Smashing Stereotypes Workshops
Smashing Stereotypes Workshops
In-Class Hands-on sessions to give students tools, techniques, and stereotype-destroying powers!
We all know stereotypes are a bad thing, yet we carry them around with us, silent but enormous weights that limit our ideas of what is possible for others... and for ourselves.
Lee creates a safe space to explore:
•The impact of bullying and why it’s so important to Smash Stereotypes
•Stereotypes are not just about THEM, but about US.
•The Four Ways To Smash Stereotypes
1.Media
2.Personal Experience
3.Books
4.Writing
•The Mythic Nature of our culture
•Stereotype Breakdown: TEAM EXERCISE - Stereotypes surround us.
•The power to create new mythologies: INDIVIDUAL WRITING EXERCISE
•Ways to attack stereotypes through Writing
Examples from your school library
•Identity Cluster: INDIVIDUAL WRITING EXERCISE
•Your Mission: INDIVIDUAL WRITING EXERCISE
•ASSIGNMENT: Write A New Mythology For Yourself
•Call To Action Challenge: Apply These Stereotype-Destroying Powers to your life
•Bullying and how we can stop it
•Ritual Smashing of the Stereotypes!
•“It Gets Better” because we can all MAKE it better!
“I liked all the stories you shared that made stereotypes feel more like
an issue to confront, rather than something you should try and live with.”
- Brentwood 9th grader
“It was amazing, especially how friendly and interesting he was. His openness was truly inspiring and the self-reflection part was worthwhile.”
- Brentwood 9th grader
“The act of recognizing these stereotypes, writing them down, proving these stereotypes wrong, and physically and mentally stomping on them to bring them down is really important.”
- Brentwood 9th grader
Women
Men
Gay Men
Lesbians
Bisexuals
Latinos
Asians
Blacks
Jews
Fat people
Disabled
Southerners
Northerners
Foreigners
Tall people
Short people
Poor
Rich
Democrats
Republicans
Mormons
Muslims
Armenians
French
Canadians
Mexicans
Public School Kids
Private School Kids
Hands-On
In teams, students articulate the invisible stereotypes that surround us all and hold us back. They literally post them up on the walls of the classroom. After their first independent writing exercise where they get to use their new smashing stereotypes skills, they physically cross out the statements they’ve just proven false!
Atheists
Left-handed
Blondes
...and on
and on
and on.
Personal
Three different writing exercises challenge students to dig deep.
Empowering
The climactic moment of the workshop is when students rip down the giant post-it notes of all those stereotypes on the walls of the classroom and stomp on them. This physicalizes their new power to smash the stereotypes they might have held and that they face in their lives.
“I thought the presentation was great because it gave the students a lot of important ideas to think about, and it also allowed them to actively engage with the subject-matter so as to stir their own thoughts on the issue of stereotypes. Also, I like that it gave them a model of someone who was gay and comfortable with himself and proud to be who he is.”
- Emily Elson, M.A.
Human Development Teacher, Brentwood Upper Division
“I liked seeing all the different stereotypes and then writing a story to disprove them.”
- Brentwood Student
“We can all find similarities in each other no matter what category we fit into.”
- Brentwood Student
“When we smashed the yellow sheets of paper I felt that we were physically getting rid of all the stereotypes. I have never done anything like that before and it felt liberating.”
- Brentwood Student
“Lee created a powerful, safe space for our Sixth Grade students to reflect on stereotypes and the detrimental impact of bullying. These are tough topics to address, and Lee presents them in an engaging and open manner. What I really loved about his format is that students are inspired to “be the change” needed to make our world a kinder place. A phenomenal workshop!”
- Jessica Lusk, M.A.
Sixth Grade Teacher, Brentwood Lower Division