REaCT: Lessons of tolerance - Inclusive teaching of adults

Recommended size of the group: min. 12

Aim of the lesson:

To bring learners attention to the minorities in their region - their culture, traditions and good coexistence examples in order to create a positive mindset about immigrants.

Objectives / learning outcomes:

To set people minds about thinking about minorities, migrants and newcomers in a positive way.

To perceive minorities, migrants and newcomers in the society by positive aspects such as traditions and cultures they bring.

To be able to use the six thinking hats method to assess the information through critical thinking and make opinions by assessing all aspect of a matter as per 6 hats colours.

Resources needed: paper and pens, separate cards with six hats on it and on the reverse side of every card the description of the hat’s symbolism. They are needed for learners to have easy access to their hats description and to make notes while they are preparing their tasks.

Teaching method to be used in the lesson: lecture, group work, discussion

Content

“We can love what we are, without hating what- and who we are not. We can thrive in our own tradition, even as we learn from others, and come to respect their teachings” — Kofi Annan [1].

Most European countries have minority populations below 20% of the total population, but 11 countries have a larger proportion of ethnic minorities. Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only country where no absolute majority exists—Bosniaks as the largest ethnic group make up 44% of the country’s total population. At the other end of the spectrum, Ireland, Luxemburg, Malta and Portugal have a virtually ethnically homogeneous citizenry.

People of mixed nationalities and origins live in every country. In the past minority populations have been created e.g. by forced relocation, change of borders after wars, movement of population due to wars and hunger. In the recent decades also due to relocation for economic reasons after opening borders of countries within EU providing possibility of free movement for work and studies.

E.g. Poland is considered a nationally and religiously uniform state. The index of ethnic cohesion, amounting in recent years to more than 97%, places it in one of the first places not only in Europe (for example, in 

Greece, the ratio stands at 98%, and in Bulgaria – 84%), but also in the world. In contrast to many European countries, Poland is also characterised by the clearly dominant position of one denomination – Roman

Catholicism, followed in 2011 by more than 85% of the population (for comparison, in two other Catholic countries, Ireland and Hungary, it was 84% and 37%, respectively). Since the end of World War II, the first National Census in Poland that asked question about national identity of the people took place in 2002. The question was worded as follows: “What nationality do you consider yourself as?”, which meant that almost all people who identify with any ethnic group took advantage of the opportunity to point to the one that serves as a basic reference group for them. [2] The results obtained shows that in the south- east part of Poland the dominant minority are Ukrainians. In Malopolska voivodship the main minority are Lemkos which are almost only based in this region and small part of them in Podkarpacki voivodship.  The north east of Poland has got Belarusians and Lithuanians. The western part of Poland is dominated by Germans. Other minorities are Jews (central Poland), Tatars and Armenians.

Taking the above into consideration all the EU countries must deal with the subject of diversity management. Diversity management is the practice of addressing and supporting multiple lifestyles and personal characteristics within a defined group. Management activities includes educating the group and providing support for the acceptance of and respect for various racial, cultural, societal, geographic, economic and political backgrounds.[3]

TASK:

Please see two stories describing two distinct imaginary tribes. For the purpose of the exercise one tribe is called “Nordish” the other “Southish”. Participants should be divided into two groups of at least six people each in order to have at least one representative of every hat in each group. Every learner in each of the groups should choose one hat either by drawing randomly or by choice. During the task every learner is responsible for providing the insight to the discussion as per hat colour. If there are more than six learners in one group, then those who have the same colour of the hat should work together in pairs or groups. Every group should be given the description of one tribe.

The story to be read to learners by trainer:

You belong to two tribes that have been living nearby divided only by a small stream. You observed each other for ages but have not made any contact so far. In order to ‘build bridges’ and socialize the Governor from Voivodship is giving you 10,000 Euros. Your task is to come together with an idea for spending the money for an activity that will integrate your tribes.

You have 10 minutes in order to think of one idea of integrating activity in your tribes not consulting the other tribe yet. You need to take into consideration your tribe’s traditions, custom, style, etc. Write down the idea on the piece of paper with as many details as possible. Then you will have to present yourself to the other tribe members. Next, you will exchange the descriptions of the ideas with the other group. Using the six thinking hats method both groups need to assess the idea of the other tribe. You should discuss the ideas of opposite tribe taking into consideration the description of your tribe and your traditions, style etc.  At the end of the exercise both groups present their opinions on the idea of the other tribe. 

Groups then should work together and decide which idea they should apply or perhaps only some elements of both ideas taking into consideration tribes’ descriptions. Around 15 - 20 minutes.

The trainer should summarise the task by providing information on the minorities and how people in the past and nowadays had to deal with diversity and live with each other and next to each other.

Is it easy to manage diverse societies in order to make them coexist together?

Nordish:

This is still a wild country whose inhabitants are closely connected with tradition and culture. Women should not wear skimpy skirts and too short blouses or shorts. Men often walk in holding hands, which does not indicate their sexual preferences, but is just a habit.

These are people from the mountains characterised by a strong, stocky construction. There are many albinos, people with fair hair and a brick-coloured skin. When it comes to food their diet is based on fruit and vegetables. The base is sweet potatoes, jam, bananas and pineapples. Also rice and pork and poultry. When it comes to religion and ceremonies, they like to celebrate together in crowded places loudly and with lots of sound of trumpets and drums.

Southish:

This is a civilised country whose inhabitants are modern when it comes to their outfit. Women can wear skimpy skirts and short blouses or shorts. Men are dressed in suits. They are elegant and distinguished.

These are people from valleys characterised by a slim and tall bodies. They have light coloured skin. When it comes to food their diet is based on light dishes, fish and vegetables. They like to eat shakes, yogurts and cornflakes. They are not religious, and they do not celebrate ceremonies. In fact, they do not like to gather in big crowds. They meet in small groups celebrating quietly their private events.

Evaluation of lesson

After the lesson participants should be encouraged to elaborate on their experience.

Bull eye evaluation

On a board trainer should draw the dartboard which is divided into four domains: experience, atmosphere, feelings, mindset.

Questions to be asked to learners:

• How you would describe your experience from this exercise from positive (middle of the dartboard to negative at the border)
• How was the atmosphere between learners during the atmosphere?
• What are your feelings toward migrants?
• Have you change your mindset about migrants toward a more positive one?

Once all learners mark their opinions answering all four questions. The trainer should summarise the exercise providing also their opinion from observation of the groups during the exercise.

General tips for the trainer

When giving presentations of the main migration points and direction every trainer should be able to adjust to their audience and emphasise their national background. The exercise may be adjusted to the group when it comes to its difficulty or length. Learners may be given a list of integrating ideas to choose from by drawing one idea per group, e.g.:

• To organise a food festival (preparing local dishes to another tribe to try)
• To organise a theatre play covering some cultural aspects one by each tribe and presenting them to the other tribe.

Trainer may adjust the ideas to their own local situation and learners’ requirements. There can be more domains on the bull eye chart depending on the group and trainer’s observation, perhaps trainer would like learner to answer more questions about the progress of the exercise, cooperation, etc.

The minimum number of people is 12 as there are six thinking hats, so every person in every group should choose one hat only. However, if there are less participants one person can be assigned with 2 hats and perform thinking from each hat perspective.

The task duration is about 90 minutes.