Teachers, it's the ultimate challenge in classroom management,
isn't it? If you find it challenging to teach and counsel
students suffering from "hormone poisoning," here are some great
interventions to help your teens use their heads instead of
their hormones. All of these delightfully different methods are
taken from Youth Change's Solution Center; there are hundreds
more there if you need them: On-the-Job Kissy-Face When kids
debate your site's standards regulating romantic contact, inform
them that the standards derive from the work world, not your
personal preferences. Advise your youngsters that as soon as
business work places commonly permit hugging, kissing, etc., you
will too. So, in our part of the world, we tell kids that the
very instant that our large employers like Nike, the State of
Oregon, and Intel, start offering Coffee and Kiss breaks, we'll
do it too.
Work a Little, Kiss a Little Ask students to name all the jobs
they can successfully do and gaze longingly into someone's eyes
while working; there may be none. Ask your youngsters to guess
what happens to people who work a little, kiss a little. That
Other Fire Will Have to Wait Have your students name the jobs or
businesses they may one day wish to do. Ask them to identify the
results of kissing, hugging, etc. while working these jobs. For
example, what could result from a fire fighter, surgeon or air
traffic controller being distracted by romantic activity at
work? Have students answer that question humorously by
determining what the distracted worker might say when asked to
concentrate on work. Elicit silly answers, such as the fire
fighter responds with "That other fire will have to wait."
Would You Ski in Class? Ask students if they would ever cook
breakfast during your class or activity, or practice the
clarinet, or ski? When they say "no," ask why. When they tell
you that those activities don't belong in class, you can respond
that neither do kissing, hugging, etc. Note that you are not
commenting on whether the romantic activity is good or bad, but
that class or group is the wrong time and place, just like it's
the wrong time and place for skiing or making toast. Elbows to
Fingertips A quick and easy-to-remember guideline for
interpersonal contact at your site: Touch only from the elbows
to fingertips, and then, only after asking and receiving
permission.
Someone's Sister This intervention is designed for boys who view
girls as mere toys. Ask the young man to describe how he'd react
if someone took advantage of his sister (or mother or daughter.)
Elicit answers that show that he wouldn't tolerate such
behavior. Remind the young man that every girl is/will be
someone's sister, someone's daughter, someone's mother.
In Case of Hormone Overdose Years ago, families reliably taught
their offspring what they needed to know about interpersonal
behavior. Those skills are not always reliably taught at home
these days. You may want to make it your job to teach what the
family should have taught. Remember that telling youngsters
"what not to do", may not be enough to change the problem
behaviors. Be sure to teach them "what to do" instead. Be sure
to cover these: Hand Control, Mouth Control, Distance Control
and Clothes Control.
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