Secondary
III IV & V
IT 'S COOL
TO TALK ABOUT IT!
Personal
and Social Education Program
Briefly describe
the problems associated with maintaining health.
Illustrate
the importance of maintaining harmonious relations with one 's
environment.
Identify those
living habits which promote personal equilibrium.
Become aware
of strengths within ourselves which contribute to our equilibrium.
Understand
that speech is the most powerful tool to end isolation.
Learning
Context
Ask the students
to answer the questionnaire "Feeling Good About Yourself,
or Not?". Emphasize that there are no right r wrong answers,
as this is only a thought-provoking activity. An untrue answer
would only cheat themselves. Assure them that this questionnaire
will remain their personal property unless they wish to share
it with you.
Take
the "Feeling Good About Yourself, Or Not?" Online Quiz
Please
Note:
This is not a standardized and thus has not been validated.
It is very important to qualify the results.
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Question/Problem
Write the title
of the activity on the black- board: "It 's cool to talk about
it."
Ask the students
to establish a link between the theme and the quiz.
Ask the students
to define mental health.
Ask the students
to establish a link between the theme and mental health.
Bring out
the following ideas:
- The quiz
highlights their level of wellbeing. If they are preoccupied
with certain problems, rather than brood over them, why not
seek out someone (friend or adult they can trust) with whom
to talk it over. Emphasize that the quiz covers the factors
that help maintain mental health and those that jeopardize it
and that, while seeking out the former, one should try to avoid
the latter.
Present the negative elements of the quiz as being problems
which can be solved.
- Mental
health is a matter of establishing a balance between all aspects
of your life: physical, mental, emotional, social, family and
school.
- The slogan
suggests that if we are confronted with personal problems, we
must talk about them, even consult.
- Remind
students that the expression "he 's crazy "is derogatory
and can reinforce existing prejudices concerning mental health.
It can even result in some individuals not seeking needed help.
Seeking help is important not only when we are not feeling well
but also at moments when we wish to see things more clearly,
to understand what 's happening to us.
Exploration/Discovery
Phase
1
"Talking
to my inner voice is cool."
Remind the
students of the existence of a little inner voice. At times we
have great difficulty silencing this voice and it can be both
an ally and a fearsome enemy. This interior monologue is never
trivial, it has a direct effect on our self-esteem but also on
our emotions and our level of stress.
To better
understand this, let us think about the following inner statements:
"I am worthless "; "Nobody loves me"; "Everybody
hates me "; "I'll never amount to anything ". Imagine
the impact of this voice if these statements have been repeated
for 10 years. Yet, the little voice could also be saying, "You
are nice ", "You are good ", "You can do it".
Impossible to hide from it, this voice follows us everywhere...We
might as well attempt to tame it, to take control of this little
inner voice, rather than allow it to cripple us with unkind words.
Ask the students to form teams of two. Give them ten learning contexts. For each
situation, one of the team members begins by writing a negative
inner discussion, which he reads to the other team member who,
in turn, corrects it with a positive inner dialogue. After 5 learning
contexts, the team members switch roles.
Learning
Context
- A girl
invites a boy to dance. He thinks to himself:
- Brian goes
to his first job interview. Once in the boss 'office, he thinks to himself:
- Julie tries
on a sexy sweater in a store. While looking at herself in the
mirror, she thinks to herself:
- Marc is
confronted with a difficult math problem. He thinks to himself:
- Sandra
made a blunder and goes to talk it over with her parents. While
facing them, she thinks to herself:
- Chuck's
father is scolding him because he damaged his car yesterday.
He thinks to himself, while his father scolds him:
- Eric's
teacher accuses him of lack of effort in front of the entire
class. Eric thinks to himself:
- Louise
teases Jack because of his acne. Jack thinks to himself:
- The cutest
guy in class asks Caroline to go to the prom with him. Caroline
thinks to herself:
- Susan strolls
down the hallway and sees a gang of people who seem to be laughing
at her. She thinks to herself:
Ask each team
to choose its best two dialogues and present them to the class.
Phase
2
"It
's cool to talk about it!"
1st
option
Ask the students
to:
Exchange their
"Feeling good about yourself or not?" quiz with another
student whom they trust, and to discuss it amongst themselves.
The students may use the following questions as a guide.
- What do
you think about your results?
- Are there
things that the test brought out that you would like to change?
- How do
you think you'll go about it?
- Are there
any interesting strengths?
- The quiz
refers to romantic relationships.
- Do you
believe in love? In couples?
- Are you
satisfied with your friendships?
- Your social
life? Your family?
- Is school
a place where you can grow?
- What is
your opinion of the image you project?
- Difficult
or easy to live with?
2nd Option
For those
students who do not wish to participate in this activity, offer
them as an alternative a self- analysis using the following questions,
which deal with the ability to talk about oneself.
- If there
is no one in the class that you can trust, is there anyone outside
the classroom? Can you name these people?
- Which aspect
of yourself do you most enjoy talking about?
- What aspect
of your life do you not like discussing?
- Why is
it important to have someone to confide in?
- Are you
a person one can confide in? Explain.
- Have you
ever had a particularly interesting experience where someone
confided in you? What was it about? How did you feel?
- Have you
ever had a disappointing experience where someone betrayed your
trust? What was it about? How did you feel?
- If you
had a serious personal problem, would you consult a health professional?
Explain your answer.
- What do
you think can happen to a person who goes through life always
isolated from others?
- Do you
believe in friendship? How do you perceive it?
- Do you
believe in living as a couple? How do you perceive this?
Phase
3
Next, ask the
students to answer the following questions individually. This
is a short questionnaire aimed at taking an objective look at
group interaction.
- Which alternative
did you choose for the group discussion? Why?
- How did
it go between you?
- How did
you feel?
- Do you
think that this discussion was worthwhile?
- What positive
aspects did you retain from this discussion?
Phase
4
Summarize and
provide an organized answer to the main question.
(Please refer
to the activities in the secondary
I section, phase
4.)
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SYNTHESIS
Divide
the students into groups of four. Have them use the school
or municipal library or the Internet to find documentation
n stress management techniques. Each team must return to
class with at least two techniques that they will try out
on the rest of the class (visualization, breathing techniques,
relaxation exercises, etc.). The teacher may also participate.
Literature on this subject is extensive.
|
Introduction
| Secondary
I & II
| Secondary
III, IV & V
| Bibliography
| Links
| Home
|
Français
A publication of
The Canadian Mental Health Association, Montréal branch
847, rue Cherrier, bureau 201
Montréal (Québec)
H2L 1H6
Telephone: (514) 521-4993
Fax: (514) 521-3270
E-mail:acsmmtl@cam.org
