The Power of Peer Pressure, by Jane Wingle

A decision to be a leader or a follower becomes a valuable teachable moment in this sixth-grade classroom

I teach religion first thing in the morning to 26 bright, creative sixth graders. Part of our morning ritual is to say prayer petitions. My students seem to be calmed by their expressions of care for their families, friends, pets, our military troops, victims of natural disasters, the homeless, etc. One morning this past spring, one student decided to shake things up a bit.

An interesting start.
My students and I always remain seated for the petition part of prayer. It's a lengthy process and I've found that standing through it impedes the children's ability to concentrate. On this particular day, I asked one of the boys to begin with his petitions. He stood, with just a hint of a smirk on his face, said his petitions and remained standing. It's my practice to only interrupt the prayer process if absolutely necessary. I thought it was strange that he was standing, but ignored it and called on the next student. He noticed that his buddy was standing, grinned, prayed and remained standing. I thought it potentially troublesome but stuck to my policy and didn't interrupt. Then it got interesting.

Making a decision.
The next student, a boy not inclined toward mischief, started his petitions sitting down. As he spoke, he looked at the other two boys who were still standing. In those brief seconds he blushed and looked very uncomfortable, but finally stood just as he finished his prayer. The other two remained silent. There was no badgering; they just stood.

Taking a stand?
The next two students, both girls, remained seated during their petitions, but neither looked at ease. The next two stood without hesitation. The next, a boy, hesitated, but begrudgingly stood. It was at this time that I heard one of the seated girls mumble to herself in an exasperated tone, "Oh, I guess I better stand." Immediately, the next seated girl followed suit. The next 15 students stood, one right after the other, without hesitation. This group included one boy who hadn't said a single petition all year. On this morning, however, he said a list of petitions so he could stand and follow the crowd. Two students were absent. One of them entered during this process. He didn't even question what was happening. He just stood. Finally, we got to the last student, a girl, who said her petitions in a seated position and remained seated.

I stared at my class. Apparently, they saw the bemused look on my face because all but the one girl remained standing and stared right back at me. They did not giggle; they did not speak. This had obviously not been planned, and I don't believe any of the standing students, except possibly the one who started it, knew why they were standing. Finally, I said, "You have just demonstrated in the clearest way possible the power of peer pressure. I know some of you are natural leaders and some of you are more inclined to follow, but today, only two of you are leaders – the one who started this and the one who remained sitting."

Getting answers.
Knowing sixth grade students, and seeing the pained and annoyed looks on many of their faces, I decided to pursue this issue later on an individual basis. I knew some students were a little embarrassed by what they had done. If I had pursued this matter through a class conversation, most would have tried to save face and I wouldn't have gotten to the heart of why so many, even the "born leaders," decided to be followers. I spent the next two days interviewing individuals for two or three minutes. All I asked was, "Why did you remain standing?" Here are some of the answers I received.

The boy who initiated the activity said, "I don't know. I just did." His buddy, who was second in the progression, said, "I did it because he did it." The third, the boy who hesitated, said, "I noticed that they were standing after I started talking, so I stood." The next boy I asked looked at the one who had started it (he happened to enter the room) and said, "Because I wanted to and because he did it and he's cool."

I asked the one brave soul why she didn't stand. Being last in line and a thinker, she had had time to assess the situation. She said, "I was watching everybody. My brain said, 'Don't stand. Be an individual.' I didn't want to be like everyone else." The last student questioned, a girl, said, "[I stood] because people would think I'd be ruining the plan and they would get mad at me." She didn't realize there was no plan.

One more question.
I decided that the next morning I would ask each student to write his or her answer to one more question. First, we discussed the situation a bit and the class seemed a little more at ease with what had happened. They are a smart and reactive group and seemed happy to respond, perhaps putting closure to this brief, yet meaningful event in their lives. I asked, "What did you learn?" Some of my students' insights were remarkable.

A teachable moment.
Six students said they learned nothing and one of those added, "I didn't have to stand, but I wanted to." The majority of those six students, interestingly enough, show some leadership potential. It's my guess that a few were embarrassed about the fact that they had taken on the role of follower. Two other students responded that the only reason they stood was because they didn't realize their actions had anything to do with peer pressure. These are both relatively independent girls. Had they thought about what they were doing, they might not have followed. Here are some other perceptive responses:

This was the kind of teachable moment that presents itself without an outline or lesson plan. My students taught me something that beautiful spring day. Watch what children do and take advantage of what they can learn from their own interactions; ultimately, they are their own best teachers.

Jane Wingle teaches religion as well as English and literature at St. Catherine of Siena School in Albany, NY.