Guidance Videos

Be Smart, Stay Safe

22 min.; K-8; Guidance, Health, Safety, Self-Awareness; Distributed by: Key Bancshares of Maine, Inc. (1987)

Be Smart, Stay Safe serves as a guide for children to follow. It points out the importance of "being smart so you can stay safe." Through illustration and practice, children are taught to think carefully about strange and unusual situations and decide what to do about them. They are shown examples of how other children would handle difficult situations.

Bullying: What to Do About It

60 min; 7-12; Communication, Current Issues, Guidance, Human Rights; Produced by: Maine Public Television (2000)

Explores who is at risk to be a bully, or to be a bully's victim. Viewers will discuss how the seeds of this problem can occur in preschool or even earlier, and learn how some students - from the Attorney General's Civil Rights Team Project and other innovative programs - are leading the movement to rid Maine 's schools of bullying. The program also features a panel of experts and students, along with a mini-documentary, with information and resources on how to cope with this growing problem.

Can I Get There from Here?

5 programs - 30 min. each; 9-12; Career Education, Economics, Guidance, Maine Studies; Produced by: University of Maine at Augusta (1982)

What kind of future do poor, unskilled, unmotivated young people have in this state? Can I Get There From Here? is a documentary series on employment opportunities, barriers, and support possibilities for young people in Maine which addresses this issue. Teachers are advised to preview before use as dialogue contains some profanity.

  1. Rural Youth
  2. Urban Youth
  3. Disabled Youth
  4. Single Parents
  5. Young Offenders

Dare to be Different: Resisting Drug Related Peer Pressure

20 min.; 7-12; Alcohol & Drug Education, Guidance, Health; Distributed by: US Dept. of Education (1988)

The program focuses on a friendship that falters when Sarah and Kim realize that they have different goals for the end of senior year. Sarah pursues her interest in track, while Kim starts hanging out with a group that uses drugs.

Drug Avengers

10 programs - 10 min. each; K-6; Alcohol & Drug Education, Guidance, Health; Distributed by: US Dept. of Education (1988)

These animated adventures introduce drug education to the youngest students. Each vignette has its own message, such as: don't eat anything unless you know what it is; drugs make things worse, not better; offering or accepting an offer of drugs is not the right way to become someone's friend; there are ways to refuse drugs and still keep your friends. Drug Avengers teach easy, sensible ways to refuse drugs.

Please note: Programs 1-5 are for use in grades K-3; while program 1 plus programs 6-10 are for grades 4-6.

  1. From the Future...The Drug Avengers
  2. Body Talk
  3. Up & Down
  4. Street Talk
  5. Uh Oh Video
  6. Fast Friends
  7. Picture Perfect
  8. Trick or Treat?
  9. Double Scare
  10. Rock Solid

Family After Divorce: Restoring Family Fabric

60 min.; 9-12; Current Issues, Guidance, Health; Produced by: A Center for the Awareness of Pattern (1992)

The program demonstrates how families, instead of "breaking" after divorce can expand, and how families who have "broken" in the past can restore their family fabric for the well-being of the children and adults alike.

Fast Forward Future

60 min.; 4-6; Alcohol & Drug Education, Guidance, Health; Distributed by: US Dept. of Education (1988)

This fantasy program features a magical VCR that enables three students to examine the way they have handled peer pressure in the past and how they can change it. It includes a few "Drug Facts" about how different substances affect the body.

GED Connection

39 - 30 min. programs ; 9-12 ; Guidance, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies ; PBS Adult Learning Service

GED Connection is a dynamic instructional package from PBS LiteracyLink that prepares adult learners for the revised GED exam. It creatively combines video, print, and the Internet to reach classroom students and independent learners. GED Connection brings the subject matter alive through tours of historical sites, documentary footage, interviews with poets and scientists, and demonstrations of real-life applications.

