Archives: Life Skills/Pressing Issues

Heroes of a Different Kind — Avoiding school violence starts with creating a more caring school climate. It takes a different kind of hero to extend kindness and compassion to those who are being put down, left out, or ignored.
Key Ideas: School violence - School culture - Reaching out to the lonely and neglected
Character Traits: Kindness - Compassion
Note: This message and lesson plan also work for the Anniversary of the Columbine Shootings.

It Begins With You * — A Cherokee folktale helps students understand that we all have good and bad qualities inside us, and each of us can choose which qualities to develop and which qualities to try to overcome. Choosing to "feed" the bad qualities may lead to a life filled with unhappiness and perhaps even violence. Students explore the notion that violence prevention begins within each individual.
Key Ideas: Violence prevention begins inside each of us - We each choose whether or not to cultivate or overcome our negative qualities
Character Traits: Respect - Responsibility - Integrity
Note: This broadcast message and lesson plan also work well for National Youth Violence Prevention Week

Underneath the Anger — Sometimes, getting angry is the right thing to do, like when we get angry at some terrible wrong that has been committed. But most of the time when we get angry, it's because we are hurt or afraid. Students examine some of the underlying emotions that can create anger, their responsibility for addressing those root causes, and ways to deal appropriately with those feelings.
Key Ideas: Dealing with Anger - Underlying Causes of Anger
Character Traits: Respect - Responsibility