Applied theatre just finished their new device drama, "Living Behind the Mask," a look at the masks we put on... all day... just to get through the days. We explored all the different persona's we wear during the course of our lives in order to be accepted, to be liked, to be promoted or appreciated. And we explored what happens when those masks are ripped away, revealing what we feel is vulnerability. The six month journey forced me to ponder my own masks.
There are days I ask myself, who am I? I often look at other teachers and marvel at their ability to seem so calm, so centered, so grounded when often I feel that I am drowning in doubt. I look at my students and wonder what impact I have on them. Their ability to bounce back from rejection, to stand up, brush themselves off and keep going... it inspires me. Their ability to forgive us, their teachers, for our mistakes, our bad days, our missteps, for all the things that haunt me late at night... Is it youth? Is it faith that as teachers, we are somehow held higher and therefore given more latitude than other adults? My students' belief that all their teachers must like them, must have their best interests at heart, must do the right thing for them -- staggers me.
First of all, I don't know about other teachers, but I often feel I do the wrong thing and then spend time correcting it. I do my best, but it always needs work. I can always be better. I know so many teachers who are truly gifted, truly talented - and I try to emulate and learn from them. On the flip side, every teacher must like their students? I know teachers who don't like any students. And I know some students who are difficult to like (at times.) How do we live up to that standard? Their faith that we, somehow, will have their backs... Where does it come from? And do we justify it?
The mask I wear as a teacher tries to be empathetic, humorous, patient and firm. And I know that I drop that mask almost every day. And the human side of tired, impatient, a little "blah" comes roaring through, threatening to expose my vulnerabilities and true face to the teens who stare at me everyday. And still, there are those days. Those days that remind me that the mask I wear contains portions of the person I am. I have days where I have become the mask and the best elements I try to project. Those days keep me plugging along, trying to improve and somehow meld the mask of who I want to be as a teacher with the reality of who I am.
So, at the end of the six month journey of "Living Behind the Mask," I think I took as much of an emotional journey as my students.
On a COMPLETELY, separate note, my book Changing The Way We Think, Using Arts to Inspire, Empower and Change Your School Community is now available on Amazon. Feel free to leave comments if you read it. I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Showing posts with label device drama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label device drama. Show all posts
Monday, February 27, 2012
Monday, November 14, 2011
Week Two in Our Year of Respect
Week Two has commenced with the anti-bullying project and our Year of Respect. It has been interesting to see what the students have retained so far and to see what stereotypes they hold. We started with a simple discussion of what they've noticed in their community since we last spoke. I asked them what, if anything, they noticed about bullying in our school, on the busses, in the community. Many mentioned an ongoing story that we have airing on WANT TV (our school announcement and news television program). The story is called "Freshman Frenzy" and concerns a freshman who can't find his classroom (our school is very large). Along the way to trying to find his room, he meets a variety of characters, one of whom bullies him. The students mentioned the fact that this young character was being bullied on WANT TV. (The story hasn't yet been resolved.)
They noticed some posters in the halls. And many spoke of a fight that had broken out in the cafeteria earlier in the week. That was a big topic of discussion. When I brought up the fact that by the end of the year, I was hoping they would be more aware of what was occurring around them; they would be more aware of words coming out of their mouths; they would be more cognizant of their community as a whole because they were going to be in this community for the next FOUR years -- they seemed stunned by the realization. Four years! That's forever. I don't think it had occurred to them.
We then moved on to the human barometer game which provoked a lot of lively discussion and some out and out contention. Especially when it came to issues like are men more likely to bully than women and whether poor are more prone to violent acts than people with money. They were very passionate about their views. Interestingly, the girls felt they were far more viscious than the boys. The boys persisted with a view that girls were "sensitive" and more "delicate," while boys were more prone to physical altercations. Girls brought up the fact that many physical fights are girl on girl and include hair pulling, scratching and slapping. They also mentioned that girls are viscious with their verbal attacks while boys are more likely to let it roll off their backs. It was interesting to see the positions from each side and to see them try to articulate why they perceived one gender as more aggressive than another. There was one group that stood out as being different than the rest of the students. Our ESL students (primarily Hispanic but some African) were also divided by gender but in what we would consider in a more traditional sense. The girls spoke of how boys considered all things possessions, including their girlfriends, and that through a sense of bravado they would sometimes use physical force to impose their rules or opinions. The boys spoke of how girls were delicate and boys weren't "allowed" to hit them but girls were allowed to hit each other and boys. Plus girls were "more prone to drama" than boys. Their gender divide was the most pronounced of all groups.
