"My Little Sister" - a poem that will remind you about how powerful you can be
"How Do You Relate?"
Everybody knows journaling is a great way to get in touch with your feelings, but did you know journaling can also help you figure out ways to solve your problems? Try thinking of your journal as your very own personal problem solver: it asks you the key questions you need to sort through to find the right solutions for your life. Okay, so where do you get the questions? Here!! Use the questions below as starting points to help you work out on paper better ways to interact with your friends.
- Who do I talk to during a typical day at school? Why do I talk to some people and not others?
- When a friend says something that hurts my feelings, how do I usually react? What might that reaction make them think I'm really feeling? (for example, would they think I am angry when I'm really feeling sad and hurt?)
- Is there a student at school I sometimes tease? How do I feel about myself when I tease that student? How do I think it makes that student feel when I tease him/her?
What makes me want to tease that student?
- Which one of my friends knows me the best? Do I talk to that person differently than I talk to my other friends? How could I learn from that to improve my friendships with other people?
- If a new student came to school, what would they think about me if they watched how I act at lunch, during gym, or in the halls? Would they think I'm nice? friendly? stuck-up? Would they be right?
- Who is one student at my school who I am not close friends with but wish I knew better? What is it about them that make me want to know them better? What's keeping me from spending time with that student?
- Which one of my friends do I try to impress? What do I do because I think he/she thinks it's cool? Do I really think it's cool?
- Who looks up to me? Which of my friends seems to look to me for what's cool and how to act? Am I being a good role model for them?
- Should my friends trust me? Am I a good listener? Am I there for them when they need me? Do I ever gossip? If I were someone else, would I want to be my friend?
- What would a perfect friend be like? What interests would they have? What kind of person would they be? How close am I to acting like an ideal friend for other people? What could I do to be a better friend?
"Make It WORK"
Have you ever thought about what you could do if the student organizations at your school got turned up a few notches? Think MAXIMUM impact! You could change the world---or at least make some major changes at your school and in your community! Okay, so what's holding you back?
Use the tips below to get your clubs and organizations WORKING!
- Log It. If you're likely to do an event more than once, make the time to keep a really detailed log of the work you do to prepare, and note the dates of each step. Then when the event is over, go back and turn your log into an Action Plan for the future. Convert the dates to a countdown (i.e. "one month in advance" or "day before event"). Add any ideas you have for improvements. Then file it away for next time. Why re-invent the wheel?!?! Use the time saved on planning to add another event to your calendar next year.
- We Want YOU! Don't wait for people to find your chapter; actively recruit new members. Putting up flyers about meeting times may draw a few new people, but if you really want to increase your group's size and get more kids involved, try sending out personal invitations to attend a meeting or event. You can email, mail, call, or even face-to-face ask other students to join your group. Be sure you explain what the group does, why people find it fun and valuable and why you think the recruit could help you take the organization to the next level. The personal touch almost always results in more new interest (and thus a healthier organization) than just waiting to see who shows up at the next meeting.
- Collaborate. Is there a project your chapter would love to do, but you think it would be too big or too hard? Before you give up on the idea, consider collaborating with another organization to co-sponsor the event. By bringing together the combined creativity, resources, and energy of your members, you can work together to stage events that might be impossible for any one organization to manage. The key to successful collaboration is insuring that the right groups are working together as co-sponsors. As a general rule, you need to find partners who share your goals on the topic area or purpose of the event. For example, many SAVE Chapters work with other chapters on projects because both chapters,
ultimately, are concerned about promoting students' safety. Depending on the project, it might be possible to work with an organization from another school; in fact, if the event you want to do involves the community at large, working with students from another
school can actually help you draw a bigger audience! Prevent one of the most common problems with collaboration - disorganization due to bad communication - by designating ONE member of each chapter
to serve as the official contact person. Funnel all communication between the chapters through the
official contact people on each side to streamline your planning with efficient communication.
Does your school have a SAVE Chapter? If so, use your Chapter Password to access the Chapter Resources section of this web site. You'll find lots of great tips there for getting your SAVE Chapter-or other organizations - working to maximum effect!
If your school doesn't already have a SAVE Chapter, show this web site to your principal.
