Building connectedness within school communities is a means of
reducing peer maltreatment and bullying. Viewing recent news reports about the
tragic violence in Pittsburgh and fearful rhetoric about the families fleeing
violence in Honduras, makes us realize that it may be time to expand our focus. It
becomes evident that fostering connectedness and
compassion should not be
limited to school communities, but should be extended to entire communities,
extended to the country as a whole. Of
course, that’s easy to say. How do we teach
today's adolescents to be secure in celebrating the many things we have in common as
human beings, even if we don’t look like or speak exactly like each other? How do we teach adolescents to celebrate our
differences and understand the richness
our diversity brings to our society? Clearly, we need to start small. Getting adolescents to have open dialogue
about the biases and attitudes that foster fear will help
them consider cultural differences with the security of also understanding how similar we all really are. One activity that can help in this process is Potatoes and
People, an activity I discussed last year.
I can’t think of a better activity to generate
dialogue about stereotypes, biases and similarities.
Potatoes and People
Goal: To
understand the concept of stereotyping and gain a better awareness and appreciation for individual
uniqueness.
Group Size: 6 to 10 people
Age Range: 10
to 50 years old
Materials: A large brown paper bag and 1 potato for each member
of the group, including the leader.
Time required:
Approximately 30 minutes.
Directions:
1. In order to introduce the activity,
explain to the group that you have never really given much thought about what potatoes
look like since they all seem to look alike, but you thought they might
warrant a closer look. Pass around the bag full of potatoes and
have each member select a potato without looking. This potato is their new “friend”. Give the members a minute or two to
examine their “friend,” give it a name and create a background story explaining how
their potato friend got it’s bumps, marks, spots , skin color, etc. Next, go around the group and have each
member (starting with the leader) introduce their “friend” to the group, providing
its name, the background story and explaining the potato’s physical
appearance. Once introductions are complete, collect
all the potatoes in the bag, mix them up and pour all the potatoes on a table or
on the floor in the middle of the group.
Ask each member to find their new friend in the pile. Once each member has located his/her new
“friend,” explain that maybe potatoes are like people: they all seem really
similar unless we take the time to get to know and appreciate their unique
qualities and characteristics.
Processing Questions:
1. Initially, how hard was it to find your
potato in the pile?
2. What are some of the groups of people you
know who at first, might seem all alike?
Examples: Kids of a certain religion, special education
kids in school, kids in
the gifted class, Etc.
3. When we lump everyone from the same group
together and assume that they are all alike, what are we doing? What is it called? (Stereotyping)
4. Do you know anyone from a group that gets
stereotyped? Do they all fit the stereotype?
5. What makes stereotyping dangerous?
Adapted from The Potato Activity. In Ingram, P.D.
(2004) More diversity activities
for youth and adults.
Retrieved from: http://extension.psu.edu/publications/ui378
Brian Dobias is a Clinical
Assistant Professor in the College of Education and Public Policy - Counselor
Education Program at Indiana University –Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW).
(dobibf01@ipfw.edu) He is a Certified
Trainer/
Consultant for NAPPP. In November 2017, Mr. Dobias was named Indiana Counselor Educator of the
Year by the Indiana School Counselor Association
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