8 Support for responsible behaviour - How to show support for someone who has made healthy decisions

Purpose

It is important to encourage young people to support peers who: value abstinence, have made the decision to use a condom, or show tolerance and compassion to people with AIDS.

What the teacher does

1. Decide how to teach this activity:

a) Provide an activity sheet for each student and have them work individually or in pairs to complete the activity.

b) Read the four situations to the students and have them decide on support statements that they can make (only one activity sheet is needed).

c) Divide the students into small groups and give one activity sheet to each group. Have the group decide on one or more support statements for each situation.

2. Ask students to read their support statements. Suggestions for each story are provided below.

· Story A - A decision not to have sex

“I really think you made a good decision. If he really loved you he wouldn’t pressure you like that.”

· Story B - No sex without a condom

“That must have been a tough decision but I think you made the right one - with AIDS and STD you can never be sure.”

· Story C - To go to the candy store or not

“Look, people live with, eat, touch and hug people with AIDS and there hasn’t been one reported case of transmission this way. We have nothing to worry about. I’d like to go.”

· Story D - Who do you support

“You’re taking a chance with AIDS around. I hope you know what you’re doing.”

3. Take up the questions in “Teacher asks”. Suggested answers are provided below.

1) Why do many young people feel it is not “cool” to support healthy decisions?

· It is “cool” to take risks - even those that involve health and safety

· Some people need to be “macho” to draw attention to themselves

· Some young people need to show they are brave and courageous to enhance their self-esteem. They need to understand that being responsible is a way of being brave and courageous.

2) What difficulties might you have if you support healthy behaviours?

· Others might put you down or not agree with you

· You might be laughed at

· You might be excluded from the group.

3) How might you overcome these problems?

Take a good risk. Stand up for healthy behaviours. Realize that you are helping and supporting others, maybe even saving a life.

What the peer leader (s) does:

Peer leaders can:

· Act as a model for positive support in the classroom
· Be in charge of a small group
· Volunteer answers
· Read situations to students.