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| EL SOL LEADERSHIP TRAININGS 2013 (3rd. training) |
We have been facilitating leadership trainings with a group of workers in Jupiter, Florida, for the last two years. They are members of the Workers Council at El Sol Jupiter Neighborhood Resource Center, a local day labor center.
We´d like to share some of the pop ed tools we have implemented during those trainings in order to show how these kinds of methodologies could be used to foster the participants´ empowerment. At the same time, to demonstrate how these examples follow the logic "practice-theory-practice" or "research-education-action" that is so proper to that methodology.
Ice Breakers
These types of exercises are important within a
popular education workshop, since participants need to feel empowered from the
very beginning. This way, participants break out from not only the
barriers among them, but also with the traditional expert paradigm that
concedes the protagonist role only to the educator and not to them, the
participants. Here, there is an example:
The purpose of this icebreaker is to create an
atmosphere of trust. After the introductions, the facilitator asks the
participants: "What do you miss most of your country of origin?” The participants’
answer stating their names (only the first name), their countries of origin and
then, what they miss most from that particular country (while drawing that
particular object in a piece of paper). Typically, this exercise is performed
in a circle, to enhance an ambiance of real trust. Once finished, there is a
reflection about how those things that are important for them continue to be
part of their identity in this country. At that point, they feel
better than when they arrived to the workshop, since they have shared
their identity and their background. Additionally, they have performed the
main role during the first exercise.
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| "Mi Pueblo" (My Village) That´s what he misses the most of his country of origin |
Where do I come from?
This exercise consists in choosing a card out of
a set of them displayed on the floor. The cards contain images of their
countries’ social reality. The participants pick one that is somewhat familiar
with them and share with the rest of the group the reason why that image is
significant for them. In addition, they state their name and county of origin.
At the end of the exercise, they have reflected about the social context of
their countries of origin and have shared their own identity and have known the
rest of participants. The exercise is concluded with a reflection about
the common aspects of the reality of the countries represented in the group.
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| PECI´s Isabel Vinent Grimany sharing her country´s social context |
Active learning exercises
This kind of of exercises are convenient to discuss and reflect about main concepts that the educational process wishes to address. Here are some examples:
The trust walk
This exercise helps to reflect about the concept of leadership in a
participatory way. The tool is a real metaphor in two parts: 1. The active
exercise; 2. The decoding of the exercise. The procedure is the
following:
Step 1: Form a circle with
participants. Divide participants into pairs by asking individuals to select
someone they have not established contact yet.
Step 2: In each pair, one person
leads. The other one keeps the eyes closed. The leader takes the follower by
placing one hand on their shoulder or under their elbow and guiding with a
supportive hand.
Step 3: The exercise is carried out
with some happy music [1]
Step 4: The
leader takes the follower around the area at the follower´s pace.
Step 5: After a few minutes,
partners change roles. Form a circle again and ask the following questions:
1.
How did you feel with your eyes closed?
2.
How did you feel when you were leading?
3.
What is the meaning of this exercise?
4.
In what ways does this exercise relate to your role
as leaders in your organizations and communities?
[1] “All Together Now” The Beatles’ song is suggested since it is a happy
song in crescendo which follows the music hall tradition of asking the
audience to join in.
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| The trust walk |
Usually, the participants conclude that the word
"leader" comes from "lead" which in fact is what they have
just been doing during the exercise: leading other people, while avoiding
obstacles or other participants, and trying to concentrate while the music is
playing. At the same time, they have been guided when they had their eyes
closed during part of the exercise. Normally, while decoding the exercise, they
come to the conclusion that a community leader is somebody who leads
the community in the path of improvement and sometimes is guided by
the community when he/she listens carefully to its needs and demands.
In addition, a good community leader should be attentive to the conditions
of the context (like when they were avoiding other participants to not stumble
onto each other, and concentrating while the music is playing) in order to
really respond to the community needs.
The shoes game
This is another exercise to reflect about leadership. More particularly on the qualities, values and attitudes that define a participatory leadership style. The procedure is the following:
Step 1: Introduce
the exercise clarifying that it is an important exercise to start the workshop,
but it requires a great deal of trust among participants. Challenge them to be
open to it.