When we spoke of the economic divide, the debate grew heated and intense. Some students were very committed and intense in their belief that money and power corrupts...absolutely. That the more money people get, the more they want and they'll do ANYTHING to do get what they want. Since they have money and power, they believe they can buy their way out of the situation. Others felt that although people with money may be corrupt, they wouldn't resort to violence, but rather theft and extortion (i.e. ponsy schemes) to achieve their goals. Violence wasn't necessary in their world. Students were incensed by the thought that this didn't qualify as "violence," which necessitated a discussion about how to define the word. Some felt it was any act that induced pain and suffering, where others felt there must be physical aggression involved. The students who felt the poor were more likely to commit acts of violence felt that desperate times called for desperate measures... ergo, since poor people needed things -- food, money, shelter -- they would resort to anything to achieve their means. This was a hotly debated argument. One student asked me, "which answer is right?" I think he was a bit frustrated to discover...that I wouldn't give him statistics to back one opinion. The point of the discussion was to explore where the student stood and to listen to opposing views. It is always fascinating for me to hear how students justify their beliefs. I heard that "rich people lie better," "poor people are maladjusted and rich people are insecure."
We moved onto a bullying quiz, which exposed many stereotypes young people held. For example, most felt that bullies were misunderstood, unhappy, insecure individuals who were just "lashing out." When they heard that statistically, most bullies were confident, secure with a core group of friends, it puzzled and I think frustrated them. We need to feel there is a reason behind people's actions. But this quote from a young man who has participated in bullying gives a lot of justification:
For those of you interested, the following is the lesson plan I introduced this week to the freshmen here at our school:
They noticed some posters in the halls. And many spoke of a fight that had broken out in the cafeteria earlier in the week. That was a big topic of discussion. When I brought up the fact that by the end of the year, I was hoping they would be more aware of what was occurring around them; they would be more aware of words coming out of their mouths; they would be more cognizant of their community as a whole because they were going to be in this community for the next FOUR years -- they seemed stunned by the realization. Four years! That's forever. I don't think it had occurred to them.
We then moved on to the human barometer game which provoked a lot of lively discussion and some out and out contention. Especially when it came to issues like are men more likely to bully than women and whether poor are more prone to violent acts than people with money. They were very passionate about their views. Interestingly, the girls felt they were far more viscious than the boys. The boys persisted with a view that girls were "sensitive" and more "delicate," while boys were more prone to physical altercations. Girls brought up the fact that many physical fights are girl on girl and include hair pulling, scratching and slapping. They also mentioned that girls are viscious with their verbal attacks while boys are more likely to let it roll off their backs. It was interesting to see the positions from each side and to see them try to articulate why they perceived one gender as more aggressive than another. There was one group that stood out as being different than the rest of the students. Our ESL students (primarily Hispanic but some African) were also divided by gender but in what we would consider in a more traditional sense. The girls spoke of how boys considered all things possessions, including their girlfriends, and that through a sense of bravado they would sometimes use physical force to impose their rules or opinions. The boys spoke of how girls were delicate and boys weren't "allowed" to hit them but girls were allowed to hit each other and boys. Plus girls were "more prone to drama" than boys. Their gender divide was the most pronounced of all groups.
When we spoke of the economic divide, the debate grew heated and intense. Some students were very committed and intense in their belief that money and power corrupts...absolutely. That the more money people get, the more they want and they'll do ANYTHING to do get what they want. Since they have money and power, they believe they can buy their way out of the situation. Others felt that although people with money may be corrupt, they wouldn't resort to violence, but rather theft and extortion (i.e. ponsy schemes) to achieve their goals. Violence wasn't necessary in their world. Students were incensed by the thought that this didn't qualify as "violence," which necessitated a discussion about how to define the word. Some felt it was any act that induced pain and suffering, where others felt there must be physical aggression involved. The students who felt the poor were more likely to commit acts of violence felt that desperate times called for desperate measures... ergo, since poor people needed things -- food, money, shelter -- they would resort to anything to achieve their means. This was a hotly debated argument. One student asked me, "which answer is right?" I think he was a bit frustrated to discover...that I wouldn't give him statistics to back one opinion. The point of the discussion was to explore where the student stood and to listen to opposing views. It is always fascinating for me to hear how students justify their beliefs. I heard that "rich people lie better," "poor people are maladjusted and rich people are insecure."
