Perception Story: Roxanne and Courtney Jump to the Wrong Conclusions

A. Teacher reads story to the class called "Roxanne and Courtney Jump to the Wrong Conclusions."

B. Story Description: The idea for this role-play came from three of my former seventh-grade students. It starts with a he said/she said situation where Roxanne and Courtney give this girl no chance to explain her side of the story. Instead they simply choose to believe the worst. Then there will be a re-role-play showing how the situation should actually have been handled. This role-play is called "Roxanne and Courtney Jump to the Wrong Conclusions."

Roxanne and Courtney Jump to the Wrong Conclusions
© 2000 re-told by Debbie Dunn. Story idea came from three seventh-grade girls.

Jake said, "Did you hear what happened at our middle school today?"

Cassie replied, "No, what happened?"

Jake replied, "There was a serious problem with jumping to the wrong conclusions."

Cassie said, "Tell me about it."

This is what Jake described to Cassie.

Roxanne walked up to Courtney and said, "Hey, Courtney! You know what Mike said to me?"

Courtney asked, "What's that?"

Roxanne said, "I heard that Christy loves Sam."

Courtney said, "Are you sure? He is SO ugly!"

Roxanne said, "Yep! That's what Mike said."

Courtney asked, "Well, is Mike sure?"

Roxanne said, "I don't know. That's just what I heard."

Courtney said, "Then let's go and talk to Christy and find out if it's true or not."

Roxanne and Courtney walked up to Christy while she was talking on the phone.

Roxanne and Courtney waited until she hung up the phone. Then Roxanne said, "Christy, you are SO sick!! You love Sam!!"

Courtney said, "Sam is the ugliest guy in class!!"

Christy's face turned red as she stammered, "But, but, but ... ."

Roxanne snapped, "No 'buts' about it, Christy! Just get a life!"

Roxanne and Courtney left the room. Christy had a very sad look on her face.

Cassie said, "That was awful! They didn't even give Christy a chance to defend herself."

Jake said, "I agree! Let's see if there was a better way they could have handled the conflict."

This is the new and revised version of what Jake described to Cassie.

Roxanne walked up to Courtney and said, "Hey, Courtney! You know what Mike said to me?"

Courtney said, "What's that?"

Roxanne said, "I heard that Christy loves Sam."

Courtney asked, "Are you sure? He is SO ugly!"

Roxanne said, "Yep! That's what Mike said."

Courtney asked, "Well, is Mike sure?"

Roxanne said, "I don't know. That's just what I heard."

Courtney suggested, "Then let's go and talk to Christy and find out if it's true or not."

Roxanne and Courtney walked up to Christy while she was reading a book. Roxanne asked, "Hey, Christy! Can we talk?"

Christy nodded and said, "Sure."

Courtney said, "Mary and David told Mike, and Mike told Roxanne, and Roxy told me that you love Sam. Is that true?"

Christy stood there rolling her eyes at Courtney with an embarrassed look on her face.

Roxanne asked, "Well, is the rumor true?"

Christy said, "No, I do not like Sam! He's a nice guy; however, I only like him as a friend - not a boyfriend."

Roxanne said, "Doesn't it bother you that he is SO ugly?"

Christy said, "You know, when I first met Sam, I thought he was ugly too. But once I got to know what a great guy he is with a really funny sense of humor, I kind of like the way he looks."

Roxanne asked, "Are you sure that you don't like him as a boyfriend?"

Christy said, "I'm positive. I do not like him in that way. I just think that more people need to give him a chance and not judge his outside looks."

Roxanne said, "Well, I'll think about it."

Courtney said, "Yeah, I'll think about it too. In the meantime, we better clear up the rumors before they get any bigger. So let's go and tell Mike, Mary, and David that the rumor wasn't true after all!!"

Conclusion

Cassie looked at Jake and said, "That was definitely a better way to solve a conflict."

Jake said, "It sure was! Because Roxanne and Courtney gave Christy a chance to explain, it made a WIN-WIN situation for the three girls."

Cassie said, "Plus, I think it was great that Christy tried to get Roxanne and Courtney to realize they shouldn't judge Sam just because his looks don't conform to their particular standards."

Jake said, "That's right. Everybody deserves respect no matter how they look. Let's hope they start treating Sam in a much nicer way from now on."

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