PeopleSmart Program Introduction

One of the key thrusts of the PeopleSmart Module is the distinction it emphasizes between friends, acquaintances, and strangers. Students are challenged to rethink the common tendency to refer to anyone they know as a "friend." They learn how rare a friend actually is.

• Strangers are people we have never met and don't know at all. They have not earned our TRUST and we should not expect them to look out for our best interest. We should not be GULLIBLE (easily deceived) by a stranger's "friendly" behavior.
• Acquaintances are simply people we have met, people we recognize, and people we encounter or interact with from time to time during our everyday lives in the community. We may even see acquaintances such as classmates or co-workers very frequently over a long period of time. But this does not necessarily make them friends. These people may be cordial and friendly with us. But, again, this does not necessarily make them friends. Why? Because we don't know if they really care about our well-being if they're really looking out for our best interests, and if we can really TRUST them. We should not be GULLIBLE and assume that an acquaintance's "friendly" behavior means they care about our best interests and can be trusted. Only by testing a relationship over time can we know this. And until we know this, these people are acquaintances, not friends.
• Friends are people who look out for our best interests (without being paid to) and who genuinely care about our well-being. TRUST is a key element of friendship, and it takes a long time to determine if someone is trustworthy. Friends are people who have demonstrated that they are our advocates and that they can be trusted not to take advantage of us or deceive us.

These distinctions are critical, especially for a population that has a history in our culture of being gullible, vulnerable victims who are easily taken advantage of and exploited. We strongly recommend that you indoctrinate students in this "new vocabulary," which represents a new way of interacting with strangers, acquaintances, and friends. Be diligent in correcting students when they unthinkingly refer to a stranger or casual acquaintance as "my friend." Only by being aware of these distinctions and getting in the habit of using them can students:

• Learn not to expect a "friendly" stranger or acquaintance to be necessarily trustworthy.
• Have realistic expectations regarding the self-interest of strangers and acquaintances.
• Avoid being gullible by mistaking "niceness for goodness."
• Maintain a cautious distance and assert themselves as needed with the wrong people.
• Develop solid, rewarding relationships with the right people - with people who have proven themselves trustworthy and who have demonstrated that they are concerned about our best interest - with real friends.

The PeopleSmart Series is composed of six modules:

Module 1: How To Meet People.

Any relationship begins with a first meeting. Students learn different ways of meeting people and how to make these first meetings successful.

Module 2: How To Turn An Acquaintance Into A Friend.

Once you've met someone, this person is no longer a stranger; now you're an acquaintance. But what if you decide you want to become friends with this person? This module shows students what to do.

Module 3: How To Deepen A Friendship.

Because a friend is something rare and special, we need to treat our friends like gold. In this module, students learn how to keep friends, how to make friends who want to become closer or best friends, and how to avoid doing things that will damage a friendship.

Module 4: How To Mistake Friendliness For Friendship.

Students learn that it takes more than just being "friendly" to be a friend. They learn how to deal successfully - and avoid being taken advantage of (being gullible)-with people who act friendly but who are not friends.

Module 5: How To Avoid Getting Into Trouble With Strangers.

Students learn that it's better to be safe - and stay out of trouble - than sorry with strangers, no matter how nice or friendly the stranger may be.

Module 6: How To Be Socially Attractive. How To Be Socially Attractive.

Close and intimate relationships with the opposite (or same) sex have the potential to be deeply rewarding; these relationships can also pose some of the greatest challenges. Students learn that being attractive to friends or a potential partner is more dependent on behavior than on how "good-looking" they may be. They also learn some of the most important behaviors that will make them as attractive as possible to others.

Easy-to-Use Discussion Structure for Each Lesson

Each PeopleSmart module is composed of seven to 12 stand-alone video segments or lessons. Each video segment is in two parts.

The "NotSmart-PeopleSmart™" Teaching Model

Part 1 of each video segment serves as a discussion stimulator by showing problem behavior. This guide provides a three-step structure for discussing this behavior.

• First, students are asked to identify what exactly was wrong, or NotSmart, about the person's behavior.
• Second, students identify the negative consequences of this behavior.
• Third, students discuss how the person could have performed better, or PeopleSmart, in the same situation. This discussion gives students an opportunity to discover for themselves a PeopleSmart alternative to problem behavior. Then, when viewing Part 2 of the video segment, they can compare their suggested model behavior with the model behavior shown in the video.

Part 2 of each video segment demonstrates PeopleSmart behavior for the same situation the person faced in Part 1.

• First, students identify what this PeopleSmart behavior is.
• Second, students discuss the positive consequences of PeopleSmart behavior.
• Third, students discuss the lasting lessons from this video segment. Use your discretion in adjusting this discussion to the level of your audience. For more disabled audiences, make the segment's moral or lesson as clear and simple as possible. For more advanced audiences, this Guide raises some of the more subtle points that you may want to explore in each segment. For example, with certain audiences, you may want to restrict your focus to NotSmart and PeopleSmart behaviors and their consequences. With other audiences, you may want to examine the motivations underlying these behaviors.