  1. GED Connection Orientation
  2. Passing the GED Writing Test
  3. Getting Ideas on Paper
  4. The Writing Process
  5. Organized Writing
  6. Writing Style and Word Choice
  7. Effective Sentences
  8. Grammar and Usage
  9. Spelling, Punctuation, and Capitalization
  10. The GED Essay
  11. Passing the GED Reading Test
  12. Nonfiction
  13. Fiction
  14. Poetry
  15. Drama
  16. Passing the GED Social Studies Test
  17. Themes in U.S. History
  18. Themes in World History
  19. Economics
  20. Civics and Government
  21. Geography
  22. Passing the GED Science Test
  23. Life Science
  24. Earth and Space Science
  25. Chemistry
  26. Physics
  27. Passing the GED Math Test
  28. Number Sense
  29. Problem Solving
  30. Decimals
  31. Fractions
  32. Ratio, Proportion, and Percent
  33. Measurement
  34. Formulas
  35. Geometry
  36. Data Analysis
  37. Statistics and Probability
  38. Introduction to Algebra
  39. Special Topics in Algebra and Geometry

Hard Facts About Alcohol, Marijuana & Crack

30 min.; 10-12; Alcohol & Drug Education, Guidance, Health; Distributed by: US Dept. of Education (1988)

The program opens with high school freshmen filing into an auditorium for their class picture. The segments that follow show alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and crack devastating the lives of the class. By graduation, six of them are missing from the senior class picture. Voice over narration emphasizes the dangers of each drug.

Help Wanted

8 programs - 15 min. each; 7-12; Agriculture, Career Education, Comminication, Criminal Justice, Guidance, Health; Distributed by: International Telecommunication Services (1987)

Help Wanted investigates a variety of vocations for the student who is preparing to enter the work force or go on to college. Job preparation and survival are discussed by people who are active in the fields discussed. The responsibilities and the skills needed for each occupation are discussed.

  1. Registered Nurse
  2. Television & Radio Broadcasting
  3. Medical Technologist
  4. Animal Health Technologist
  5. Secretarial Science
  6. Educationist
  7. Law Enforcement
  8. Agriculturist

It All Adds Up

12 min.; 7-12; Business Education, Career Education, Guidance; Produced by: American Institute of CPAs (1990)

An overview of careers in accounting. Since accounting offers a variety of career choices, the potential to advance to the highest levels of upper management, high earnings, and the opportunity to meet and work with people, It All Adds Up to an exciting, challenging and rewarding career.

Just Beer

20 min.; 7-12; Alcohol & Drug Education, Guidance, Health, Self-Awareness; Distributed by: Perennial Education (1985)

Drinking has become an alarming way of life for many teenagers. Just Beer speaks directly to teens, using a series of dramatized situations to illustrate the physiological reactions to beer and to dispel common myths about alcohol intake. The program includes comments from teenagers who have given up drinking beer because of the adverse effects on schoolwork, family life, friendships, and their health.

Kid-TV

2 programs - var. lengths; 6-9; Guidance, Health, Self-Awareness, Teacher Education; Produced by: Maine Dept. of Mental Health & Mental Retardation (1991)

KID-TV is designed to give students a better understanding of mental illness. The central purpose is to help eliminate the stigma often associated with mental illness.

  1. Part 1 (18 min.) Takes you behind the headlines for the real story on mental illness. The program features actors from the Teens inTheatre group and the Second Step Players in a sequence where they examine commonly held ideas and prejudices.
  2. Part 2 (24 min.) Is a cast discussion on mental illness...the real story! The kids from Teens in Theatre and adults from the Second Step Players talk candidly about their feelings and apprehensions on mental illness and what life is like for those who have it.

Live or Learn

30 min.; 9-12; Current Issues, Guidance, Human Rights; Produced by: Maine Public Broadcasting (30 min.)

Provides some perspective on the needs and realities of homeless teenagers, as related to the society which has produced them. Through talking to the teens directly, to the staff of two centers which attempt to meet their needs, to their teachers, and to public agency officials attempting to address the legal mandates of education, the producers find no ultimate answers or solutions: but rather call attention to an increasingly widespread and complex problem.

Lookin' Good

2 programs - 30 min. each; 7-9; Alcohol & Drug Education, Guidance, Health; Distributed by: US Dept. of Education (1988)

Based on true-life incidents involving drug and alcohol use, Lookin' Good shows how a handful of concerned students, with the help of their school and community, build a peer support group to resist peer pressure to get involved with drugs. Although the programs emphasize prevention, they also recognize that some students have already been exposed to drugs and may need treatment.

