[Palestineinschools] activity I modeled at NYC working supper

[negroni4u]

This is an activity I used with 3rd, 4th and 5th
graders in Israeli public schools (Arab and Jewish),
prior to Palestinian and Jewish kids meeting one
another.  Ora asked me to post it to the list, since I
won't be at the retreat.

I’ll present it in its original context.  At the end,
I’ll make some notes on how we might use it in PEP.  I
think it would work just as well in middle school or
high school as in upper elementary.

--Steve Quester

Ask two students in the class to come up to the board
and each draw a face.   Then tell the class that these
are students their age, and ask the class to name
them.  Tell them that they’re not allowed to use the
names of anyone in the class.

I think it’s important that the students themselves
draw the drawings and choose the names; it increases
their investment in the activity.

Let’s say that we’re in a Jewish Israeli school, and
the drawings have been named Anat and Omer.  Tell the
class that Anat is really excited about the picnic
next month [with a Palestinian Israeli class in a
neighboring community].    Ask the class what Anat
might have to say about the picnic.  Write down all
the statement that students attribute to Anat.  Write
them under her picture.

Then tell them that Omer doesn’t want to participate
in the picnic.  Ask the class why, and write all the
statements they attribute to Omer.

Finally, ask them what Anat might say to Omer to allay
his concerns.  Write these down too.

End of activity.  The teacher/activity leader does not
contribute her own opinions.

At a subsequent session on another day, ask again for
the drawings, and then explain that this time they’re
students in the Palestinian school  Go through the
same process, although this time the Jewish students
are attributing statements to an enthusiastic and a
reluctant Palestinian peer.

The same process happens, of course, in the
Palestinian school.  The students attribute statements
first to hypothetical Palestinian students, and only
afterward to hypothetical Jewish students.

This activity will be useful to PEP in situations in
which we want to bring out thoughts and feelings from
the students in a way that feels safe to them, in
which they don’t feel exposed.  It’s also useful to
get kids to try and put themselves in others’ shoes. 
For instance, you may want them to give one of the
drawings an Israeli Jewish name and the other an Arab
name, and then ask them what each might say about the
other, or about the Intifada, etc.  Or you may want
them to give each of them Arab names, and let them
explore their assumptions about what Palestinian kids
think and feel (about Israel, about the Intifada,
about the U.S., depending on your aims).

=====
The first day of the year:
thoughts come - and there is loneliness;
the autumn dusk is here. 

Matsuo Basho (1644-1694)