9 a.m. and finish on Sunday, July 7 at 6 p.m.”
· Benefits should also be specific rather than general. “I will probably feel better about myself (self-respect); get what I need, and still not hurt my friend.”
· Rewards can include many things - food, drinks, a trip, buying something, a holiday, telling someone special about what you did, etc.
· If the student signs a contract with her/himself, she/he is more likely to complete the task. Sometimes having a friend sign as a witness further reinforces the student’s motivation.
· Identifying obstacles that may get in the way of reaching a person’s goal can be of help, if plans are made in advance, in overcoming these problems.

What should be done by parent(s)
(if a Parents’ Guide is used)

It would be useful for students to inform their parents of their action plan so that parents could help students follow through with their assertive message. Students could take their personal plan home and discuss it with their parents.

Additional preparation

Students should be advised to try their assertive message with someone who is likely to be positive about their being assertive (i.e. avoid someone who might get angry or violent).