CHAPTER 3
Workshop’s duration// 45-50 min.
Location// indoor, in the classroom
Equipment needed// chairs
Learning objectives:
Learn to know and accept others as part of a group.
Be able to recognize situations of different discriminations.
Become aware of attitudes and practices related to differences.
Create open conversations about equality based on specific cases of advantages/disadvantages .
Discover what participants have in common that were unaware of before.
Core competencies // critical thinking, flexibility, communication, friendship, empathy, openness/awareness
Κeywords // equal opportunities, discriminations, gender, race, class
Energizer (5 min)
The athletic bowl
Your students are athletes whose dream is to compete in the upcoming Olympic Games. They have trained hard but the
Committee will decide if they can participate or not. They are all in the committee’s waiting room, ready to hear the
announcement.
But as they are quite stressed, they play a quick game to feel better.
Follow the steps below:
- All players, except one, sit in chairs that form a circle. The person without a chair stands in the center of the circle with the aim of finding a seat.
- To succeed in this, there are two options to choose from:
– The player in the center makes a statement about different sport skills,
e.x ‘I would like those who can hold their breath underwater for 30 seconds, to stand up.’
– If any of the seated players have this skill, they should stand up and quickly change seats. Αt the same time, the player in the center should also run to find an empty chair. - The player in the center says “OLYMPIC GAMES” In that case all the athletes should stand up and quickly change seats. Αt the same time, the player in the center should run to find an empty chair.
- The player who is left without a chair stands in the center of the circle, chooses one of the 2 options and the game continues.
Tips:
– We encourage you to be the first player in the center of the circle. This gives the team a boost and more time to think.
– If you have a large space, it is possible to add an extra rule: Students are not allowed to sit in the next chair.
– If players in the center do not have any ideas for sport skills, you can call upon the creativity of the group. Being in the center should not be seen as a punishment or something negative.
– On the other hand, it has been noticed that some students, in order to stay in the center of the circle, do not move fast. In this case, you can add the following rule, each player can be in the center only 2 times.
– If you run out of ideas on the sport skills, you can explore other topics.
Preparation activity (10 min.)
The Selection game
The time has come and the national committee will select the athletes to be sent to the Olympics. All athletes/players stand up in front of their chairs, which are in a circle from the previous game.
You, as the representative of the committee, will make the following statements.
Athletes must answer honestly and if the answer to your statements is yes, they must sit down.
The statements:
- All athletes born in March should sit down.
- All athletes whose first name starts with the letter M should sit down.
- All athletes wearing green should sit down.
- All athletes who are the youngest in their families should sit down.
- All the male athletes should sit down.
Now, you should announce that all the people who are sitting, cannot join the Olympic team.
Let them react to this announcement. When you should explain the following:
For the 1st statement, the age aspect: These athletes can’t join the Olympics due to their young age and lack of experience.
For the 2nd statement, the political aspect: These athletes cannot participate in the Olympics, as in your country it is really difficult to get a passport to travel. The process is stuck in the letter L.
For the 3nd statement, the cultural beliefs aspect: These athletes can’t join the Olympics as in your country the color green brings bad luck. So, they were excluded in order to protect the rest of the team from bad luck.
For the 4th statement, the family background aspect: These athletes can’t join the Olympics as in your country the youngest member of the family is responsible for the care of the rest.
For the 5th statement, the gender aspect: These athletes can’t join the Olympics as based on your country’s culture, males are not encouraged to play sports.
Tips
– We recommend that you strictly follow the suggested order of the statements. This order should allow participants to sit down gradually.
– It is important to adapt the statements to your class. For example, if you see that all the students are wearing green, you should change the color to another, less wearable color.
– If you see that many people are sitting down, you should adapt a question to your needs. This way, you will have better control.
– Talking about discrimination is always tricky, so we have tried as much as possible to avoid addressing dynamics of discrimination already prevalent in society. We encourage you to reverse the discrimination trends or propose situations that are not emotionally charged.
Main activity (15 min.)
The ‘Same Chances’ Relay
Your students have just experienced an unfair situation. It is important that all athletes have equal opportunities to
participate in the Olympics. But they still have a chance to change things by sending their proposals to the committee.
Follow the next steps:
- The students walk freely in the room and at your signal they all pause and stay still.
- You present them an envelope, explaining that it is magical. It collects all the proposals to make the Games more
inclusive - You start a relay similar to the Olympic sport, by giving the open envelope to a student. This person should hold it and say aloud a proposal on how to make the Games more inclusive. Example: I propose that young athletes are
also accepted. - The student should move quickly, grab someone by both shoulders and give that person the envelope. The person with the envelope adds a new idea out loud.
Example: I propose to…
The student behind him/her repeats his/her own idea.
Example: I propose that young athletes are also accepted. - By repeating this process a queue is formed, with students one behind the other. At the same time we have an iteration of ideas for inclusion that is triggered every time a new player adds a new idea.
- When the last student has spoken, you should reveal that the only way to seal the envelope is to solve a riddle, in the form of a “hangman game” , the classic letter guessing game. The missing word is the word equality.
E_______ EQUALITY - Once your students have guessed the word, explain that they have managed to seal the envelope and you will send it to the Committee.
- A few days later you can present and read the letter that the committee sends to your students in response. (final letter)
Tips:
– The magic envelope can be decorated as you like in order to make it look special.
– To keep the game short, you can encourage the players forming the train, one behind the other, to repeat only one word that represents their idea.
– You can support your students by giving them some inspiration if they get stuck, such as suggesting ideas about the environment, peace, basic human needs, etc.
Reflection time (10 min.)
Create a circle with chairs and ask your students to take a seat. You can now ask them the following questions:
- During the selection time, what do you think was the most unfair of all situations ?
- Why is it important for everyone to have gender equality?
- Can you find an example of someone being left out ?
- What can we do so that everyone has an equal chance to participate in class?
- Is it possible for a disadvantage to become an advantage if the situation is different? Can you give an example?
Conclusion ritual
Hands together. And scream “1, 2, 3 Olympic power team” by shaking hands.