Your principal can start one today just by filling out the SAVE Chapter Registration Form available on this site.
"Talking Points"
Teens today have to deal with a lot of issues that are pretty scary. It really can help to talk with your parents or other caring adults about the stuff you are facing. But, it can be hard to talk about some of these things. The "Talking Points" below can help you talk with your parents about big issues like violence, bullying, or racism that may be affecting you or some of your friends.
- Use television as a starting point. If you aren't comfortable just jumping into a conversation about a tough issue, use a TV show or movie about that issue to get the conversation started. After the show, say something like "You know, mom, that happened at my school once." or "I'm really afraid something like that might happen in our town."
- Ask your parents about how things were when they were your age to start a conversation on a specific topic. For example, try "Hey, dad, did the guys in your school tease younger guys a lot?"
- Write a letter. If you know you need your parents to know how something is affecting you, but you are too scared or embarrassed or whatever to tell them face to face, try writing them a letter. That way, you can say exactly what you want to say. Then once they've had a chance to read the letter,
you will all be better prepared to discuss what to do.
- Sometimes teens just need to be heard, not given a solution. If you are 100% sure you do not need help with a situation, but just need to talk about it, ask your parents if they'd be willing to just listen and not give you "answers" - sometimes, we find our own answers best if someone else will listen as we work through things aloud. Do know, though, that if your situation could be dangerous, your parents will want to find a solution. They can't help it - they love you! Helping you stay safe is their job!
- Ever feel like your parents are totally out of touch with your reality? Have you ever actually given them a chance to experience your reality? Your parents can't help being out of touch if you don't ever let them see what your life is like. Invite them to hang out with you and your friends for a few hours: talk about the kind of stuff you really talk about with your friends. But set some ground rules - like no showing baby pictures of you!! -so that everybody feels comfortable. You might be surprised---your friends might actually think your parents are cool! (Let's face it---parents who spend a night just listening and eating pizza with their kids because they care about them is pretty cool!)
- Ask your parents about how the issue concerning you plays out in their lives at work or among their friends. The tough issues don't just go away when you get older (sorry to have to break that to you!). If you are worried about how some of the boys at school talk about some of the girls, ask your parents if that ever happens at their work and how they feel about it.
"The 411 on Violence
Want to learn more about how school violence is impacting America's youth? Click on SCHOOL VIOLENCE FACTS & FIGURES
to access statistics about youth violence in the United States.
Want to do something about it? Want to make a difference? Here's what you can do:
- Email National SAVE and ask that your school receive information about how to form a SAVE Chapter. Just provide us with your school's mailing address and the name of the teacher, counselor, or principal to whom you would like us to send the materials.
- Support SAVE while you spread the word about preventing hate and violence. With your parents' permission, click "merchandise" to order a SAVE t-shirt or book. 100% of the profits from merchandise sales help us continue to provide schools with violence-prevention programs.
- Tell your friends about this web site so they too can work to prevent violence.
"My Little Sister"
by R. Vasconcellas
Hanging with friends on Friday night
Goofing on the freaky girl in English
Wishing my little sister would get out of our hair
Digging out money to pay for the pizza
Bumming some from my sister
Promising she can eat it with us
Blowing off the weird delivery kid
Wondering why dorks always try to talk to me
Telling my friends what a total nerd he is
Even my little sister's pretty cool sometimes
When she tries to be
Like when I let her hang out with me and my friends
Trying to work on this paper
Hearing the noisy kids outside
Noticing one voice sounds so cruel
"You're such a freak!"
Walking toward the window
"Don't talk to me, weirdo!"
Peaking through the curtains
"What a nerd!"
Who is that mean little girl?
She is my little sister.
I don't know where she learned to be so nasty.
EVERYBODY is somebody's role model…including YOU!
What do your words and actions teach other people?
Special thanks to Dr. Jody Roy, Rippon College, for providing these materials.
National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere
SAVE: Youth Voices... Grown-Up Choices! Toll Free 866-343-SAVE
For more information contact cwray@nationalsave.org / Copyright 2012
|
Welcome to the Students Against Violence Everywhere web site! We hope you'll find some good ideas and information here that you can use to improve your life and to help other kids improve their lives as well.
