 Program Objectives This program was designed to: define self-esteem…explore the sources of the way we feel about ourselves…give the viewer a sense of the control he has over the way he feels about himself…outline specific strategies for setting goals and making changes…give examples of the way other teenagers are handling their lives. • Introduction Self-esteem is the deep down feeling of our own worth. We all have come to recognize the important part this plays in the dynamic of who we are and how we deal with the events of our lives. For young people this is particularly true. For if, when we are out on the thin ice of adolescence, we are protected by a sense of our own value, we are better prepared to handle the pressures to take dangerous risks, experiment with drugs, or give in to someone else’s wishes. Knowing the importance of self-esteem doesn’t make it easy to help young people work free of bouts with self-doubt and uncertainty. This four-part video program attempts to give high school viewers insight into the ways they see themselves and some skills at gaining control over the way they feel about themselves. The program combines dramatic scenarios with documentary interviews of young people so that viewers can choose from a variety of voices some impressions, qualities or thoughts that strike a chord with their own experiences. Our young need to know what most of us have learned: that there is no straight line from youth to adulthood. There are many twists and turns and some mistakes along the way. There are also choices that we can be empowered to make once we see the course clearly. This program sheds a little light on the journey. • Summary of Content I Would if I Could and I Can As this part of the program opens, we follow a young girl down a city street and begin to wonder about the many moods of adolescence and about the dangers of poor self-esteem. The narration points out some of the manifestations of poor self-esteem and attempts to show viewers how to control the way they feel about themselves. We meet Leo, a high school sophomore, who talks about a time when he gave in to apathy and explains how he chose to change the way he was behaving so that he could feel better about himself. The video then explores the choices available when someone meets with a disappointment. Like the lacrosse player in the program who gets cut from the varsity, we can either sulk or pick ourselves up and try it again. We then meet a young woman with quite a list of dissatisfactions. We work through the list with her and go about setting goals and taking a plan of action. The video explores how we can use happy memories and the kinds of emotions these memories rekindle in us to move out of “a bad place” so that we can be more in control of our lives. The next scenario is of a girl who has betrayed the confidence of a friend. The video explains how we can sort through mistakes like this in order to understand what we did so that we don’t repeat the same mistakes. The viewer is also urged not to wallow in guilt but to set about making things right. This segment ends with Joey, a bored young man who feels his life is just and endless repetition. With Joey, the viewers are encouraged to try something new and to fill their time with activities that help them feel better about themselves. “I Would if I Could and I Can” sets out to describe the territory of self-esteem and to help viewers understand that they can take steps to control the way they feel about themselves. • Feeling Good about Myself This segment begins with a caricature of poor self-esteem and another of someone who feel good about themselves. We then strike off to explore just what self-esteem is and to look for its sources. We meet Linda who reads from her journal and we see how poor self-esteem can affect the way we respond to events. We travel through the land of the family and out into the world of peers. Along the way, we meet Todd and Mimi who talk about their relationships with other people and how this part of their lives affects the way they behave and feel about themselves. Then we take a drive with some kids. Someone brings out some drugs. The video uses this scenario to explore the pressure viewers may have experienced to go along with the crowd. Viewers are urged to avoid making assumptions about what others expect of them and are encouraged to think for themselves. Because we have all been dissatisfied with ourselves at one time or another, it is important to learn to accept ourselves for what we are. Terence, a high school senior, talks about how he had to evaluate his chances of getting into an ivy league college and then set about bringing his grades up. Jennifer, a teen model, talks about getting around the image others had of her and developing her own unique personality. Then Steve talks about how he had to come to terms with being unathletic when this was the coinage of acceptance in elementary school. He gradually learned to trust himself and his own view of his worth. “Feeling Good about Myself” explores how each of us has to find our own way through the pitfalls of self-esteem, and we are introduced to some young people who talk about the choices that have shaped their lives. • Who I Am In this part of the program we are introduced to Peter Pitzele, a psychodramatist, and five teenagers. Peter directs a conversation about their lives and how each has dealt with a variety of challenges. These are pretty ordinary young people, perhaps privileged by some standards, but not exceptional, and we eavesdrop on them talking about some of the difficult periods in their lives. The value of this segment is that viewers can see themselves in the stories and can imagine how they might cope and become survivors. In many primitive cultures the young are sent out into the wilderness as part of an initiation into the world of adult life. The young people in this video suggest that they too have been tested and have endured the rite of passage of sorts. • Being the Best That I Can Be In this part of the program we meet four young people. They are neither ordinary nor exceptional. They are just four teenagers who have done a pretty good job at sorting themselves out. The video provides a window to each of their lives, and the viewer may be able to take advantage of some of the lessons these kids have learned. --Emily started high school with a poor “attitude.” She turned this around by choice and hard work. She filled her time with a job and other activities. She learned the value of independence and saw her efforts pay off. --Danny participates in a variety of school activities. He’s involved in student government, the school newspaper, basketball, and takes pleasure in helping others. --Sislena has been tested by hardship but seems undiminished. She draws on her grandmother as a role model and on a deep religious faith. --Karl has also been tested. Seized with a phobia of school, he has had to chart an unusual course through high school. Through his accomplishments he had developed a clear and positive sense of who he is. These young people tell their stories in their own words. They are striving to reach the heights of their potential. The viewer is encouraged to follow. • Related Activities Following are suggestions for activities you can assign to your students. 