Teen Talk In a Jar

Teen Talk In a Jar

         A few months ago, I began working with an eighth grade student who was experiencing conflicts with peers and having difficulties making friends. When we first began working together, I had a difficult time getting the student to open up to me. The sessions would usually consist of me asking questions and the student answering with one of two word answers. I felt that this was not very effective, because I was not able to help the student if he was not comfortable talking to me. After asking my supervisor what to do, he suggested that I tried to start conversations about topics of his interest. I decided to use "Teen Talk In a Jar," to get to know the student more and see what interests him. The questions in the jar are based on the topics of body and mind, family, school, relationships, and the future. 

Some of the questions in the jar are:

• Where do you go when you feel the need to get away?
• What helps cheer you up when you're having a bad day?
• If you could take a trip in a time machine, would you travel into the future of back to the past?
• What qualities do you look for when choosing your friends?

Not only did this help the student open up to me, but I was able to learn more about the student's personal interests.

Some of the other items that are sold are: