In STATS, each group presents something called The 4-Way Stop. The 4-Way Stop are ways that can help you get out of a situation in which you are being pressured. These are the 4 ways:
1. Say "NO" with confidence. If someone is pressuring you, tell them "No" in a firm tone.
2. Change the subject. If saying "No" doesn't work, try changing the subject. Ask them how they did on a test, if they're going to a specific sporting event, or where they got those sweet shoes.
3. Reverse the pressure. If the previous 2 ways don't make the person pressuring you stop, reverse the pressure on them. Example: "I thought you were my friend. Why would you want me to do something that could get me in trouble/kicked off the basketball team/grounded/suspended, etc.?" What you're doing is taking the pressure OFF of yourself and turning it back onto them to make them think.
4. If you have tried saying "no", changing the subject and reversing the pressure and NONE of them have worked, then do what will: just walk away. That's it. Turn and leave the situation.
The following promotional video from our 2010 year shows some examples of the 4-Way stop within it. You can find it here.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
How Badly Do You Want That?
Click here to read an article about "The Underage Drinking Epidemic."
With nicknames like "Suicide in a Kettle" or "Blackout in a Can," one would think that it would be obvious to stay away from these drinks, but apparently not.
How do we, as a society, convey alcohol? There are those who say that we can't blame media or music for the decisions of minors. I agree to an extent. How many songs have you heard recently that talk about the dangers of alcohol instead of lyrics like:
"Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack" -"Tik Tok" by Ke$ha
"Drink it up, drink drink it up/When sober girls around me, they be actin' like they drunk" -"Like a G6 by Far East Movement
Katy Perry, in her song, "Last Friday Night" sings about multiple consequences of being drunk but still throws in the lyrics, "This Friday night, do it all again."
What is the message we are sending to kids? Even when you look beyond media into the homes raising children today, what do they see? What example is being set?
That is just one more reason why STATS is important. When other kids are drinking things like Jungle Juice, we want students to remember ways they were taught to turn down peer pressure.
Tomorrow, we'll talk about the 4-way stop, better known as 4 ways to say "no."
With nicknames like "Suicide in a Kettle" or "Blackout in a Can," one would think that it would be obvious to stay away from these drinks, but apparently not.
How do we, as a society, convey alcohol? There are those who say that we can't blame media or music for the decisions of minors. I agree to an extent. How many songs have you heard recently that talk about the dangers of alcohol instead of lyrics like:
"Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack" -"Tik Tok" by Ke$ha
"Drink it up, drink drink it up/When sober girls around me, they be actin' like they drunk" -"Like a G6 by Far East Movement
Katy Perry, in her song, "Last Friday Night" sings about multiple consequences of being drunk but still throws in the lyrics, "This Friday night, do it all again."
What is the message we are sending to kids? Even when you look beyond media into the homes raising children today, what do they see? What example is being set?
That is just one more reason why STATS is important. When other kids are drinking things like Jungle Juice, we want students to remember ways they were taught to turn down peer pressure.
Tomorrow, we'll talk about the 4-way stop, better known as 4 ways to say "no."
Monday, January 16, 2012
A Dream
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day and so many schools in the area are enjoying a day off.
Martin Luther King, Jr was someone who took a stand against an injustice. He encouraged, he spoke, he sought for a better tomorrow. Whose thoughts don't automatically stray to his "I Have a Dream" speech when they hear his name?
I was thinking this morning about how our STATS group has a dream as well. We want to see teenagers educated about abstinence. We want them to know that they have another option when peer pressure happens and that is option is to say "no." We want them to see how their future has a positive effect when they take a stand to make a healthy choice.
We live in a society that is steeped in selfishness. We want what we want when we want it. Why should we wait? Why should I listen to someone else?
One of the most common answers to when we ask the interview question of "Why do you want to be in STATS?" has something to do with the fact that these kids have had to live through watching other people make bad choices, or making bad choices themselves and seeing the consequences of it. We hear about family members or friends that have struggled with alcoholism, are in jail due to drug use or dealing, have had to change their life plans due to teenage pregnancy or have died from lung cancer. We see the way these choices have effected the students who sit in front of us. But every wrong choice we hear about - no matter how different they are - has left the same effect on each student: they don't want to see others suffer the same consequences.
They are students that have their own dreams. Dreams for successful futures, high hopes for careers that they're passionate about, a life without bondage to drugs, sex, alcohol and tobacco.
And they are passionate about sharing that dream with others.
What is your dream?
How will you reach it?
Martin Luther King, Jr was someone who took a stand against an injustice. He encouraged, he spoke, he sought for a better tomorrow. Whose thoughts don't automatically stray to his "I Have a Dream" speech when they hear his name?
I was thinking this morning about how our STATS group has a dream as well. We want to see teenagers educated about abstinence. We want them to know that they have another option when peer pressure happens and that is option is to say "no." We want them to see how their future has a positive effect when they take a stand to make a healthy choice.
We live in a society that is steeped in selfishness. We want what we want when we want it. Why should we wait? Why should I listen to someone else?
One of the most common answers to when we ask the interview question of "Why do you want to be in STATS?" has something to do with the fact that these kids have had to live through watching other people make bad choices, or making bad choices themselves and seeing the consequences of it. We hear about family members or friends that have struggled with alcoholism, are in jail due to drug use or dealing, have had to change their life plans due to teenage pregnancy or have died from lung cancer. We see the way these choices have effected the students who sit in front of us. But every wrong choice we hear about - no matter how different they are - has left the same effect on each student: they don't want to see others suffer the same consequences.
They are students that have their own dreams. Dreams for successful futures, high hopes for careers that they're passionate about, a life without bondage to drugs, sex, alcohol and tobacco.
And they are passionate about sharing that dream with others.
What is your dream?
How will you reach it?
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