We moved onto a bullying quiz, which exposed many stereotypes young people held. For example, most felt that bullies were misunderstood, unhappy, insecure individuals who were just "lashing out." When they heard that statistically, most bullies were confident, secure with a core group of friends, it puzzled and I think frustrated them. We need to feel there is a reason behind people's actions. But this quote from a young man who has participated in bullying gives a lot of justification:
"As the bully, it's different. It's different...it's power. It's the greatest high you can feel. Sure you feel bad after, but the rush. It's enough to drive anyone to any lengths. The high it gives you just transforms you. It becomes the only drive you need to get through. It's a twisted and disturbed high, but nothing can beat those moments."We continued to tackle the stereotypes and the students had some really wonderful moments as they argued, debated, discussed and pondered the issues. They questioned me; they questioned each other; and they questioned themselves. This is the groundwork I think we need to lay in order to go forward and start to create more empathy for victims and a safer environment to stand up and say, "it's not cool to hassle that kid...back off." We shall see. The questions always remain... will this have an impact? The fact they remember our last discussion and were ready to go further this week, to me, is a positive sign. It is making them evaluate their beliefs. Now, let's see if we can get them to change their actions...
For those of you interested, the following is the lesson plan I introduced this week to the freshmen here at our school:
ACTIVITIES
· The teacher will then lead a Human Barometer Game – where the students will have an opportunity to discuss and evaluate their perceptions about bullying. There will three zones – Strongly Agree, Strongly Disagree, Not Sure. The teacher will read a list of statements – students need to choose a zone based on whether they personally agree, disagree with the statements. If they’re not sure how they feel, they choose “not sure.” After choosing their zone, groups in each zone discuss why they chose that zone and choosing one speaker (a different speaker for each time we have a statement), they must find a way to say in one sentence why their group is standing there. After all three groups present their arguments, an opportunity is given for students to move to a different group, (to reassess if you will).
o In today’s world, bullying is expected and often rewarded.
o Sometimes violence is a necessary solution.
o Teasing and rough play is not that serious.
o Bullying and harassment are the same thing.
o Cyber bullying can easily be prevented.
o Poor people commit more acts of violence than people with money.
o Men are more likely to be bullies than women.
o The family is where we first learn to bully.
o We can someday live in a non-violent world.
·
· Students will take a piece of paper and crumple it up, stamp on it and really mess it up but NOT rip it. Then the teacher will have them unfold the paper, smooth it out and look at how scarred and dirty it is.
o Teacher will then have the students apologize to the paper. Even though the students say “they’re sorry,” and try to straighten out the paper, the teacher will point out all the scars left behind. Those scars will never go away, no matter how hard they try to fix it.
o The teacher will point out that is what happens when we use words like “ho,” “fag,” “loser,” “stupid,” “retard,” and “fat.” They may say they’re sorry but the damage is done. I discovered that this activity wasn't effective with some of the students -- especially those who were more vocal in their beliefs that victims bring bullying on themselves. For that group, I ended switching things up a bit and brought in http://www.teachingtolerance.org's/ quiz on bullying. It created some great discussions about stereotypes about bullies and victims.
· After the human barometer game and discussion, students will be split into groups of four to five students in a group. They will be given a large piece of paper to share. They’ll be instructed to brainstorm on the following:
o A Public Service Announcement idea for WANT TV. Explain that a PSA must inform, educate and inspire change. The PSA should be short, can contain dialogue (but doesn't have to), and must contain some important message or action the students want the viewer to know or take.
o Students will create their idea for a PSA for consideration for WANT TV. The winning 3 or 4 concepts will be produced and aired on WANT TV.
o Give students about ten to fifteen minutes to brainstorm and discuss, write up their concept (with dialogue if appropriate) and hand in. Collect the PSA ideas at the end of the period.
· Wrap up with a brief discussion about whether any perceptions changed during the human barometer game. Did anything surprise the groups about the brainstorming session? Any observations or discussions come out that they didn’t expect? (For example, my students got into an active debate about “intent” and the definition of bullying.)
Content/Concepts/Skills students will be learning
Students will start to redefine and analyze their perceptions on violence and bullying, its roots and its future. Students will work on their own observations, sharing stories and start to look at the school community.
