Our spring 2008 workshops were really packed with participants, so we read a lot of reviews. Many of the Spring training tour reviews included requests for us to post our favorite interventions. We noticed that many workshop participants requested the same handful of interventions. By popular request, we publish your favorite interventions right here.
#1 Favorite Speech
Where will your TV watching skills be needed?
Any intervention that used a classified ad format was very popular. The method listed here was the most popular of the bunch. The intervention involves asking students to write Help Wanted ads based on the skill set they are acquiring. Many participants liked the examples we gave in class of student-created advertisements and wanted copies. They like how these silly ads can make students wonder “Where will my TV watching skills be needed?”
Here are some of the examples that generated the most comments:
Experienced TV viewers needed for high-paying jobs
Large company seeks viewers to work long hours in a horizontal position. You must like donuts and fries.
National firm needs nappers now
If you like to sleep, this job opportunity will open your eyes. If you wake up at the crack of noon, we can wait. Applications are not accepted on time.
Mall rats wanted for executive positions
It takes years of leaning against the wall or sitting on a bench to get an exciting opportunity with a major corporation. If you know how to hang out for hours, then your future as one of our dedicated employees is simply limitless. If you can demonstrate the ability to say something really nasty about everyone who walks by, then you can be that special person we need in customer relations. Put those valuable years of experience as a mall rat to work with us.
Violent Video Game Professionals Needed for Government Espionage
If you can navigate mazes, crack codes, or kill the beast, then a career in the CIA or FBI may be for you. We need people like you who can reach the highest level no matter what vicious dragons or prehistoric dinosaurs get in the way.
#2 Favorite Intervention
Chevrons for Graduates
Participants really like interventions that sell the value of the school and wanted more. Here is the new one. Right now it’s a particularly easy sale if you tie school to the price of gas. Here is the connection. The typical quitter earns about $500 per month at minimum wage working one or more jobs. With gas currently approaching $4 a gallon and the minimum wage approaching $7 an hour, have students calculate how many hours a dropout would have to work to buy a tank of gas. To bring the numbers to life, ask students to determine how long they must work to drive to a neighboring city, nearby state, or popular regional destination. Ask them to determine how much they will spend just to go to work each day.
Since gasoline is expected to exceed $5 a gallon in the near future, be sure to help students discover that a dropout with a job may not be able to afford a tank of gas while paying for housing, medical bills, car payments, clothing, recreation and soon. Help students discover that if gas prices keep going up, dropouts can afford a car they can’t afford to drive. By contrast, graduates earn roughly twice the salary of dropouts and may be better prepared to stay on the road. You are reshaping the image that students have of the school by making it essential to being able to afford a car.
A fun follow-up intervention: have students illustrate the phrase “Gallons for Graduates.” They can use art supplies or computer clip art to create whimsical images like a combined diploma and gas pump, or show a gas station where everyone buying gas is wearing a cap and gown, or clutching a diploma.