  1. Part 1
  2. Part 2

Looking at Learning Again, Part 2

8 programs - 60 min. each; K-12; Guidance, Mathematics, Science, Teacher Education; Annenberg/CPB Channel (2000)

This series provides elementary and secondary teachers of mathematics and science the opportunity to hear from science and mathematics educators and some of the teachers, students, and parents who work with them. Each of the eight featured educators has studied some aspect of teaching and learning and has proposed modifications of classroom practices as a result of that research.

  1. Philip Sadler, Ed.D., Behind the Design
  2. Dr. Marta Civil, Mathematics: A Community Focus
  3. Dr. Carne Barnett, Learning to Share Perspectives
  4. Dr. Peter Hewson, Conceptual Change
  5. Dr. Robert Swartz, Critical and Creative Thinking
  6. Professor James Kaput, Algebra and Calculus: The Challenge
  7. Professor Herbert P. Ginsburg, Children's Ways of Knowing
  8. Dr. Wynne Harlen, Learning to Listen

Open Water & Safe Harbors

5 programs - 20 min. each; 7-12; Guidance, Health; Distributed by: Maine Committee on Aging (1988)

Open Water & Safe Harbors is an intergenerational program which grew out of a recognition that significant numbers of young people lacked the knowledge that life planning skills are necessary to make sound decisions in their lives and that decisions made in their teens affect their options in later life. Also, many of those same young people had never experienced a close relationship with an older person.

  1. On Deck
  2. Charting a Course
  3. Far From Shore
  4. Rough Waters
  5. Gentle Breezes

Private Victories

4 programs - 30 min. each; 7-12; Alcohol & Drug Education, Guidance, Health; Distributed by: US Dept. of Education (1988)

These programs emphasize that it's possible for young people to achieve private victories by caring enough about themselves to reject drugs; relate the dangers of drugs clearly and concisely; and demonstrate that those who decide against drugs can influence friends to do the same.

  1. Bobby
  2. Hank
  3. Jackie & Stacy
  4. Todd

Reaching Higher - Financial Aid

60 min.; 9-12; Business Education, Guidance; Maine PBS (2004)

There are a number of financial factors to consider when going on to higher education. This program will review the ins and outs of the financial aid process - including the different types of financial aid, and the loans and savings plans that are available in Maine .

Reaching Higher in Maine

2 programs - 60 min. each; 9-12; Business Education, Career Education, Guidance; Produced by: Maine Public Television (1998)

Reaching Higher in Maine aims at giving Maine students the information needed to pursue new academic opportunities, achieve higher education, and advance career goals.

  1. Building Futures through Membership
  2. Understanding Financial Aid

Speak Up, Speak Out: Learning to Say No to Drugs

20 min.; 10-12; Alcohol & Drug Education, Guidance, Health; Distributed by: US Dept. of Education (1988)

As the senior class boards a bus for the trip to Washington, DC, Steve tries to persuade Matt to hold a party in his hotel room the last night of the trip - "a real send off for the senior class." Steve says he'll arrange for alcohol and marijuana, but Matt isn't so sure. His friends show Matt how to recognize and resist Steve's pressure. In the end, Matt refuses to do something he knows is wrong.

Straight at Ya'

45 min.; 7-9; Alcohol & Drug Education, Guidance, Health; Distributed by: US Dept. of Education (1988)

The teenage star of ABC's Growing Pains, Kirk Cameron, hosts this effective video which takes place in a typical junior high classroom. Kirk engages the kids in a lively discussion which covers such topics as peer pressure, mustering the resolve to say no, and cultivating a positive life style alternative to drug taking.

