The Red Stranger Circle Disc 2, Story 9
“Strangers” (Service Provider/Community Helper)
Synopsis of the Story
In this story, Faith tells us about some of the service providers that she encounters. She identifies them as strangers since she does not know anything about them, except the job they do for her benefit. She interacts with the TV Repairman, Mail Carrier, and Firefighter as examples of Community Helpers or Service Providers but acknowledges that there are many others too, like waiters, delivery people, and store clerks.
Faith recognizes who they are by their uniform or badge, name tag, and their place on the job, such as a store counter, and states that if she is NOT SURE she asks for additional ID.
Faith asks for ID from some service providers and does not allow an un-uniformed man who claims to be a fire inspector to enter. Faith reminds us that these people are there to conduct specific business for Faith’s benefit. Both Faith and the community helpers know that Faith’s boundaries must be respected and the boundary limit of business is the appropriate level of interaction. Faith tells that these service providers do not take offense when they are asked for their ID.
Making Your Point
This is the story where Faith demonstrates how she recognizes and interacts with Service Providers and Community Helpers. She looks for their identifying uniforms, etc. and asks for ID. Faith knows that the boundary limit for this group of community helpers is about the service they provide and Faith expects that the providers will also know and respect that limit.
These people are strangers. Faith relies on their uniforms and positions on the job as clues to the nature of their business with Faith. That determines their business relationship. These helpers have been invited to provide a specific service and the limits are related to that particular service. Services personnel expect people to ask for their ID and are not offended nor do they think it is impolite when they are asked for this information.
The boundary that is typical for strangers does not apply in exactly the same way to Service Providers and Community Helpers. They are expected to use only the minimum amount of interaction necessary to carry out the job they have been asked to do. This sometimes involves crossing the boundary of talk, but only about business and sometimes the boundary of trust, but only about business, but RARELY requires crossing the touch boundary at all.
Key Objectives
- To establish the limited degree of intimacy associated with Service Providers and Community Helpers in the Red Stranger Circle using the TV repairman, the Mail Carrier, and the Firefighter as examples.
- To show how to identify a service provider and what actions to take if you are unsure of someone’s position.
- To illustrate that in the course of doing business with providers and helpers it may be necessary to briefly and temporarily cross the boundary elements of talk and trust, but RARELY of touch.
Sequential Process
Step 1:
Teacher will begin by reviewing the past session: replaying the video from the previous meeting, stressing the most important points and eliciting answers and comment from participants.
Step 2:
Inform participants that today they will learn about strangers who are Service Providers or Community Helpers in the Red Stranger Circle.
Step 3:
Show Part 1, Disc 2, Story 9: “Strangers” (Service Providers/Community Helpers) pausing when the story is concluded.
Step 4:
Elicit the following information from the participants, replaying the video if desired or needed:
- Faith is at home and the TV Repairman, the Mail Carrier and a person claiming to be a firefighter come to her doors.
- Faith knows they are strangers but she knows that they have specific jobs to do for her.
- She does not know their names or anything about them except their job, as indicated by their uniform and ID badge.
- Faith checks ID’s and discusses the service they will do.
- A person who claims to be a fire inspector does not have a uniform and Faith decides not to admit him to her home.
- One or more of the boundary elements may be briefly crossed by Service Providers or Community Helpers if it is necessary in order to do the job they have been asked to do. The least intrusive amount of talk and trust that will accomplish this is the boundary limit for this kind of stranger and only rarely is the boundary of touch crossed.
Step 5:
Help participants to define and review some important vocabulary words by using the word in a sentence, looking up the word in a dictionary or from the context of the story.
- Service Provider
- Community Helper
- Stranger
- Least Intrusive
- Business
- Uniform
- Badge
- ID
Step 6:
Elicit from students the degree of touch, talk, and trust that Faith demonstrates with Strangers who are Service Providers or Community Helpers in this circle:
Touch: Faith knows that Service Providers and Community Helpers are usually strangers. She knows that the typical boundary limit with strangers excludes touching. Even though these people are strangers, they may need to cross the typical stranger boundary of touch to the extent that allows them to do their job. Rarely is crossing the touch boundary necessary.
Talk: Faith knows that Service Providers and Community Helpers are strangers. She knows that the typical boundary limit with strangers excludes talking. Even though these people are strangers, they may need to cross the typical stranger boundary of talk to the extent that it allows them to do their job.
Trust: Faith knows that Service Providers and Community Helpers are strangers. She knows that the typical boundary limit with strangers excludes trusting. Even though these people are strangers, they may need to cross the typical boundary of trust to the extent that it allows them to do their job.
Step 7:
Invite participants to select icons of service providers and community helpers to place on the wall graph from the story. Invite participants to select and describe the jobs of a variety of service providers and community helpers that were not in the story, but that help them personally to have a better life.
Step 8:
Tell participants that now is their chance to color the Red Stranger Circle on their personal graph and to add peel ‘n stick icons of service providers and community helpers who are strangers who help them to the Red Stranger Circle, on their personal Circle graph. Identify them with a badge.
Step 9:
The video suggests that this is a good time to pause for discussion. The following concepts have been introduced in this video and may be used to open a discussion with your group:
- There is a misconception that strangers are responsible for crimes against a person, (legal violations). Most of the time these kinds of crimes are perpetrated by a person who is known by the victim (often intimately). Invite a guest from the police department, rape crisis center, mental health center or other organization to speak to your group members about the laws that protect them.
- Practice with your group participants how to access different kinds of help, should an assault happen to them.
- Ask and discuss what kinds of information might be important to tell when they report an assault.
- When students are expecting Service Providers at their house, understand that the company will schedule a time and date for the Additionally, the company can be called to verify the personnel dispatched for service.
Step 10:
Instruct participants to open their CIRCLES Journal to the story titled “Strangers” (Service providers/Community helpers). Allow time for participants to complete their journaling story for this lesson.
Step 11:
Hand out the reproducible worksheet at the end of this lesson for students to complete in class or for homework.
Journal Entry - “Service Provider/Community Helper”
Write a paragraph that tells your own story about a service provider in your Red Stranger Circle. Include the following information in your story:
- Name and color of the CIRCLE that service providers are in
- List some Service Providers that come to your home to help
- Describe the uniform of a Service Provider
- Write about an experience you had at home with a Service Provider
Support Activity for “Strangers” (Service Providers/Community Helpers)
Draw a line from the first column to the second column to connect the service providers with the tools of the jobs they do:
Cable TV repairperson | Rake and shovel |
Super market cashier | Serving spoon |
Express delivery person | Uniform and badge |
Carpenter | Comb and scissor |
Cafeteria worker | TV set |
Police officer | Modem and mouse |
Mail carrier | Delivery truck |
Fire fighter | Hammer and screwdriver |
Landscaper | Fish net scooper |
Fast food worker | Cash register |
Janitor | Stamps and envelopes |
Pet Shop Worker | City bus |
Hairdresser/Barber | Hose and water |
Bus driver | Hamburger |
Computer service | Mop and bucket |