The idea of processing or debriefing after a learning activity is not very common here. Students do not mind expressing their ideas or answering questions but it is typically aimed viciously towards other students. I have only been here for one week and a tough one at that. Originally I was supposed to be in an interim position before I go full time in running all the organizations programs. For right now I have focused on its core program core Global Leadership. The goal of the program is develop basic team building skills and leaders out the students. I absolutely love the challenge of working with the students with this goal in mind.
The challenge is developing a western concept into a successful ME program in schools when we only have 25 - 35 minutes a week with them. Thats extremely difficult when theses themes could actually be more important than basic math. We are talking about life skills here. The things that will transform a community that has been greatly affected by regional events in the past.
Today was my first official day taking students through programs. Some groups were not able to do the activities due to behavioral issues. Apprarently I am the first person to be really mean and do not allow students to jump around hitting one another. After they were able to compose themselves we proceeded to due a sherpa walk. Basically we blindfolded students and gave them a rope and they had to depend on one another to get around the school. They only had noises to give them directions. They had to climb over things and fully trust one another.
We had some bullying, some people showing genuine concern, and others that just didn't care. We started processing through what trust is and what it means to be a trustworthy person. Then I asked students to relate it to their lives. I was amazed at how many students were able to relate trust to their life in context of dealign with their family or trust in a different ethnic group. The sad thing is that we only had 5 minutes to debrief when these kids really wanted to ask questions about how do we build trust after its been broken. We never really got to get into that too much but a foundation has been laid for a future generation that could change a seemingly never ending conflict in ME.
Here are some photos of two different schools that we worked at today. The first is with a school completely in Arabic with 6 graders in a mediation program. The second is with the American school with students that speak pretty darn good english.
HOW IMPORTANT IS TRUST TO YOU
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