Video Programming | Lives in the Balance

Filmed with actors, these video clips show the key ingredients of Plan B, along with some of the common ways in which Plan B can go awry.

Simple Plan B

This segment shows you the three ingredients of Plan B in their most basic form. But if the Plan B you do with your kids or students doesn't look like this, don't dismay...most Plan B discussions take longer and are more messy and complicated than what is shown in this video. So what you're seeing here isn't necessarily your goal...it's just the three ingredients in their most basic form.

Drilling for Information

The goal of the Empathy step is to achieve the clearest possible understanding of a kid's concern or perspective on a given unsolved problem. And while kids are usually happy that adults are finally interested in their concerns, it's not always easy for them to provide adults with sufficient information. That's when you'll need to "drill" for more information. Drilling for information is the hardest part of the Empathy step...this video provides you with an example of what it looks like.

Plan B Goes Awry -- Part 1

Plan B doesn't work very well if you're really using Plan A. And oftentimes, adults are certain they already know what a kid's concern is, so they don't put any effort into figuring it out. Sometimes, the concerns of the two parties aren't clear enough to begin considering potential solutions. And sometimes adults do a great job of getting concerns on the table but then unilaterally solve the problem anyway. You'll see these common patterns depicted in this video.

Plan B Goes Awry - Part 2

Plan B can also go awry if the two parties agree on a solution that isn't realistic and mutually satisfactory. In this video, you'll see a teacher doing a great job of clarifying the student's concerns (in the Empathy step), then doing a fine job of clarifying his own concerns (in the Define the Problem step), but then agreeing on a solution that isn't especially realistic. Take a look.

Plan B Goes Awry - Part 3

In this video, you'll see a teacher who has strong preconceived notions about the student's concerns (so she doesn't put any time into figuring out what they really are) and has a preordained solution in mind (so she's not doing Collaborative Problem Solving, she's doing unilateral problem solving). In the parlance of the CPS model, she's being a "genius"...but she's definitely not doing Plan B.

Silence

It's not uncommon for kids to respond to the "What's up?" of the Empathy step with silence. And it's not uncommon for adults to be uncomfortable with the silence and to "fill the void" with their own words. As shown in this video, you'll want to resist that temptation and give the kid a chance to think.