Module 3: COMMUNITY

Page 13

topic three – in the community (continued)

teacher's notes - general approach

Many problems in our communities today are caused by the pre-conceived ideas we have about people. We judge them at face-value or according to stereotyped ideas. This can cause racial, religious, class and cultural divisions and conflicts.

Task one will show how easy it is to hurt and be hurt by name-calling. It will indicate the necessity for increased sensitivity in the way we treat each other personally and in the community.

task one

You will need enough sticky labels for each person to have two.

Give every member of the class two sticky labels. On one they write something they like being called and on the other something they do not like. They may need some help to get ideas flowing so talk some ideas over with them (eg. lazy? clever?)

They should stick these labels onto two different members of the class. No one should have more than two labels attached to them.

Explain that these labels do not necessarily need to be true of the person on whom they are stuck. In this way they will also learn that name-calling is often quite unfair.

conclusion

When they have completed this they should get into small groups to discuss how they feel about the labels they have been given.

Ask them also to talk over what makes us put labels on people
or call them names? e.g. the way they look, what they wear,
what we think of them.