Gossip- the telephone

The Telephone Activity

This one has been around for years- and it works every time.

Have the students sit on the floor in a circle.  Choose the student that you would like to start the telephone.  Pull them out in the hall and whisper a sentence to them (examples below).  If they did not hear you very well, shrug your shoulders and say, "That's the best I can do."  Have them retun to the circle and whisper (low enough so no one else can hear them) the sentence to the person sitting next to them.  That student will whisper what they hear to the next student and so on.  When it gets to the last student have them repeat what they heard out loud to the class.
Examples of sentences that can be used: 

• Gossip breeds hurt feelings. 
• Some people use gossip to get others to fight.
• Talking about other people should be done nicely.

Discussion:  how is this like gossip? How much of the sentence did we get correct?  We only hear part of it, or mis-interpret the story, so it never comes out right.  When we pass things along it can hurt the people that the rumor is being spread about.  This can lead to non-acceptance and even fighting.

Dealing with Gossip

Ways to deal with gossip:

1. First, realize that gossip is only part of a story and it has been changed.  No matter how reliable the source is (see telephone activity).
2. If the gossip does not involve you-do not repeat it!  You can really be hurting someone else!
3. Ignore it.
4. Talk to the other person directly if you're hurt.  There may be a problem you should fix.
5. Remember, the more YOU talk about the rumor the more YOU are keeping it going.  So, try to get your feelings sorted out with a FEW choice people.

Gossip

Feathers

There was a wise man who lived on a mountain.  Everyone in the village would seek his wisdom when problems arose.  There was a young man in the village who had offended his best friend.  The young man explained what happened to the wise man.  He told the story of how he had told the other people in the village secrets that his best friend had told him.  He shared things about his friend that he swore he would never tell.  He asked the wise man what he should do.  The wise man told him to go into the village and get the largest down-feather filled pillow he could find.  Confused, the young man left and found the pillow.  He brought the pillow back to the wise man.  The wise man took the pillow to the edge of the cliff, tore it open and flung the feathers into the wind.  The young man looked at the wise man and asked, "Well, how do I fix what I have done?"  The wise man said, "Go pick up all the feathers."  The young man looked over the mountainside at the feathers that were still floating to the depths below.  "It's impossible," he answered. 

"These feathers are exactly like your words.  You cannot take them back."
So, the young man left, faced with the new challenge of earning back the trust of his friend.