PASMO Module 8: Decision-making Preparation To implement this session, youll need: Shop paper for the groups (should

d be provided by the institution) Markers Introduction 1) For the next couple classes, were going to talk about Life Planning. 2) Planning for our lives requires many things a good understanding of what we want and need, responsibilities we have to our families and our communities (i.e., going to school). 3) But the key to Life Planning is good decision making. o If we dont make good decisions, we may suffer from bad consequences that can hurt us now, or hurt our future plans. Part 1: Discussion on Decision-making 1) We need to understand that humans are decision-making animals. We make decisions and choices every day, from the moment we wake up (will I get out of bed right now? Will I wait 5 minutes? How will I comb my hair?) all throughout the day until we go to sleep. Many of these decisions are so small, we dont even think about them or consider them to be decisions. 2) What are some examples of decisions we make every day? a. b. Which other students well talk to. How will I wear my hair? c. Will I pay attention in class, or will I stare out the window? d. Will I listen to my teacher, or will I give her/him problems? 3) Because adults play a big role in our lives, it can feel like we dont have power. But even if someone makes us do something (like watch our little brothers and sisters after school), we make choices about how well do it. a. b. Will we be pleasant or mean? Will we do what they asked us to, or will we make another choice?

PASMO Module 8: Decision-making c. Will I do a good job, or just the minimum so I dont get hassled any d. Will we watch TV or go visit a friend? 4) So, we cant always control what happens to us, but we can always control how we respond. 5) There are 5 parts to making a good decision and they spell out the word ideal. (write on the board) Identify the problem Describe possible solutions or options Evaluate the solutions or options Act out a plan Learn for the future Give the following example: A girl, Keisha, needs to decide if shes going to skip school to hang out with her boyfriend. She doesnt feel like going to school because has to present a project that is due today for her science class and shes nervous about it. The steps would be as follows: (write briefly on the board) Identify the problem: should Keisha go to school or hang out with her boyfriend? Describe all the alternatives she has 4 possible options: 1) Go to school and tell my boyfriend Ill hang out with him after school 2) Go to school and encourage my boyfriend to go to school as well 3) Skip school and hang out with my boyfriend 4) Skip school and dont hang out with my boyfriend Evaluate the solutions: what are the advantages and disadvantages of each? Solution #1: Go to school and hang out with boyfriend after school Advantages
Wont get in trouble Will get a better grade for presenting on time Still get to hang out with boyfriend

more?

Disadvantages
Have to tell boyfriend no and they might quarrel Shell have to present her project today, even though she doesnt want to

PASMO Module 8: Decision-making Solution #2: Go to school and tell boyfriend to go to school as well Advantages
Good influence on boyfriend Wont get in trouble Will get a better grade for presenting on time

Disadvantages
Boyfriend might quarrel with her Shell have to present her project today, even though she doesnt want to

Solution #3: Skip school & hang out with boyfriend Advantages
Wont have to go to school Probably have fun with boyfriend

Disadvantages
May get in trouble from mother or teacher May get a bad grade Doesnt want to make a habit of skipping school

Solution #4: Skip school & dont hang out with boyfriend Advantages
Wont have to go to school Wont start a habit of skipping school to be with boyfriend

Disadvantages
May get in trouble May get a bad grade May get in a fight with boyfriend

Act out a plan: Keisha decides to skip school and hang out with her boyfriend. They have a good time in the morning, but get into a fight after lunch, and her boyfriend leaves to go hang out with his friends. She hopes he wont break up with her. Her mother finds out from their neighbor that she skipped school, and as a punishment Keisha will have to come directly home after school for the next month and help out with her little brothers and sisters. Her teacher made her do the presentation the day she returned, and even though she did a good job, the teacher reduced her grade by 15% for having missed the deadline. Learn for the future: Keisha realized that she sacrificed her well-being for a guy who wont necessarily stick around for her. She also realized that her decision to skip her presentation had worse consequences than if she had done it to begin with. She wont skip school again just to please a guy and shell respect her deadlines in the future. Group Work: Using the IDEAL Model Break the class into groups of three, give each group a piece of shop paper and a marker, and have each group come up with a scenario where a character has to make a decision. It should be completely different than the example above. The group has to use the IDEAL model to explain the process the character goes through, the different choices they have with the advantages/disadvantages, the final decision and what the character learned

PASMO Module 8: Decision-making for the future. (Note: the character doesnt have to make a bad decision he/she could learn that he/she made the right choice). They can briefly present to the class. Part 2: Discussion of Consequences 1) As you can see, its very important for us to weigh the consequences of our decisions. What are consequences? a. The events that occur directly as a result of a choice that we make. b. Consequences may be good (good grades, rewards, etc.) or bad (get sick, go to prison, etc.) c. For example, if I decided not to show up to lead this session today, there could be several consequences: i. Your teacher might call my boss to find out what happened ii. The teacher might think Im unreliable, and not view me favorably in the future iii. If my boss found out, I could get in trouble, maybe even fired 2) Even though we dont always know what exactly will happen, many times we can predict the possible consequences of our decisions. 3) How can we predict possible consequences? a. By using our experiences. Every time we make a decision and see the consequences, we learn about what can happen. b. We can also use our common sense. i. For example, if we sneak out of our houses, we know that we might get caught, we might not get caught, we might get hurt while were out, we might just have a good time. d. When choosing what well do, we need to answer 2 questions: i. Is it more likely that my decision will have good consequences or bad consequences? ii. Is the good wed receive from the best possible consequence worth risking the worst possible consequence?

PASMO Module 8: Decision-making Group Work: Weighing consequences The participants should still be in their groups from the last exercise. Give them the following scenarios. For each scenario, they need to write 3 possible consequences. One of the consequences should be the worst possible consequence, one of the consequences should be the best possible consequence, and one should be in-between. Example: Marla decides to sneak out of her mothers house to go to a party, even though her mother told her that she had to stay home. 1) Best possible consequence: Marla sneaks out and goes to the party. She has a good time, returns home, and her mother never finds out. 2) Worst possible consequence: Marla gets into a car accident on her way home from the party and is very seriously hurt. Shell never walk again, and her mother has a hard time forgiving her. 3) In-between consequence: Marla goes to the party and drinks alcohol. A guy she meets there tries to force her to have sex with him, but she manages to fight him off. Her mother hears her come back into the house and is very angry. Her mother decides to ground her for 2 months. Scenarios for the class: Scenario 1: Brandon decides to try crack cocaine for the first time this afternoon. Scenario 2: Shavonda decides to steal a pretty shirt from a store on Queen Street. Scenario 3: Troy decides to give in to his girlfriends request to have sex. Scenario 4: Sherlene decides to run away from her mothers home and go to Dangriga. Have each group present the 3 consequences they thought of for one of the scenarios (each group presents 1 scenario, try to have all 4 scenarios presented by the different groups.) Point out differences or similarities between the groups answers.

PASMO Module 8: Decision-making Discussion on sexual decision-making 1) One important, and often difficult decision we all need to make at some point is whether or not well have sex. Were going to discuss that decision right now.

(Draw a very simple scale on the board)

Reasons to have sex

Reasons not to have sex

2) Lets imagine a couple who is our age. One of them wants to have sex, and one of them wants to wait. What are the arguments they might use? a. Brainstorm all of the reasons for a teenager to decide to have sex. (write on the board under the appropriate scale) e. Now, brainstorm all of the reasons for a teenager to decide to wait to have sex. f. Ask the class if there are any reasons that are better than others on both sides of the argument. i. Rate the reasons given in order of importance, with #1 being the most important reason. 3) How could the decision to have sex affect our life planning? a. If we get pregnant, it will hurt our ability to further our education (if we want to go to UB, etc.), which could hurt our ability to get a good job later on. b. If we catch HIV, we might have a hard time finding someone who will marry us, and well die younger than necessary c. If we have a reputation for having lots of sexual partners, some boys/girls might decide that they dont want to be with us for anything more than sex. 4) What influences a teenagers decision to have sex? a. Peer pressure (boyfriend/girlfriend or friends) b. Parents 6

PASMO Module 8: Decision-making c. Religion d. Sexual feelings /desires e. The media 5) Can someone who has decided to wait change his or her mind? a. Yes he or she may be convinced if theyre not strong enough to stand up to peer pressure. 6) Can someone who has already had sex change his/her mind and decide to stop for now? Why or why not? a. Absolutely many people do that. They realize that sex is more complicated than they thought, or it didnt keep them and their boyfriend/girlfriend together. 7) Whats the worst thing that can happen to a young person who says no? a. Made fun of by friends b. Dumped by girlfriend/boyfriend, etc. 8) Whats the worst thing that can happen to a young person who says yes? a. HIV b. STIs c. Get in trouble with parents d. Rape (if she said yes once, but doesnt want to again), etc. 9) What does a young person need in order to say no? a. Good self esteem can withstand peer pressure b. Good communication say no clearly c. Feel good about the decision to wait 10) What does a young person need to know or do if he/she says yes? a. Risk of HIV or other STIs b. Risk of unwanted pregnancy c. Which forms of contraception best prevent HIV/STIs and pregnancy d. Where to buy protection (condoms, pills, etc) e. How to communicate well with the partner (in case one changes his/her mind) 7

PASMO Module 8: Decision-making f. Choose a partner who will be good to you doesnt have other partners, wont be violent g. A realistic attitude sex wont keep a boyfriend/girlfriend in the long term, they can usually find someone else if they want. Also, a person who pressures us doesnt really care about us 11) But, we need to understand that we dont make these decisions in a bubble. (Write the following equation on the board) Your decision + other influences = your behavior Explain that we make choices, but we are influenced by a lot of things, which encourage us to make a certain choice, or not to make another choice. 12) What or who plays a role in influencing us? a. Parents b. Religion c. Teachers d. Our friends e. The media (TV, radio, movies tell us what is cool)