School: Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Track: Youth Class: Topic Library — Year 1 (Foundations) Presented by: Minister Destiny Marie Morgan, Muslim Ordained Minister
This lesson is educational information and is not legal advice. Laws vary by state. If you are in danger right now, call 911.
Before you start
- This space is private. Nobody sees what you read or answer. Your progress stays on your device.
- We never ask your name. Not here, not on the test, not on the certificate. If you earn a certificate, you download it and write your own name on it after.
- Pass the test at 80% or higher to earn this unit's certificate. Retakes are allowed. Answers are not shown: go back and find what you missed.
- If you are in danger right now: call 911. If you cannot talk out loud, text HOME to 741741 (Crisis Text Line) or call or text 988 any time, day or night.
- This unit teaches safety with no weapons, no insults, and no harm: voice, distance, safe places, trusted adults.
The lesson
Part 1. Why insults make things worse — and the sequence that protects you
An insult can turn a bad moment dangerous. Words that embarrass someone make it harder for them to back down, and a crowd or group chat can push both sides to keep going. Protecting your dignity — and leaving the other person theirs — is itself protection. Be firm without being cruel.
Use this order: NOTICE → MOVE AWAY → USE YOUR VOICE → GO TO PEOPLE AND SAFE PLACES → TELL AN ADULT → KEEP TELLING UNTIL SOMEONE ACTS. If danger is close, skip ahead — go straight to people and call 911.
Part 2. NOTICE — paying attention early
Situational awareness means noticing what is around you while you still have choices. Look up on your routes — bus stop, walk home, parking lots. Put your phone down at transitions: getting on and off the bus, crossing lots, arriving home.
Trust a bad feeling based on what someone does: following you, blocking your path, refusing to accept no, demanding you go somewhere. Never judge safety by what someone looks like — behavior is the signal, not appearance. Tell your family your plan, route, and expected arrival time. A plan someone else knows can bring help.
Part 3. MOVE AWAY — distance is protection
Distance does quiet, powerful work. Cross the street, change seats, leave early, or step into a store or open public building. There is no prize for staying on your planned path.
If someone follows you, head toward people and light, into an open business, and call 911 or a trusted adult. Never go somewhere alone with someone pressuring you.
One rule about things: if someone demands your phone or bag in a robbery, give it up. Things can be replaced. You cannot be. Move away, tell an adult, and call 911. Letting go is not losing — it is the plan.
Part 4. USE YOUR VOICE — loud for help, calm to cool things down
Your voice has two jobs. For danger, use a strong, loud voice to get help and witnesses: "I don't know you — stay back!" or "Call 911!" That differs from insulting or daring someone — loud for help is specific and aimed at getting people to act.
For a tense peer moment, calm words work better. Slow down, do not match shouting, and use I-language: "I need space." "I don't want to fight." Give the other person a face-saving exit: "Let's take a break and talk tomorrow." Walking away from dares is strength, not losing — a dare only works if you accept it.
Online: do not feed it, block, save the messages, tell an adult. Never agree to meet an online antagonist or someone who fought with you online. See this library's Cyber Bullying unit for more.
Part 5. SAFE PEOPLE AND SAFE PLACES — build your network before you need it
A trusted adult believes you, does not hurt you, and will act. Name yours now: family, teachers, coaches, librarians, store workers, bus drivers, and neighbors you know. A bystander who gets help is also part of safety — and you can be that person for someone else.
Build a safe haven map of your routes: school, library, fire station, open businesses, and houses of worship — places with staff and other people.
Travel safer together. Walk with friends, watch out for the friend who is alone, and never leave a friend behind at a party or event. Check in on younger kids and grandparents, too — "are you okay, and do you know who to call?"
Part 6. TELLING AND AFTER — keep telling until someone acts
If you need help fast, call 911 and say where you are first, then what is happening. Stay on the line and answer the dispatcher's questions.
Afterward, tell a trusted adult what happened — and keep telling until someone acts. If the first adult does not help, tell another. That is finishing the job, not complaining.
Save evidence honestly: keep messages and screenshots as they are, do not edit them, and hand them to an adult. Feelings after a scare — shaky, angry, tearful, trouble sleeping — are normal. Talk to someone you trust; use 988 or the Crisis Text Line if feelings stay heavy.
Part 7. Nonviolence is strength
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. taught that nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people — not for cowards. As The King Center explains, it seeks to win friendship and understanding, to defeat injustice, not people, and chooses love instead of hate. Walking away with your dignity, and refusing to humiliate someone else, come from that same strength.
Many faith communities teach peacemaking in their own ways. Whatever your family's beliefs, the lesson is the same: strength protects people — it does not hurt them.
Words to know — Nonviolent Safety
- Situational awareness — noticing people, places, and changes around you while you can still choose.
- De-escalation — calm words, space, and time that help a tense moment get smaller.
- Boundary — a clear limit you set, such as "I need space."
- Safe haven — a place with people who can help, such as a school, library, or open business.
- Trusted adult — an adult who believes you, does not hurt you, and will act to help.
- Bystander — a person who sees something happening and can help, by getting an adult or calling 911.
- Escalation — when words or actions make a conflict bigger and harder to stop.
- Nonviolence — staying safe and solving conflict without hurting anyone, in body or words.
- I-language — saying what you need, starting with "I," such as "I need space," instead of blaming.
- Face-saving exit — a way out that lets the other person leave without being embarrassed.