Student Assessment
Students will be assessed on written PSA idea (handed in). Students are assessed on participation in the human barometer game, verbal responses to the questions from the brainstorming session.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Getting Ready for Week Two of Our Year of Respect
Well, I've received some of the student reflections from the first week of the anti-bullying workshops I led in the US 1 History classes I led in the beginning of October. I think we have a lot of work to do. How do we create empathy in our young people when so little of it is demonstrated and modeled in the real world? I was particularly struck by one young man:
Not all reflections were this down heartening, please don't misunderstand. A couple more uplifting ones included:
I find myself both apprehensive and excited to go back in two weeks to do session two with these students. Where will we be come May? Will some of their actions reflect their words? Will we see a meaningful difference in our school?
If anyone has ideas and suggestions for additional activities going forward, please feel free to comment. I look forward to connecting with people.
"Bullying for me was a social-structuralizing activity that helped me grow as a person. It taught me about morals and compassion. There will always be bad in this world. But that's part of growing up. It teaches you to stop being such a close-minded pansy and work things out for yourself. It prepares you for the real world. But if it's a situation that you ABSOLUTELY can't do anything about, then obviously tell an adult. (i.e. can't get out of the house, hospitalized many times, things are stolen.)"So, for this young man, things have to escalate to MULTIPLE hospitalizations to be deemed serious enough to warrant outside intervention. How do we reach young people who believe it is a sign of weakness to ask for assistance? Or that it is "being a snitch" to let people know what is going on in others' lives? Many students feel (and adults I've discovered) that we really need to "mind our own business" and the world will be a better place. I ponder this concept. Should the world have minded its own business during Bosnia? During Rwanda? (Oh, wait, we did.) How about World War II and the Holocaust? At what level does the human cost become high enough to warrant our attention? Is it only upon death? Or is the despair, loneliness, unhappiness of children enough to catch our eye? Perhaps I am a hopeless optimist who still believes that one individual can make a difference. But I wonder... are we starting to ingrain in our young people such a "me" mentality that they can no longer see anyone's pain but their own?
Not all reflections were this down heartening, please don't misunderstand. A couple more uplifting ones included:
"The best part of the workshop was the video. The video contained students from the high school and their words were very powerful. It really touched my heart and the video was just great. We students got to understand the teacher perspective on bullying. Students and teachers got to connect about the bullying. I learned about bullying that it can start online and in texts."
"It seems like there are never nice words said in our high school. I learned a lot, especially after the video rap. People really get hurt from mean words."So, clearly the workshop connected with many of them. Most students wrote about the workshops being valuable and meaningful. So, why do I find myself obsessing about the ones I didn't reach? I know going in I won't reach them all. But I find it disheartening to see such cynicism in fourteen year olds. I can't understand where it finds its roots and growth. Again, that hopeless idealist in me still wants to believe that young people can find hope and change the future. I continue to think about how to push them further during the next session, to get them to dig deeper and take the next steps. I know I have a year for this and I must take one plateau at a time. But it is an interesting journey when you see these young people once a month and that's all. So different from my regular students who I see every day, all year long. There the relationship builds and solidifies and takes roots on trust and respect. It is a bigger challenge with this program.
I find myself both apprehensive and excited to go back in two weeks to do session two with these students. Where will we be come May? Will some of their actions reflect their words? Will we see a meaningful difference in our school?
If anyone has ideas and suggestions for additional activities going forward, please feel free to comment. I look forward to connecting with people.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
The Start to a New Device Drama - Tackling Self Esteem
Last year we worked on a device drama about bullying. We developed a survey, interviewed people, looked at national stories and most importantly, examined our own beliefs and stereotypes. It was an emotional and exhillarating journey that culminated in the award-winning (hopefully soon to be published) piece, "Shadows," now shown to well over 3000 people over the course of a year.
Well, a new year has begun and so has a new journey.
This year, we decided to tackle self esteem. This seems to me to be a much more complex journey in many ways. Self esteem is such a personal issue. How willing would any of us be to open up honestly about this? Would our words contradict our self affirmations? Would the vulnerability be too much, especially for the teenagers? We started out the first week with creating our survey -- thirteen questions that probed people's sense of self - including their personal appearance, their place in a diverse community, their intelligence/strengths/weaknesses, and an interesting question -- if they were someone else, would they be friends with themselves? Those surveys hit the general school population next week via the English teachers. I don't know if we'll get the same kind of honesty and response we did last year with the bullying questions. I think it is much harder to look deeply at yourself and try to ascertain how you view "you" versus how someone else views "you" and who impacts your self esteem the most.
