Hey everyone, I have a lot to talk about and just want to thank everyone for listening and joining in. First off, let me just apologize for the activity because after we were done it seemed we got a lot of negative feed back and if it offended anyone at all I am TRULY TRULY TRULY sorry. We took the activity from a professional speaker who used it so what Jenna and I thought would help everyone see that no matter what you do in life there will always be stereotypes about yourself and others and as a mentor you should try to minimize those by not taking part in and or showing that those stereotypes can be hurtful to others and really get drilled into people over the course of the day. We didn't pick the things on the card out of spit or to try and be mean and mock them nor did we purposely put the cards on people. About 98% of what we wrote on the cards was what was actually used by David Colemen himself so if you took the activity the wrong way I'm sorry that you either
A) Didn't understand its purpose of it or
B) Was hurt by something that was wrote on a card so automatically thought it was meant in a negative way.
Either way I'm still sorry for the confusion. It was meant to be educational and yet fun for all which is how it was used by David Colemen. I will be honest, when people started saying a lot of negatives things about us and our activity it really upset me and I'm all for constructive criticism, I just felt as if Jenna and I were being personally attacked so it upset me greatly which is why I chose to leave. I'm not upset about it now so it's all fine, no hard feelings anyone.
For those of you who enjoyed the activity, I'm really glad you did and I hope that you really learned something about diversity and how it isn't just race or sex. It is an overall being of a person and can be used positively or negatively. Some people may chose to be identified with somethings, while others aspects they don't have a choice. No matter the cause you need to be courteous, respectful, and be accepting. Diversity is just a topic that a lot of people don't really wanna talk about and is one that is really difficult to try and teach someone with out coming off in a bad way. I'm sure everyone will do great when teaching their mentees about it themselves. Hopefully everyone has a good week before spring break has a good spring break. Be safe and see you all next week.
Cory-
ReplyDeleteI think that you shouldn't consider it your or Jenna's fault. It really is us the class as a whole who is to blame, we should have been more mature about the situation :(. Stereotypes are a touchy topic & it is really kind of enevitable putting a bunch of college kids who love to joke around with each other in one room...
That being said, my name tag was taken seriously by some people like Deb (Metz) and Allison; and it kind of almost hurt in a way how sorry they seemed. I never realized how demeaning other people's pity can be, because my name tag was "homeless." So for me it was kind of eye opening, though other people's may not have been.
- Beth
Cory-
ReplyDeleteI'm really sorry if you felt uncomfortable or attacked by anything that was said on Tuesday. The activity was good and I think you and Jenna did a great job facilitating it. Diversity and stereotypes are a really touchy subject and they can hit really close to home for people. Like I said Tuesday I think if we had a little more time to discuss the activity as a group, people would have been able to better understand what you and Jenna were trying to do, which of course isn't your fault since we do have a short time to present in class. I know it was your first time leading class and I hope you didn't leave with a bad taste in your mouth. I can tell you and Jenna will both do a great job next semester with your future classes.
-Chels
I agree with Chels and Beth it was a good activity and I appreciate your openness and courage in taking on such a difficult subject. It takes a lot to facilitate a discussion that covers diversity (a very heated topic).
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