Speed

Purpose: When your body is under the influence of one of the drugs that speeds up your Central Nervous System, you have less control over your actions. Your CNS goes into high gear, but the messages it receives are not reacted upon in the usual fashion. Your brain is being fooled to think it is doing a great job, although in actuality your performance is severely impaired. This activity will simulate what happens to the body while under the influence.

Materials:

1. A towel, a cone, or some other marker that can be moved

Activity: Have group participants form a circle and hold hands. While holding hands have group participants run in a circle. See how fast they can make one, two, or three revolutions. Identify a leader of the circle. Now have the group run and after they get up to speed, you place the marker on the ground. When the leader gets to the marker he or she is to stop. Everyone else in line is to stop as soon as the leader does. During the activity you can have the group run clockwise and counterclockwise. Always holding hands have them run fast and slow. Sometimes have the marker placed way ahead of the leader and other times throw it down right in front of him or her. Change the leader often. What you should be seeing is that when the speed is fast or the marker is placed down only a short distance in front of the leader, he or she is able to stop, but the remainder of the line has trouble stopping. At a slower pace this does not seem to be a problem. This has a direct correlation to the body under the influence of an “upper” or “speed”. The mind can see what should be done, but the body can’t react as it should because the central nervous system is actually over reacting.

Processing:

1. What did you observe during this activity?

2. How did it feel when you were the leader?

3. Could you stop easily when you were the leader?

4. Could you stop easily when you were not the leader?

5. What difference did your position relative to the leader have on your ability to stop?

6. Did the speed of the group impact the ability of the people to stop?

7. What can this activity tell us about a body under the influence of a “speed” drug?

8. What kinds of activities would be impaired by the use of “speed”?

9. What kinds of jobs would be dangerous under the influence of “speed”?

Resource: Activities that Teach, Tom Jackson