There are all sorts of “difficult” topics that beset teenage lives: depression, alcohol abuse, personal hygiene, sex, bereavement, STDs, being overweight…

Talking to students about these issues can result in an increased awareness of the subject, but experience suggests that for many students the progress made after such encounters can be modest at best.

Where the greatest breakthroughs occur is in situations in which the students themselves will open up and engage in serious conversations themselves.

But the issue is, how does one motivate the silent student to speak? How does one ensure that the mocking or joking student who covers his/her inability to talk seriously about the subject will join in the discussion. How can we help these students put these vital topics into the context of their lives, and the world around them?

In short: how do we control the discussions?

The answer comes with setting the terms of the discussion in advance – and this is exactly what the Choice Discussion Cards achieve.

The students are given the topic to discuss such as “What does smoking do to you and your health?” They then can choose an answer card which they then have to use as the basis for their answer.

There are both positive and negative cards in the pack – in the case of smoking ranging from, “De-stresses you” to “Makes you want more all the time”, and the students then have to put forward arguments to support the card they have selected.

As a result the debate continues in a controlled way, with all possible answers being aired, as they students come to see the logic, or otherwise, of the answers that can be given.

The Choice Discussion Cards cover a wide range of topics incorporating not just the topics above, but also such issues as knife crime, anger, crime, vandalism, love, bullying etc etc.

There are details of all the topics available on the following link http://www.egar.co.uk/SHOPHH1

If you wish to place an order please you can use the check out on the above link (schools can be invoiced on account) or by contacting us via the following methods. Please quote HH1 on all correspondence.

Contact: Sue Scott-Horne
Email: talk@letsgettalking.org
http://www.egar.co.uk/SHOPHH1
Tel: 0207 226 4040
Canonbury Business Centre, Unit 10B, Shepperton House, 89 Shepperton Road
Islington, London, N1 3DF

Mind your Mind

DVD2012 47 Minutes

Demonstrates how our minds are much more susceptible to manipulation and suggestion than we think.

We feel we are free to make our own choices but we are not as free as we think. Neurologists and psychologists have discovered how vulnerable our minds are to manipulation and suggestion, and how easily our own psyche can be taken out of our control.

This documentary is a primer for psychological independence, teaching us to process more than our minds are comfortable with. From the glamorous, sex-obsessed world of advertising to the vacuous speeches of leading politicians, our responses are being silently but surely manipulated. Images of nude women appear hidden in Coca Cola adverts. Television channels flash up messages from their sponsors too fast for our conscious mind to catch. Lawyers twist the ambiguities of language to distract us and force us into a more suggestible mental state.
Our minds are constantly missing the obvious: “we don’t perceive what’s there, we change what we perceive, and we perceive what’s not there.” Though subliminal messaging is illegal in most countries, it is still used more often than we may ever know.

Neuro-linguistic programming can help us to protect ourselves against the manipulative forces that control consumers, pulling these forces apart so that we can see how they work. If we can open our eyes to the techniques used to control us, we can move these processes from our unconscious to our conscious mind. This film provides us with the psychological tools to fight them.

What do we mean by ‘attention’, or the lack of it? Are we quite as attentive as we think? Do we miss things that are right under our nose, blinded by suggestion, assumption and ‘common sense’? If so, how might this be used against us? Are the opportunities here to manipulate beliefs, alter behaviours? If so, who is doing the manipulating? Learn more about the Human Biocomputer, about Advertising, Ambiguities and Politics in this fast paced yet light-hearted film.

Now available to rent or buy via our Video on Demand service A video clip can be viewed from our website

GBP 56.35 plus postage. http://www.concordmedia.org.uk/products/mind-your-mind-2918/

Warning: The Media may be Hazardous to Your Health

DVD1991 36 Minutes

Media models glamorise violence, fear and hatred.

Exposes the dangers of media models that glamorise violence, fear and hatred between the sexes. This powerful video encourages the life-affirming tendencies in both genders. Images of commercials, Madonna, Pee Wee Herman, MTV and other media protesters are woven together to create a humorous yet sobering look at sexism in the media. Can be used to combat the problems of sexism and racism, while helping individuals to become more critical viewers of mass media.

GBP 23.00 plus postage. http://www.concordmedia.org.uk/products/warning-the-media-may-be-hazardous-to-your-health-1172/

Staying Real

DVD2011 25 Minutes

Young people discuss media stereotypes and their effects.

Young people discuss the adverse effects of the sexual stereotypes which bombard them. They talk about how hard it is to develop their own personality and to make friends when they don’t conform to media and advertising images. Directed by award-winning Sophie Bissonnette. National Film Board of Canada. Suitable for ages 11 – 13. A good discussion starter.

GBP 33.35 plus postage. http://www.concordmedia.org.uk/products/staying-real-2912/