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by Teresa Nicodemus
The following activities are designed to help campers recognize stereotypes
and to prompt understanding and communication between culturally diverse
campers.
Potato Friends
This activity encourages campers to view each person as an individual
by introducing the concept of generalization. Campers will recognize how
stereotyping can cause them to lump people together based on unfair biases.
The activity is best done with five to fifty youths aged twelve or older.
You will need one potato for each participant and a large bag. Begin the
activity by holding up one potato and stating, "I have here a potato.
I don't know about you, but I've never thought much about potatoes; I've
always taken them for granted. To me, potatoes are all alike. Sometimes
I wonder if potatoes aren't a lot like people."
Ask each participant to pick a potato and closely examine it for three
minutes, getting to know its spots, bumps, and scars. Tell them they need
to be able to introduce their potato friend to the group. After the silent
period, introduce your potato to the group by naming it and telling a
story about it. The story could describe specific characteristics of your
potato or where the potato came from (i.e., fictitious city and country).
After your introduction, ask the campers if there is any difference between
how they are handling their potato friend now compared to the way they
handled it in the beginning of the activity.
Tell campers to place their potatoes back into the bag. Ask with the
group whether they agree with the comment, "All potatoes are the
same." Why do they agree or disagree? Ask participants if they think
they could find their friend in the bag of potatoes. Empty the bag again
and invite participants to pick out their potato friend. This will cause
a flurry of activity and exchanging as campers make sure to get the correct
potato. Have participants introduce their potato friend to the group and
then place it back in the bag.
As a final discussion point, make the connection that it is possible
to lump people into the same group and think they are all alike; when
in reality, if you take time to get to know and understand a person, you
discover that each person is an individual, having a distinctive personality,
background, and special ability.
Mapping Stereotypes
Stereotypes can stem from not only a person's physical characteristics
but also from the area of the country where he lives. This activity increases
awareness of stereotyping within geographic regions. For this session,
which is geared toward a group of up to fifty youth aged twelve or older,
you will need a large map of the United States for participants to view.
Ask participants the following questions to help them start thinking
about behaviors that promote stereotyping:
- Have you ever felt stereotyped?
- Did you ever feel that someone saw you not as an individual but in
terms
of what group they classified you in? Can you share an episode you clearly
remember and how you felt?
- Does anyone here think they use stereotype?
Explain that recognizing stereotypes is the first step to ending that
type of behavior. Show campers a map of the United States and identify
specific regions. Give them some examples of regional stereotypes. For
instance, "People from the South are always friendly; people from
the Midwest live on farms."
Divide campers into groups of five or six people, depending on your group
size. Assign each group a different region of the country. Camps with
international participants may want to use regions from other countries.
Pass out paper and pens and tell the groups they have seven minutes to
create a list of positive and negative stereotypes for that region that
they will share with the rest of the participants.
After the timed group period is completed, begin a discussion by asking
a series of questions. Try to involve as many people as you can from all
of the groups.
- What were some feelings you had about the negative stereotypes and
the positive ones?
- How did you feel when people from outside your region shared their
stereotypes of your region?
Sum up this activity by reminding campers that assumptions about people
based on where they live are clearly judgmental and, at times, create
barriers between how they communicate and respond to others.
Originally published in the 2000 May/June issue
of Camping Magazine. |
