Curriculum Development

• WHEN CRUEL IS COOL – A closer look at harassment
• BETTER CHOICES – Early-intervention activities for risk-takers and rule-breakers
• THE HERO'S JOURNEY – Assets development

Risk prevention curricula for middle and high schools
Second Growth staff members have been invited to teach in over one hundred schools during the past twenty years. Our conversations with troubled students have evolved into practical lessons for all students. Our curriculum and training are a package that serves as a practical course on the fine art of dialogue between teacher and student. The versatility of the teaching tools and their broader application are an immediate benefit to instructors in the process of engaging students in the hard work of values clarification on the fly. We specialize in staff development programs to “train the trainers” in both school and agency settings.

WHEN CRUEL IS COOL – A closer look at harassment
The hard edge of popular culture can bring devastation to the lives of certain adolescents. Acting in a rough manner in tough times, an increasing number of youth embrace disrespect as a daily practice. This dynamic workshop will engage students, educators, parents, and the entire community in the task of fulfilling each person’s responsibility to confront hurtful behaviors and to teach respect as a core value.
Together, we will define harassment with personal examples of what we have experienced or witnessed in the places closest to our own hearts and homes. Then, we will map out a practical plan for addressing such violence when it first appears.
A professionally produced DVD version of a live presentation of “When Cruel is Cool” is available to help teachers jump-start the conversation in their own classrooms.

BETTER CHOICES – Early-intervention activities for risk-takers and rule-breakers
The Better Choices Program is a short-term early-intervention resource for young people who have been involved in a first offense of substance abuse, violence, or shoplifting/vandalism. The program is a short-term, goal-oriented, skills-building experience for individuals or groups that assists offenders using the elements of asset development and narrative assessment. Better Choices features a series of three separate manuals with engaging lessons that promote awareness for more effective decision-making “in the heat of the moment.”

THE HERO’S JOURNEY – Assets development
Every young person will encounter a series of challenges on the journey to independence that must be overcome for a safe and successful life. Each person must face certain conflicts on their quest, in classic struggles with internal and external foes. Woman/Man vs. Self, Woman/Man vs. Woman/Man, or Woman/Man vs. Nature.
Explore your own epic. Celebrate your adventures and achievements while examining your own personal risks and resources. Build your own strategy for defeating the demons both real and imagined that might be standing between you and the legendary treasure of self-knowledge.
Ideally suited for conferences, freshman seminars, or other high school audiences, this workshop leads participants on the first steps of their own journeys.