Preparing and Assigning:
This activity begins active introspective process while continuing to provide opportunities for individuals to make connections with each other. Participants write short poems, starting each line with "I am," encouraging them to describe in their own words who they are and what's salient to their identity.
Objectives:
In any attempt to increase awareness and encourage self-development, it is crucial to engage participants in activities which call for introspection and self-reflection. It is also important to provide opportunities for participants to make connections across, and even within, cultural lines. The "Who I Am" activity can provide a non-threatening starting point for encouraging self-reflective thought and introspection. It is a safe way for students to think about and share the influences that have shaped their identities. Also, it continues the connection-making process as participants find unexpected similarities and differences between themselves and others in the group.
This activity can also be an excellent LAST activity, allowing folks to re-connect at a self-defined and human level at the end of an experience in which they are discussing difficult issues.
Instructions:
Ask participants to take ten to fifteen minutes to write a poem called "Who I Am." Instruct them that the only rule for the piece is that each line must start with the phrase "I am..." Leave it open to their interpretation as much as possible, but suggest that they can, if they wish, include statements about where they're from regionally, ethnically, religiously, etc., memories from different points in their lives, interests and hobbies, mottos or credos, favorite phrases, family traditions and customs, and whatever else defines who they are. Be sure to let them know that they will be sharing their poems.
Facilitator Notes:
In order to ensure that everybody has an opportunity to share her or his story, you might consider breaking the group into diverse small groups of 8-10 if necessary. Give participants the option to either read their poems or to share parts of their poems from memory.
Points to remember:
I am basketball on a snowy driveway. I am fishsticks, crinkle-cut frozen french fries and frozen mixed vegatables. I am primarily white, upper-middle class neighborhoods and raciall diverse schools. I am Donkey Kong, Ms. Pac Man, Atari 2600 and sports video games. I am football on Thanksgiving and New Year's Day. I am "unity in diversity" and "speaking from your own experience." I am triple-Wahoos, earning three degrees from the University of Virginia. I am diversity, multicultural education, identity, introspection, self-reflection, and social action. I am Daffy Duck, Mr. Magoo, Hong Kong Phooey, Foghorn Leghorn, and other cartoons. I am Tae Kwon Do, basketball, the batting cages, a soccer family, and the gym. I am a wonderful family, close and loving and incredibly supportive. I am films based on true stories and documentaries I am the History Channel, CNN, ESPN, BRAVO, and Home Team Sports. I am a passion for educating and facilitating, personal development and making connections.
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