Connecting Individual Values

Essential Questions

• How is my story a part of American history?

Builds On

• Story Circles, which can be done as brainstorming processes before creating Personal Belief Symbols or as a sharing exercise after creating the symbols.

Directions

1. Variation with the Story Circle first:
   1. Ask the group: What are the ways of being in the world that you think are important and that you personally think need to be prioritized for a good and just society? What values have you learned from your family? From your school? From your community? From your culture?
   2. Possibly use the school’s values as a jumping off point if needed to get things started, or the colors and images on flags from the countries of participants’ ancestry.
   3. Conduct a Story Circle in which each participant shares a value that they have learned from their family, culture, or community that is important to them and that they try to live by, as well as any experiences they have had in which that value was important.

1. Do a quick group brainstorm: What is a symbol? Get to the definition of a symbol as a visual representation of an idea, value, or belief.
   • List some common symbols: Dove (peace), butterfly (change/transformation), owl (wisdom), lion (courage), lightbulb (ideas), trees (family connections), handshake (allyship or agreement).
   • Examples of emojis are great, too!
2. Ask participants to think about the value they shared in the Story Circle. What is a symbol that represents that idea?
3. Each participant receives an index card: On one side, write “I believe in…” and complete the sentence with the value they shared in the Story Circle. On the other side, use colored pencils, markers, or crayons to draw a symbol that illustrates this value.
4. Tape each symbol to a piece of big chart paper or cardboard to create a collage.

2. Variation with a Story Circle at the end:
   1. After a group discussion about what a symbol is, distribute index cards and give time for participants to write their belief statements and symbols.
   2. Once time is up, begin the Story Circle. Each person reads their “I believe in…” statement and shares a story about how they learned about this value from their family, culture, or community, and a personal experience in which that value was important.

Essential Questions

• How is my story a part of American history?
• How does an honest reckoning with our past help us move forward together?

Builds On

• Milling & Seething
• Sculpture Garden

Directions

1. Review Milling & Seething and how to turn oneself into a Sculpture.
2. While the group is milling and seething: the facilitator will ask questions regarding important roles and responsibilities in a society; OR will begin a statement that must be completed.
3. Someone in the group answers out loud and the facilitator repeats an answer they hear. Everyone must freeze into a solo Sculpture, or a Tableau with others, depicting what the answer looks like to them.
4. During this, document answers on the board or chart paper.
5. Suggested prompts:
   • “Freedom means…”
   • “Equality means…”
   • “Leadership looks like…”
   • “The common good is…”
   • “Justice looks like…”
   • “Diversity is…”
   • “Courage looks like…”
   • “What do people in our society do too much of?”
   • “What do people in our society not do enough of?”
   • “Who has the power to change the world?”
   • “What do you want people in government to remember?”
   • “What is your hope for the future of this city?”
   • “What is a way you can contribute to the future of our community?”
6. Use the responses and images created in this exercise to springboard into Personal Belief Symbols & Statements, and Perspectives Debates.