One of my faviorite quick thinking exercises to conduct in a classroom to gain perspective revolves around a coin.
This activity becomes a regular staple to use during entire school year to remind us about how stories are told, recorded, and passed on. Its the first activity I conduct in a Social Science classroom in the year in order to question our ways of seeing.
Begin by asking “how many sides does a coin have?”
Learners will begin to popcorn answers... “two”... “nooo noo no three”.. and so it goes.
At this point you encourage learners to “look closer.”
and there begins a beautiful Socratic about how many sides it really has. I like to bring quarters and pass those out for closer inquiry. Eventually, some students begin to count the side rides and have a difficult time counting and that lead to a conversation about how those stories do not matter because the ones that do are those of the victor.
This creates and opptunities to talk about why some voices are unheard and stories untold, and what we can do to be more careful about what we see.
In some years, where I travel outside of CA, I bring back coins as momento’s and give them to learners... my purpose is to link their memory with the coin, such that every time they see one, they remember that there are always more than two-sides to a story, and it is important to look deeper for more perspectives.
I know that with time all those names and dates will become a distant memory, what I would really like for learners to take away is the habit to question the world around them and not let go of their curiosity.
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