In this entertaining, animated presentation, we see the work world through the eyes of Boarder, an irreverent but loveable skateboarder and the star of the story. Like most teens, Boarder does some things right and he does some things that aren't so right. But, he listens, applies what he hears and grows in the process. And, he keeps his job.

This curriculum helps teens:

• Become familiar with key employment documents: job descriptions, employee manuals, employment contracts
• Learn a strategy for getting to work on time
• Develop realistic job expectations about wages, authority in the workplace, dress, work hours, job performance
• Deal constructively with interpersonal conflicts involving supervisors and/or co-workers
• Appreciate the many things teen workers do right in the workplace

Take This Job and Keep It teaches as it entertains. Boarder (our star) soon discovers that finding a job is one thing, but keeping it is another. He's not quite sure about a number of things: his job description, for one, or what he's supposed to wear. He shows up late as he hasn't made a plan for getting to work on time. At the job, he observes fellow employees taking care of personal business and isn't sure if that's the right thing to do. He encounters some supervisor conflict and is faced with learning how to respond. Boarder quickly learns that how he handles conflict can make the difference between keeping or losing his job.

The thorough, highly detailed Guide follows the story and identifies key concepts in each story segment. Trainers are provided with simple prompts and activities that allow students to observe and evaluate the character's actions in the workplace. The information in this smart DVD/workbook combo is embedded in the animated story, allowing classroom trainers to focus more on facilitating than coaching success.

Take This Job does a great job of teaching teens that surviving in the workplace involves the use of social skills that help them manage anger, communicate effectively, respond constructively to criticism and interact appropriately with authority. It's a challenge to communicate such values and make them meaningful, particularly for at-risk teens, but Take This Job and Keep It does just that.

Includes: DVD, 60-page Leader's Guide and reproducible materials.

The curriculum is organized into four, 50-minute classroom sessions. In the classroom, students alternate between watching a chapter of the story and interacting in followup activities related to the chapter

View Northwest Media's research study on Take This Job.

Take This Job ..and Keep It is available on Vstreet.com, a life-skills website for teens. Click here for a tour on Vstreet.

As the introduction to the program says, "For a lot of teens, the easiest thing about getting a job is losing it." It's not because they don't know how to do their work; it's because of conflict – the interpersonal kind with co-workers and supervisors. That's what the focus of this unique interactive multimedia curriculum is: giving teens the social skills they'll need to survive in the workplace.

The approach is designed to help teens who are new to the workplace become familiar with what is expected of them, how to get off to the right start, and how to handle some potentially sticky interpersonal situations. Everything about this program is fun, positive, and affirming for teens, but it also has an edgy reality factor running through it that makes it compelling and useful for them.

In order for teens to learn and use these skills, they need to feel comfortable with the material. Enter Boarder and his skateboarding buddies, the stars of the animated story that follows Boarder as he lands his first real job in a glass blowing factory. Host Dale Funk introduces and summarizes each segment to make sure you catch the most important concepts. But don't blink – you might miss something!

The course is taught over a series of four 50-minute class sessions. Every activity begins with a segment of the story that deals with a corresponding concept or skill. These include:

• becoming familiar with workplace documents like the job description, employee manual and employment contract;
• learning to get to work on time;
• developing realistic expectations about wages, authority, dress, work hours, job performance; and, of course dealing effectively with interpersonal conflict.

The program comes complete with a step-by-step and easy-to-follow teacher's guide, supplemental handouts, and DVD. The last class brings it all together and gives students the opportunity view and discuss six additional work-related scenarios using interactive DVD.

Take This Job does a great job of teaching teens that surviving in the workplace involves the use of social skills that help them manage anger, communicate effectively, respond constructively to criticism and interact appropriately with authority. It's a challenge to communicate such values and make them meaningful, particularly for at-risk teens, but Take This Job and Keep It does just that.

-- Caesar Pacifici, Ph.D.

Quick Job Search: Seven Steps to Getting Ahead on the Job (4th Edition)/Set10

Getting Ready e-Zines on Vstreet/Keeping a Job Vol. 1.6

Eight Steps to a Successful Job Interview

Four Wheel Drive for the Mind/Set of 3 (Instructor's Manuals & Learner's Workbooks)

You're Fired! The Ten Quickest Ways to Lose Your Job and How to Avoid Them

Getting Ready For The Job World DVD Curriculum