Teens 'N Theatre 2

30 min.; 5-8; Alcohol & Drug Education, Communication, Guidance, Health, Fine Arts, Self Awareness, Teacher Education; Produced by: Adolescent Pregnancy Coalition (1987)

Improvisational theatre is being used nationwide in successful adolescent pregnancy and drug and alcohol prevention programs. In 1986, the Adolescent Pregnancy Coalition funded a new theatre group at Skowhegan Junior High to impact on the issues facing fifth through eighth graders. The troupe of 35 young people, under the direction of Marti Stevens, performs for schools and organizations statewide. The program explores the process by which young teens and school officials can cooperate in addressing the issues of adolescent sexuality, peer pressure, alcohol and drug abuse, self-esteem building, inter-generational communication and drop-out prevention. It also shows how teen theatre works to motivate students and to improve the overall communication climate in a school. It can serve as a framework for replication of the teen theatre concept in your school district or as background and preview before inviting TNT 2 to visit your school.

What Do You Say?

30 min.; 6-8; Alcohol & Drug Education, Communication, Guidance, Health, Self-Awareness; Produced by: Maine Association of Broadcasters (1998)

This program is aimed at helping parents of middle-school-aged children talk honestly and openly with one another about alcohol. Program segments include "role-playing" conversations between adults and adolescents and round-table discussions of typical situations involving alcohol that call for parental reaction.

Words Count with Mark Brown

60 min.; K-12; Communication, Current Issues, Guidance, Human Rights; Produced by: Maine Public Television (2000)

Recorded before a live audience at Brunswick High School's Crooker Theater, Words Count with Mark Brown addresses the issues of tolerance, diversity, name calling, teamwork and relationship building.

Workplace Essential Skills

24 - 30 min. programs ; 9-12 ; Career/Vocational Education, Communication, Guidance, Language Arts, Mathematics ; PBS Adult Learning Service

Workplace Essential Skills is an extraordinary instructional package that teaches how to find, keep and thrive in the job. Use it in classes, workshops, training, outreach or even distance education programs. This is designed for pre-GED (sixth to eightth grade reading level) adult learners. It develops job search, reading, writing, math, and communication skills.

  1. Orientation: Making it Work
  2. Planning to Work
  3. Matching Skills and Jobs
  4. Applying for Jobs
  5. Resumes, Tests, and Choices
  6. Interviewing
  7. Ready for Work
  8. Workplace Safety
  9. Learning at Work
  10. The Language of Work
  11. Communicating with Co-workers and Supervisors
  12. Working Together
  13. Communicating with Customers
  14. A Process for Writing
  15. Supplying Information: Directions, Forms, and Charts
  16. Writing Memos and Letters
  17. Reading for a Purpose
  18. Finding What You Need: Forms and Charts
  19. Following Directions
  20. Reading Reports and Manuals
  21. Solving Problems
  22. Fractions, Decimals, and Percents
  23. Measurements and Formulas
  24. Trends and Predictions: Graphs and Data

Youth Voices

30 min.; 9-12; Alcohol & Drug Education, Current Issues, Guidance; Produced by: Maine Public Television (2000)

Throughout this past school year, Maine PBS producers have worked with young people from across Maine as they have proactively addressed alcohol use in their communities. We are proud to share the stories of these groups and to help demonstrate the positive impact the young people of our state are having on all of us. Support for this program has been provided by the Maine Office of Substance Abuse of the Maine Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation, and Substance Abuse Services in cooperation with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

Youth Voices II

30 min.; 9-12; Alcohol & Drug Education, Current Issues, Guidance; Maine Public Television, Lewiston, ME (2001)

For the second consecutive year, Maine PBS is offering a program that explores issues of alcohol use through the eyes of Maine's young people. For the 2001 season, young people from the communities of Ashland, Rangeley, New Surry and Cumberland County, ages 10 to 17, have produced mini-documentaries focusing on issues surrounding alcohol in Maine.

Youth Voices III

30 min.; 9-12; Alcohol & Drug Education, Current Issues, Guidance; Maine Public Television, Lewiston, ME (2002)

Building on the success and momentum of a multi-year collaboration with Maine Office of Substance Abuse, for the third consecutive year Maine PBS will work with young people from across the state to help them produce their own television productions about alcohol use. This year, young people from the communities of Portland, Oxford Hills, Harrington and Danforth Maine are producing Public Service Announcements with the goal of reaching adults and parents to make them aware of the many issues surrounding underage drinking.