Read each of the five following scenarios. Answer the questions for each of the five scenarios. You may discuss them with your classmates nearby quietly to gain additional perspective. You do not have to share any details when asked if you have been faced with a similar situation if you do not want to, a simple yes or no answer will be acceptable. All other question should be answered with appropriate detail (At least 2-3 sentences that fully answer the question or a list of 4-5  clearly stated possible outcomes).

 

A. THE POPULAR GROUP (Initiative)
You’ve been trying to be friends with the “popular” group at school ever since first grade. You’ve copied their clothes,
listened to the same music, and even took the same elective classes throughout middle school and now this year. Even
though you are a freshman, you’re in a photography club, have won some local contests, and you were lucky enough to
earn the spot as the yearbook photographer. This means you get to take all the pictures for the yearbook as well as
approve pictures that are submitted by others. This news got out to your classmates and all of a sudden, everyone wants
to be your friend, including the popular group. You know the only reason people are showing you this attention is so you
will approve all the pictures they submit to the yearbook, but you can’t help but be excited about the popular group
talking to you, eating lunch with you, and inviting you to parties.
You just sat down in the cafeteria to eat lunch and immediately the popular kids sit down next to you. They start
gossiping with you and asking you for advice on all sorts of things and next thing you know, lunch is over. Everyone at
your table starts heading to class and you notice they leave all their trash and leftover food on the table rather than
throwing it away. One of the rules in the cafeteria is you have to clean up after yourself and throw your own trash away
but the popular group always talks about how they are “above” the rules and it’s not their job to clean up the cafeteria,
it’s the custodian’s. You stand at the table, listening to the popular kids yelling at you to hurry up, and you aren’t sure
what to do. Do you leave your trash on the table too, just like the popular kids so you can fit in, or do you take the
initiative to not only clean up your trash, but their trash too and possibly lose all the attention you’ve gained from the
popular group?


1. Have you have already been faced with this scenario in real life?
2. What are the possible positive and negative outcomes of this situation?
3. What are possible positive or negative consequences for you, depending on your decision?

 

B. Blessings in Disguise (Attitude)

You’ve played soccer for as long as you can remember – basically ever since you could walk. You love nothing more than
the physical and mental challenges that come along with the sport and ever since you were little, you’ve dreamt of being
a professional soccer player. You are a freshman in high school and today is the last day of soccer tryouts for your
school. You put your heart and soul into tryouts in hopes to make the varsity team because you believe that’s where you
belong. You’ve been watching the other player’s tryout and none of them are as good as you. The coaches bring all the
players together to announce their team assignments and you aren’t nervous at all – you have no doubt that you will be
on the varsity team. The coaches call out names, one by one, until they finally reach yours and your team assignment is
junior varsity. You can’t believe it! All your hard work - the sweat, the tears, have gone to waste! You want to confront
the coaches to tell them they’ve made a mistake? Should you?


1. Have you have already been faced with this scenario, or a similar one, in real life?
2. What could be potential positive or negative outcomes of confronting the coaches?
3. What type of response should you have in this situation? If you say nothing and go home, is that an appropriate
response to have? Is confronting the coaches an appropriate response? Why or why not?

 

C.DRIVE THE GROUP? (Flexibility)
You’ve been assigned to a group project in your health class on different methods people can use to make unhealthy
meals healthier. You aren’t really friends with any of the other students who have been assigned to your group but you
hope you will get along with all of them and you will be able to work well together. It’s the first day of group work. You
sit down at the table with your group and you are excited to share your ideas for the project. You did some research
ahead of time in hopes they would all agree with what you plan to propose and then your group would be a step ahead
of the others. You immediately start sharing your research and ideas but everyone in the group disagrees with you and
they all start talking about their own ideas and how they would work better. You are a little surprised at all the pushback
you are receiving and in that moment, you are worried about how you are going to get the group to work together as a
team. Everyone in the group thinks their idea is the best and everyone wants to be the leader – how is this going to
work? What can you do to start getting the group to agree and on the right track to start the project? Should you
continue to push your ideas on the group or should you start compromising with your group members?


1. Have you have already been faced with this scenario in real life?
2. What are the possible positive outcomes of this situation?
3. What are possible positive or negative consequences for you, depending on your decision?
4. What are possible positive or negative consequences for your group, depending on your decision?

 

D.NEW FRIENDSHIP INITIATION (Integrity)
It’s the start of the school year and you recently started hanging out with a new group of friends, only because none of
your old friends got scheduled into the same classes as you. So far, your new friendships are going great; you have a lot
in common with your new friends and they seem to have a lot of fun. Your favorite place to hang out with them is at the
local mall where you mostly just gossip and watch the other people shop. Today, your friends wanted to do something
different and they decided that since you are the “newest member” to the group, you must be put through an
“initiation”. So they grab you by the arm and pull you into the nearest clothing store.
You aren’t really sure what to expect but you try to have an open mind, considering they are your friends and they
wouldn’t do anything to hurt you or get you in trouble. Your friends inform you that to be considered part of the group,
you must steal something from the store. They tell that it’s not a big deal and that they do it all the time. You know what
consequences you could face for stealing but there are also consequences for not doing it. In this moment, you have to
decide what is more important – friendships, reputation, honesty? What do you do?


1. Have you have already been faced with a scenario like this in real life?
2. What are the possible options that you have in this situation?
3. What are possible positive or negative consequences for you, depending on your decision?

 

E. TROUBLE IN SCIENCE CLASS (Adherence to Policy)
You are a Teacher’s Assistant during 4th period for your Science teacher. Science is your favorite subject so you love
being able to help him and the other students with experiments they do in class. Your best friend also has the same
Science teacher during 7th period but Science is her worst subject. There are only a few weeks left of school before
Winter Break and so there’s not much for you to do as a Teacher’s Assistant. You feel your phone vibrate in your back
pocket and you pull it out to see that your best friend has texted you. She asked if you could do her a HUGE favor and
change her grade in the gradebook for Science class. She knows that the Science teacher has complete trust in you so he
never worries about you being sneaky or having to lock the gradebook in the computer when he leaves the room. She
tells you that if she doesn’t get at least a “C” in the class, she’s going to be ineligible for the spring softball season. What
do you do? You know that accessing the gradebook, as well as changing grades, is completely against the rules but you
don’t want your best friend to fail. Her heart is set on playing softball in college and this could ruin those chances for
her, as well as your friendship.


1. Have you have already been faced with a similar scenario in real life?
2. What are the possible courses of action you could take?
3. What are possible positive or negative consequences for your best friend?
4. What are possible positive or negative consequences for you, depending on your decision?