The second week, we looked at our own impressions. This proved to be tougher from the start than the journey last year. We started by creating adjectives to describe our colleagues. Words like "creative," "diverse," "talented," "funny," intelligent," "determined" and "unique" all came out in this discussion. Then we moved to words to describe ourselves. The words were similar but markedly different. "Unique" became "weird," "diverse" became "crazy," "short" appeared, along with "musically inclined" (instead of talented). The students then chose one word for themselves and another for a colleague. They stuck post-its on themselves and each other's backs. And then we talked. And talked. Some students who were labeled "talented" by others didn't feel talented in comparison with their siblings or colleagues. One beautifully articulate young woman stated that she shouldn't have "intelligent" as a label (someone else gave her that). She then went on to talk about how she wasn't influenced by others in her life as to her dreams or her self esteem. She was her own driving force. She was going to go into the airforce and be an artist. It didn't matter that she wasn't smart or a genius like her mother. She wasn't going to be a teacher and follow in her mom's footsteps. We were all struck by how this intelligent, beautiful, articulate young woman didn't think she was smart. So we questioned that assumption. She said she knew she wasn't smart because her test scores showed her so. So I asked the students, "How many of you believe that test scores are an intelligence indicator?" No one raised their hand. But I was struck at how impacted we all were at these outside assessors in our lives... and how much they impact our self worth - whether it be tests or evaluations or critic's reviews or peer's perceptions of our work.
As the students departed for the day, they reflected on the difficulty of the journey we had chosen. I, too, was struck by how emotional the session had become. I wonder as we go forward; how do I keep these young people safe and still explore this issue in a deep and meaningful way? Can we take this journey and not make it personal? And I think, most importantly, how can we use this as an opportunity to lift and affirm these young people's self view?
It is going to be a precarious year.
Well, a new year has begun and so has a new journey.
This year, we decided to tackle self esteem. This seems to me to be a much more complex journey in many ways. Self esteem is such a personal issue. How willing would any of us be to open up honestly about this? Would our words contradict our self affirmations? Would the vulnerability be too much, especially for the teenagers? We started out the first week with creating our survey -- thirteen questions that probed people's sense of self - including their personal appearance, their place in a diverse community, their intelligence/strengths/weaknesses, and an interesting question -- if they were someone else, would they be friends with themselves? Those surveys hit the general school population next week via the English teachers. I don't know if we'll get the same kind of honesty and response we did last year with the bullying questions. I think it is much harder to look deeply at yourself and try to ascertain how you view "you" versus how someone else views "you" and who impacts your self esteem the most.
The second week, we looked at our own impressions. This proved to be tougher from the start than the journey last year. We started by creating adjectives to describe our colleagues. Words like "creative," "diverse," "talented," "funny," intelligent," "determined" and "unique" all came out in this discussion. Then we moved to words to describe ourselves. The words were similar but markedly different. "Unique" became "weird," "diverse" became "crazy," "short" appeared, along with "musically inclined" (instead of talented). The students then chose one word for themselves and another for a colleague. They stuck post-its on themselves and each other's backs. And then we talked. And talked. Some students who were labeled "talented" by others didn't feel talented in comparison with their siblings or colleagues. One beautifully articulate young woman stated that she shouldn't have "intelligent" as a label (someone else gave her that). She then went on to talk about how she wasn't influenced by others in her life as to her dreams or her self esteem. She was her own driving force. She was going to go into the airforce and be an artist. It didn't matter that she wasn't smart or a genius like her mother. She wasn't going to be a teacher and follow in her mom's footsteps. We were all struck by how this intelligent, beautiful, articulate young woman didn't think she was smart. So we questioned that assumption. She said she knew she wasn't smart because her test scores showed her so. So I asked the students, "How many of you believe that test scores are an intelligence indicator?" No one raised their hand. But I was struck at how impacted we all were at these outside assessors in our lives... and how much they impact our self worth - whether it be tests or evaluations or critic's reviews or peer's perceptions of our work.
As the students departed for the day, they reflected on the difficulty of the journey we had chosen. I, too, was struck by how emotional the session had become. I wonder as we go forward; how do I keep these young people safe and still explore this issue in a deep and meaningful way? Can we take this journey and not make it personal? And I think, most importantly, how can we use this as an opportunity to lift and affirm these young people's self view?
It is going to be a precarious year.
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