Saturday, September 1, 2007

VIDEO Progressively Worse (or) Draw the Line

"I know some things are bad for me, but what's really the harm?"

I'd like to have student groups make a video--here's the sketchy skeleton of the idea for kids to flesh out and create:

Start with a clip of a student lying to his friend.  Look straight at the camera, shrug, and say "where's the harm?"

A clip of a student gossiping about another kid.  "Where's the harm?"

Bullying, pushing, harassing.  "It doesn't do any real harm."

Middle school romance. ""It won't hurt me."

Adding a little mercury to your drinking water.

Drinking pond water.  Eating chewing gum from under a desk.  Spraying chocolate with bugspray.  Etc.

"At some point during this movie, you "drew the line."  You said to yourself "Hey, no matter how much they like it . . . that's not good for them!"

Add music and classy transitions--I think this could be a powerful teaching tool and a point of reference for later discussions about WHY all these old-fogy adults keep telling kids not to smoke, drink, get sexually involved, etc.  The question about those topics is all-to-often "What's the harm--what's the big deal?"