Courage

Courage  1 minute quick write… what is your definition of courage?  Dictionary Definition: the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.  Quote:“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson  What does this quote mean to you?

Courage  6 People of Courage 6 People of Courage 6 People of Courage  2012 Espy’s 2012 Espy’s 2012 Espy’s

Peer Pressure  It’s easy to say, “Peer pressure doesn’t have any effect on me.” However, the truth is, what people think of us often influences how we think and act.  1. You attend a party at someone’s house and most of the people are smoking marijuana. Your friend passes you a joint. What do you do? How does your answer differ if it is a can of beer?  2. A student copied down the answers to a test and then offered them to students taking the same test later that day. Would you consider turning this person in? Would you accept these answers and cheat?  3. If you saw a friend teasing or picking on another student because they were overweight, not cool enough or wore a different style of clothes, would you say or do anything to stop them? If so, what?

Peer Pressure  Normative: Most teenagers want to have friends and fi t in with a certain group of students. It’s the reason you see cliques at school and why certain fads come and go. People jump on the bandwagon with certain clothes, hairstyles or activities because somebody deemed them temporarily cool. This is normal behavior. Each generation has its own style or fad. Some of this peer dynamic will diminish with age, but adults do this too – usually with houses, cars and accessories.  What are some recent fads?  Positive: Peer pressure doesn’t always have to be negative. Friends can pull you up, just as easy as drag you down. Here are two examples:

Positive Peer Pressure - The Pact       “We know firsthand that the wrong friends can lead you to trouble. But even more, they can tear down hopes, dreams and possibilities. We know, too, that the right friends inspire you, pull your through, rise with you.”   “The lives of most impressionable young people are defined by their friends, whether they are black, white, Hispanic or Asian; whether they are rich, poor or middle class.”   “Among boys, particularly, there seems to be some macho code that says to gain respect, you have to prove that you’re bad. We suspect that many of the young boys we treat in our hospitals are entangled in friendships that require them to prove their toughness and manhood, even at the risk of losing their lives.”   - Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins and Rameck Hunt, authors of “The Pact”

Peer Pressure   Positive Peer Pressure - Flight 93   Watch these clips about Flight 93 and what they decided to do on September 11, 2001   viMzr2nac&feature=related viMzr2nac&feature=related     Negative Peer Pressure - No Snitchin Clips from 60 Minutes  

Negative Peer Pressure  Negative: Peer pressure can have negative and troubling effects. For example, a recent study (The Kaiser Family Foundation, 2003) found that boys face particular pressure to have sex, often from male friends who put them down for waiting.   One in three (33%) boys ages say they feel pressure to become sexually active, compared with 23% of girls.   The pressure to drink alcohol was greater for boys than girls. The pressure to use drugs was about the same for boys and girls.   Teenagers have inflated perceptions that “everyone is doing it.” This puts unnecessary pressure on them to fi t in because the numbers of students who are having sex, drinking alcohol and using drugs aren’t as high as they perceive.  Do boys experience more negative peer pressure than girls?