Life Skills & Leadership: Unit 2, Session 3: Making Decisions | Page 59 of 127
Pause: What is Ephron’s responsibility when he finds something that is not his?
Ask: Take the bike; Leave the bike; Try to find the owner of the bike; Use the bike but return it to
where it was found.
Understand: Taking the bike, Ephron might be accused of theft; Finding the owner, he might get a
reward; Leaving the bike, he will always wonder what it would have been like to have that
bike.
Select: Head: Ephron is trying to convince himself that it’s OK to take the bike; Heart: Ephron really
wants the bike but he would also be upset if someone took his bike; Hands: People don’t
abandon valuable property. Surely the bike belongs to someone; Hope: There must be a
better way for Ephron to get a bike of his own
Evaluate: How will Ephron feel as soon as he turns his back on the bicycle?
- Mieka has been studying many hours for the mathematics test this week. She asked her
older sister for some help and even stayed after class to talk to the teacher. But now her
friend, Tilden, is pressuring Mieka to cheat on the test. “If you’re a good friend, you’ll
give me a few answers!” Tilden said.
Pause: Should Mieka be dishonest to help a friend?
Ask: Give some test answers to Tilden; Help Tilden study for the test so she can do better on her
own; Tell Tilden to get some extra help from the teacher; Tell the teacher that Tilden wants
to cheat on the test.
Understand: Possible loss of Tilden’s friendship if Mieka doesn’t provide the answers; Possible
failure of the test if Mieka and Tilden are caught cheating; Possible stronger friendship with
Tilden if Mieka helps her study for the test.
Select: Head: Cheating is wrong; Heart: Having to choose between following the rules and helping a
friend is very stressful; Hands: Friends (always) help friends; Hope: Mieka wants to do well
in school AND have close friends
Evaluate: Mieka might challenge Tilden incrementally and gauge her reactions.
- Ondo has been spending a lot of time with a couple of new friends. They are really wild
and crazy, looking for mischief and finding trouble. Most of their “adventures” have
been fun and harmless, but the other day they had something that could have been
drugs. That scared Ondo, but he also didn’t want them to make fun of him for being
worried about it.
Pause: Are these the right kind of friends for Ondo?
Ask: Confront the boys about the drugs; Quietly stop being friends with them; Tell an adult about
the drugs; Become more involved in using or selling the drugs.
Understand: These boys are involved in a lot of risky behavior that could be illegal; It’s “cool” to be
with people who take risks; Other teens can be cruel when someone does not do what they
want.
Select: Head: Ondo could easily get in legal trouble; Heart: Ondo really wants to have cool friends;
Hands: These friends are engaged in a lot of anti-social activities; Hope: Ondo wants to get
through his teen years with as few problems as possible
Evaluate: Confronting the boys will tell Ondo a lot about the kind of people they really are.