Myths vs facts — Nonviolent Safety
- Myth: Walking away from a dare means you lost. Fact: Walking away is strength. A dare only works if you accept it.
- Myth: A good insult will make someone back down. Fact: Insults escalate. Embarrassing someone makes backing down harder.
- Myth: Judge who is dangerous by how they look. Fact: Judge by behavior — following, blocking your path, refusing to accept no — never appearance.
- Myth: Hold onto your phone or bag if someone demands it. Fact: Give it up. Things can be replaced; you cannot be.
- Myth: If the first adult does not help, nothing more can be done. Fact: Keep telling until someone acts.
Think it through — Nonviolent Safety
The situation: After school, a group-chat disagreement becomes a challenge: "Meet me behind the gym and say that to my face." A crowd gathers, friends film, and the other student shouts insults. You feel trapped between looking weak and making things worse.
Walk it through: (1) Notice (Part 2): a dare, a crowd, and filming are signs of escalation, not conversation. (2) Move away (Part 3): do not go; head toward people — back inside school, toward staff. (3) Use your voice calmly (Part 4): "I don't want to fight. I need space," and offer a face-saving exit — "We can talk tomorrow with a counselor." Do not trade insults. (4) Tell (Parts 5 and 6): show a trusted adult the saved, unedited messages, and keep telling until an adult acts. Never meet someone who fought with you online.
Cases & codes to study — Nonviolent Safety
The legal steps here are the adults' job. One Massachusetts law is worth knowing exists, so you know adults and courts have a tool to help:
The law itself — read the real words
- Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 209A, § 4 — lets a Massachusetts court enter temporary orders protecting a person from abuse; adults ask the court. Read it: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleIII/Chapter209a/Section4
Where to read the real thing, free: Massachusetts Legislature (https://malegislature.gov) — read the law with a grown-up.
Try this — Nonviolent Safety
- ☐ Draw your safe-places map: mark a safe haven on each route you walk.
- ☐ Name three trusted adults and save how to reach them.
- ☐ Practice out loud: "I don't know you — stay back!" "Call 911!" "I need space."
- ☐ Tell your family your usual route and expected arrival time.
- ☐ Group-chat check: if a dare starts, I know my steps — don't feed it, block, save, tell.
Resources to keep — Nonviolent Safety
- 911 — in danger right now; say where you are first.
- 988 (call or text) — support any time, day or night.
- Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741 — if you would rather type than talk.
- Childhelp: 1-800-422-4453 — help if an adult is pressuring or hurting you.
- Right To Be (righttobe.org) — free youth bystander training (https://righttobe.org/events/bystander-intervention-for-youth-how-to-show-up-for-others-14/).
What you earned / what's next — Keeping Yourself Safe Without Weapons, Without Insults, Without Harm
✅ Keeping Yourself Safe Without Weapons, Without Insults, Without Harm complete (quiz score 80% or higher): You can work the full sequence without weapons, insults, or harm.
Your certificate
Minister Destiny Testimony Schools Certificate of Completion — Keeping Yourself Safe Without Weapons, Without Insults, Without Harm
This certificate is presented by Muslim Ordained Minister Destiny Marie Morgan
Awarded to: ______________________________ (write your name here after you download — your name is never collected or stored by this school)
Date completed: ______________
Congratulations. A strong voice, safe distance, and trusted adults protect you — and walking away is strength. I am proud of you. — Minister Destiny Marie Morgan
This is a certificate of educational completion from Minister Destiny Testimony Schools. It is not a state license, a government certification, or legal training for representing anyone.
What's next: Return to the Topic Library for your next Year 1 Foundations unit.
Sources
- Massachusetts Legislature (malegislature.gov) — Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 209A, § 4 (https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleIII/Chapter209a/Section4) — temporary court orders protecting a person from abuse.
- The King Center (thekingcenter.org) — The King Philosophy (https://thekingcenter.org/about-tkc/the-king-philosophy/) — Dr. King's principles of nonviolence.
- Right To Be (righttobe.org) — Bystander Intervention for Youth (https://righttobe.org/events/bystander-intervention-for-youth-how-to-show-up-for-others-14/) — youth bystander training prioritizing your safety while helping.
Your Progress — On Your Device Only
- Learning outcomes: On completing this unit, the student can:
- State the safety sequence in order, from noticing to keep telling until someone acts.
- Explain why insults escalate, and how I-language and a face-saving exit de-escalate.
- Describe noticing by behavior, never appearance, and keeping a phone down at transitions.
- State the property rule for a robbery: give up the item, move away, call 911.
- Name trusted adults and safe havens on their routes, and explain never leaving a friend behind.
- Explain what to say first on a 911 call, and how to save messages without editing them.
- Study time: Approximately 0.5 hours (about 30 minutes) — reading, activities, and the test. Students move at their own pace.
- Assessment: A 10-question test drawn only from this unit's lesson. 80% or higher passes and earns the unit certificate. Answers are not shown; your score is saved only in your own browser on this device, and retakes are allowed.
- Level: Topic Library — Year 1 (Foundations) · Youth school · working rank on completion path: Freshman → Sophomore.
- Version: Version 1.0 — October 2026.
Minister Destiny Testimony Schools — Youth. Educational information only, not legal advice. Help lines: 911 · 988 (call or text) · Crisis Text Line (text HOME to 741741) · Childhelp 1-800-422-4453.