Ten Seconds Game

This morning, I was peeved with my students' attendance. Only half of the class turned up and I talked about 'assumptions' to them. Perhaps this word is a bit too heavy for students to accept it and understand. But I can't stop myself from throwing rather 'harsh' words and phrases on them. However, I stopped it instantly and played a game with them quickly. The game is called 'Ten Seconds' and my purpose of playing this game is to build up self-esteem and to create a positive atmosphere by saying and hearing positive comments. Got to think of this game on the night before after hearing from one of my students, about what had happened to him in this semester. He had totally changed to a different person. He used to be very shy and hardworking kid and now, he is a talkative and lazy kid. It's good that he changed to a more out-spoken person, however, he became lazy when come to assignments and trying all means to run away from Phase Tests. Indeed, he had changed from a good kid to a 'bad' kid. He admits that he had developed himself into a different person with a rather unacceptable behaviour, in which I'm totally agree with him. He mentioned about his low confidence level and low self-esteem. And so, I played the game with my class. Unfortunately, this student didn't turned up. He met an accident. His father called me and I was shocked by the news. Though, it's not a serious accident, I'm still worried. Wondering whether is everything alright with him or not... I've called 2-3 times to his father to ask about his status. Glad to hear that everything is fine with him.

As for the game, I will share it here...
Have you ever talked to someone who is unhappy about life and who constantly says negative things? The sad thing is that these people need friends but may be pushing people away by the words that they choose. Getting people to think positively about the world, their own lives, and most importantly about themselves is a big step towards building a healthy and happy self-esteem.

Objective: Is to build up self-esteem and to create a positive atmosphere by saying and hearing positive comments.

Who: People who could benefit from hearing positive comments and who need to learn to be more positive with their talk.

Group Size: 5 to 35 participants.

Materials: A watch, clock or timing device that can measure ten seconds.

Description: Gather the group into a circle and ask for a volunteer to start the game. This person has ten seconds to say something positive, nice, complimentary, or uplifting. These comments can be about anything, or you may limit the comments to be about the group, group members, and or the individual giving the comment. After the positive comment has been given, the next person in the circle gets ten seconds to come up with his or her own positive comment, and so on around the circle. If at any time someone doesn't say something nice they are 'out'. You may also get 'out' if you say a positive comment that has been stated before in the game (didn't apply it in my game) or if you say something negative during your ten seconds. Play elimination style or you may add the rule that once eliminated you may return to the activity once two other people say something nice to you. To change the difficulty level change the amount of time by adding or subtracting seconds.

Game Encounters: Nice game and it's fun. It really make us think hard. Overall, very worth playing game. I would give myself a rate of 75 out of 100. I would also suggests to do some discussion prompting after playing the game. For example, was it hard or easy for you to come up with positive comments? Do you need to hear more positive words or say them more?

A thank you note to Christine to liven up the whole game to make it a more enjoyable activity, though she's late. It's a fortune to have her as my student. :)