Students Consider Gossip and Rumors!

Jasmine understands that once words are out of your mouth, you can't take them back

Eighth Age girls are considering how spreading gossip and rumors affect friendships and one's character.  The lesson started with an "experiment."  I squeezed a small tube of toothpaste onto a plate and asked Jasmine, my volunteer, to get all of the toothpaste back in the tube in one minute.  Of course, it is impossible to get the toothpaste back in the tube!  We compared this to words and rumors--- spreading rumors is like squeezing out a tube of toothpaste.   It is easy to squeeze out, or spread gossip, but more more difficult and even impossible to take the words back, or put the toothpaste back in its tube.

Then, we read the story, Trouble Talk, by Trudy Ludwig and were able to understand how spreading rumors and gossiping can contribute to a loss of friends and a loss of trust.  Bailey is new to school, and as a way to fit in and get attention, she spread rumors about her new classmates.  This backfires when Maya, Keisha, and Hua don't want to be her friend anymore.

We ended the lesson by considering what it would take for Bailey to regain trust and to regain these friendships.  The girls agreed it was possible but would take time- perhaps even months.