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Peer Pressure

Peer Pressure. EDL 7715 Curriculum Leadership October 4, 2007 Brian Sullivan. What is Peer Pressure?. Peer Pressure is defined as: “The ability of people from the same social rank or age to influence another person’s decision making process.”. Who are your peers?.

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Peer Pressure

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  1. Peer Pressure EDL 7715 Curriculum Leadership October 4, 2007 Brian Sullivan

  2. What is Peer Pressure? • Peer Pressure is defined as: “The ability of people from the same social rank or age to influence another person’s decision making process.”

  3. Who are your peers? People that are close in age and have similar interests and experiences. As we grow older we develop closer relationships from our peers, sometimes they become like family. “It’s human nature to listen to and learn from other people in your age group.” –TeensHealth

  4. Who are your peers? (Cont.) Peers extend beyond just close friends, they include but are not limited to: - People in your grade (masters class!) - Those who attend your church - Members of the same team - People you work with

  5. Stereotypes Peer Pressure is most often associated with teens, but these influences go beyond teenage behavior. Adults, teens, young adults, children and even infants can be witnessed performing actions in order to feel more accepted by peers. -Education Bug

  6. Not Always a Bad Thing!!! Since the term is most often used regarding teens doing things they should not or would not normally do, peer pressure is greatly viewed as a negative influence. While there are many negatives through peer pressure, there are also plenty of positives! -TeensHealth

  7. Positive Influences… Children, teens, and adults that are involved in organized group activities; such as sports, student government, school clubs, church organizations, masters cohorts; have a great chance to be positively influenced through peer pressure. This may cause one to perform well under pressure and for the greater good of their team or organization, or to earn higher grades due to peer pressure of teammates or fellow club members. -TeensHealth

  8. Negative Influences… While people of all ages are influenced by peer pressure, the need to fit in is never greater than while a teenager is in high school, and therefore teens are most susceptible to succumbing to negative influences. Everyone at this age wants to find their niche and impress the opposite sex, and are often willing to do STUPID things to accomplish this! Unfortunately, teens can get so caught up in fitting in with a group that they sacrifice common morals and values they have practiced their entire lives. -Education Bug

  9. Jekyll and Hyde Many parents are unaware of what their teenager is REALLY doing! -The star athlete that abuses drugs and alcohol to cope with the pressure of being so visible at a young age. -The valedictorian who does the same because he or she has been under intense pressure their entire lives to earn high grades and get into the best schools. -The cheerleader that binges and purges to stay as slim as all of the other girls. This results in a “Jekyll and Hyde” act where the teen acts one way at home and completely different elsewhere. -Education Bug

  10. Warning Signs Parents and teachers need to stay alert to all kinds of peer pressures, not just the obvious ones. Yes, a student that suddenly changes their dress and behavior may be cause for alarm, but even more damaging to a students image and character is cheating on a test or lying about a friend’s actions to maintain popularity amongst peers. Parents and teachers should “stay up with the times” in order to know what kinds of pressures the modern day teen/student is facing. Don’t be so naïve to think that the exact same decisions you were faced with are the ones the modern day children and adolescents are faced with! Pressure has never been higher to make the team, the grades, or to get started on a good career. “The work-force is shrinking!” –Dr. Holliday

  11. Controlling Peer Pressure From a teacher’s standpoint, you can make all the difference in the world! A teacher is more likely to immediately notice changes in attitude, performance and friends than parents will! Talk to your students like adults, they are growing into adults, so do not baby them! Parents can also make a huge impact by staying alert to who their kids are hanging out with. Meet your child’s friends parents, if you don’t like the parents, you probably won’t like the kids! The apple doesn’t fall far! -Education Bug

  12. Controlling Peer Pressure Cont. If your child has a friend that abuses drugs or alcohol, the chances go up greatly that your child has already or will in the future. If your daughter has a friend who dresses inappropriately, then she probably does the same when you are not around! USE COMMON SENSE!!! -Education Bug

  13. Subtle Signals Not all peer pressure is easily noticed or defined. Body language, attitude and signals can all lead one to think he or she should dress or talk a certain way or be more rebellious towards teachers, parents and students that want to make the right choices. -TeensHealth

  14. How Does Harrison Handle Peer Pressure? 5 Guidance counselors are readily available to students that feel pressure to perform actions they know are not right. Each guidance counselor is responsible for a particular section of the alphabet within the student body. A social worker is also available to talk whenever needed regarding any personal or confidential information.

  15. How Does Harrison Handle Peer Pressure? (Cont.) Perhaps the best and most influential method is the Peer Mediation program. The program is designed around students who have volunteered, interviewed for, and were selected for positions by administration to specifically interact with members of the student body who feel they need help making better social and academic decisions. The program began in the fall of 2006 and has been extremely successful in reducing the number of fights, skipped classes and dishonest testing methods.

  16. F.C.A (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) While not everyone will partake in F.C.A activities at Harrison due to religious beliefs, Harrison is an overwhelmingly Christian school. F.C.A is another outlet for which students can find others that have common morals and values, and help each other make the right decision in certain situations.

  17. Peer Pressure Survey Of 50 students polled from all four classes at Harrison, all said that they had been influenced by peer pressure at some point in their lives. Also, all 50 said that peer pressure had a positive influence on them at some point in their lives. Most alarming, but not surprising, was the fact that 42 of 50 admitted that peer pressure had influenced them to perform an action that would be considered illegal, outside of an academic honor code or highly against their own moral beliefs!

  18. References • What is Peer Pressure? September 29, 2007. [http://www.educationbug.org/a/what-is-peer-pressure.html] • Peer Pressure September 30, 2007. [http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/relationships/peer_pressure.html] • Harrison High School Handbook, September 30, 2007 [http://www.harrisonhigh.org.html]

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