1. Write a paragraph describing yourself. Use at least ten adjectives. 2. Choose one thing about yourself you would like to change. Pick a goal that is realistic and one that you can break down into a series of small steps. Pick a goat that can be measured (for example, how far you jog). If you make mistakes or fail at your first attempts don’t think about the mistakes or failures. Forget what you did wrong; think about what you did right and how you can improve the next time. Spend some time each day imagining yourself doing the thing you are trying to improve. This kind of mental practice can be helpful. 3. Think of a person you consider to be shy. (This could be yourself.) Why do you think he/she is shy? How do you think this person can overcome his/her shyness? Describe how you might try to get to know a person whom you like but don’t know well. 4. Journal Writing: Over the course of a month write in a journal. See how/if this can help to see yourself a little more clearly and help you sort out issues. Use the journal as if you were talking to a friend. Set a goal to write for five or ten minutes a day and stick to this. 5. Autobiography: Write your story. Give emphasis to the people and events that have shaped the way you see yourself. • Questions for Discussion and Review • I Would if I Could and I Can 1. The script says, “Poor self-esteem is like a self-fulfilling prophecy.” What does this mean? Give an example 2. Why is adolescence a time of looking inward; a time of periods of confusion? 3. How is the card game in the video a metaphor for how we deal with life? 4. What happened to Leo? What kinds of choices did he make? How did his friends help him? 5. Why does it help to make a list of the things you want to change about yourself? Would it also help to make a list of the things you like? 6. Why is it frightening to go into the school cafeteria alone? What is the worst thing that can happen to you? 7. List some of the things you can do when you get into a “bad place,” when you feel down on yourself. 8. Why is it important for the girl in the video to think about why she told her friend’s secret and important to try to set things right with the friend? 9. Have you ever felt like Joey? Have you ever tried anything new like Kevin? What are the positive aspects of the job working with the family? Would you ever try something like that? 10. What kinds of choices do we have in the way we feel about ourselves? 11. What’s the connection between working out in the gym and the way we live our lives? Feeling Good about Myself 1. Define self-esteem. 2. How did the way Linda felt about herself affect what she did when she graduated from the eighth grade? 3. What part do you think writing in a journal might play in a person’s life? Do you think that it would help you sort things out? 4. List some of the sources of self-esteem. List some of the parental messages given to kids. What kind of messages do we get from our peers? From the media? 5. What happened to Todd when he went into high school? Can you understand how he felt? What would you have done? 6. What do you think shyness is? What happened to Mimi when she worked on the costume crew? 7. Describe what happened in the car scene. Is that what “peer pressure” is like? 8. What are the “masks” people wear? What are people trying to hide? 9. What does the narration mean when it says, “Behaviors that generate good self-esteem are also expressions of good self-esteem?” How can you get on this merry-go-round? 10. What do you think self-acceptance is? 11. What happens when we become what other people want us to be? Is that what happened to Jennifer? 12. Describe how Steve probably felt when he failed to hit the whiffle ball. 13. How is the image of the child being pushed on the swing used in the video? Compare the meaning of this image with that of the potter. • Who I Am 1. How are experiences in early childhood a part of who we are forever? 2. What do you think the connection is between “surviving” and self-esteem? 3. What happened to Sharif when he moved to Egypt? What resources did he draw on to get through this difficult time? 4. What happened to Sarah? Why couldn’t she go to her friends? Why does she feel good about herself now? 5. How does Monica make decisions? How do you? 6. What are “moral standards?” Where does your own yardstick come from? 7. What did Eddy go through when his parents got divorced? Who was there to help him? 8. What do you think the relationship is like between Kelly and her mother? Do you think Kelly discovered anything by pretending to be and feel like her mother? 9. How is the term survivor used in this part of the video? Do you feel that each of us can choose to be a survivor, that it is within our own power to be one? • Being the Best That I Can Be 1. What was Emily’s attitude at the beginning of school? Have you ever felt like that? 2. Can you suggest why Emily decided to change her behavior? Have you ever made a similar kind of decision and made it work? 3. How did Emily fill her time? Why did she fill her time? 4. What did Emily learn from her job? 5. Why is independence and self-sufficiency a part of the way we feel about ourselves? 6. Why did Danny join Special Olympics as a volunteer? Would you have gone if Mr. Jefferson had suggested it to you? Why do you think Danny got so much out of the experience? 7. Do you think Danny has a good sense of humor? What do you think drives Danny, motivates him? 8. What part has Sislena’s grandmother played in her life? Is there anybody in your life who has been such a significant role model? 9. What did Sislena learn about the importance of material things? 10. How did Sislena perceive her responsibilities toward her grandmother and uncle? 11. What does Sislena draw on to help her deal with difficulties? 12. What difficulty did Karl have to face? How did the alternative school program help him? 13. What interests does Karl have? 14. What keeps Karl from getting discouraged? How do you think a positive attitude works? What difference does it make? |
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