Goody-Goody

Have you heard of the term “goody-goody” or a “miss goody two-shoes”? These names may be given , usually by other children, to a child who said “no” to some plan or idea because it wasn’t a “good” or “right” thing to do. Sometimes the name “goody-goody” was given to a student who helped a teacher or was polite to a teacher. Have you ever been called a “goody-goody” or something similar? Explain. Do you have a similar kind of label in your native culture?

When you were a child, were there certain groups of children that were popular or powerful, and other groups or individuals that were not? Did the powerful groups harass or hurt the less powerful groups or individuals? What were the characteristics of the powerful or popular kids, and what were the characteristics of the unpopular kids? (We call the powerful group – the “in-crowd.”

Did you feel a lot of peer pressure as a child? How did you handle it? Did you talk to your parents or other adults about your troubles as a kid? Or did you just talk to other kids? Was there a time in your life when you began to feel more free of peer pressure – perhaps in high school, or college or after you started a career? Do you feel much peer pressure at this time in your life? What kind of pressure? How do you handle it?

Is it common for people to use profanity in your native culture? Do you use profanity? How do you feel when you are around people that use profanity? Do you ever ask people to stop using profanity around you? American movies are rated according to the level of violence, sexuality and profanity. Do you use the ratings as a guide when you choose a movie? Give examples.

Here are two examples of common ethical decisions faced in American office jobs. What advice would you give in these situations?

1. You are close to your coworker – good friends. You discover that your coworker is looking at pornography on the internet using the company’s computer. You tell him, “That’s against company policy.” He says, “You’re such a goody-goody!” What do you do?

2. You run out of printer paper at home. You work hard at your job and don’t have a lot of time for shopping. So you take a ream of paper from the office supply room at your job and use it at home with no cost to you. Your coworker sees you walking out with the paper and says, “that’s not right.” Do you call him a “goody-goody”? What do you do?

***Here’s one definition of what is “good”. Do you agree with it?

“The Lord has shown you what is good. He has told you what he requires of you. You must treat people fairly. You must love others faithfully. And you must be very careful to live the way your God wants you to.” Micah 6:8