Step 2: Form 2 groups. Ask them to take off their shoes and
put them into the sacks. Close them tight and allow 3 minutes to each group for
step 3. The facilitator puts pressure on the groups (shortening or extending
the time) depending on how the exercise is been developed.
Step 3: The facilitator instructs the group: the first group
to put their shoes backs wins. At the count of three: “1,2,3”.
Step 4: The facilitator suspends the exercise and
collectively evaluates what happened in each group: how many have their shoes
back on? If the outcome has not been positive at all, the facilitator allows 1
or 2 minutes to re-organizing and the exercise is repeated.
Step 5: After finishing in plenary, the exercise is decoded:
How did you feel?, What happened? Recollect the exercise:
1.
What they did during the first and second attempt…reflect on the outcomes
2.
What do we learn from this?
3.
What does this have to do with the process of creating a network?
4.
What are the attitudes and values that foster organization and collective
work necessary for creating a network?
The shoes game
After the exercise, the facilitator decodes it with the help of the participants (step 5). To do so, they form a circle. Normally, at least one of the two groups organize itself in a cooperative way to win the game. Then, that reflection leads to compare how the individual leadership, even though important in the context of a community, could be shifted toward a more cooperative, participatory style of leadership. This way, we depart of their own reflection about leadership styles. Then, we complement that collective knowledge with a presentation of "traditional and contemporary models of leadership"and finished with a discussion about how to implement those styles in their personal lives as well as their own organization. This way we close the cycle: practice-theory-practice or research-education-action.
The naval battle
Decoding the shoes game: styles of leadership
This exercise´s purpose is to share collectively
what the participants already know about how to define a strategy, goals, and
objectives for their organization. The procedure is the following:
Step 1: Form 2 groups. Each
group has a "captain," "ships," and
"mines".
Step 2: The captain directs
the exercise. The ships can move but can´t see, the mines can see but can´t
move.
Step 3: Each team prepares
its own strategy. The goal is to get the ships to the other team´s field
without exploding with the mines by crashing into them. The captain cannot
talk, just direct the ships (while their eyes are closed) with sounds, tapping
them or pushing them, etc. If a ship crashes with a mine, it has to stop there
and not move.
Step 4: Once each group has
achieved the goal, the numbers of ships are counted and the winner is whoever
had more ships on the other team´s field or has gotten there
first.
Step 5: In a circle, the
facilitator invites the teams to share their different strategies (defensive or
offensive plan), and their tactics (sounds, tapping, whistle, etc.).
Finally, the whole group discusses why one strategy
was better than the other one. Usually, elements like, good communication,
coordination, and clarity on the goals are the reasons that explain why they
won the game. Finally, the facilitator points out how cooperation and a good
leadership are important in designing an organization´s strategy.
The exercise and the dialogue about it help to
gather the participant´s assumptions about the concepts they´re reflecting on together
(practice). Then, the conclusion of the exercise and additional presentation
about strategy produce a new collective knowledge (theory) and the final
discussion after the presentation leads to the practice, closing this way the
cycle of popular education methodology.
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| The naval battle |
The exercise and the dialogue about it helps us to gather the participants assumptions about the concepts we´re reflecting together (practice). Then, the conclusion of the exercise and and additional presentation about strategy produce a new collective knowledge (theory) and the final discussion after the presentation lead us to the practice, closing this way the cycle of pop ed. methodology.
The song "Tres Veces Mojado"
Finally, the song "Tres Veces Mojado" (“three times a wet back” in Spanish) depicts the journey that immigrants transit from their native country. After watching the video, the participants share their own experience in coming to the US crossing three borders. As they share their testimony, the facilitator tries to identify patterns and invigorate the dialogue with those similarities. Finally, they conclude with a dialogue about the structural or root causes of immigration, their purpose of staying in the US and the type of contribution they could provide while living here. Especially, to the organizations that work for the immigrant community.
Decoding the song: root causes of immigration and reasons to return
Decoding the song: root causes of immigration and reasons to return
In this case, the triple logic of popular education methodology works in three steps: 1. Research: listening to the song and recovering their own experience; 2. Education: The facilitator shares his/her knowledge about the root causes of immigration; 3. Action: At the end of the session the group defines, collectively, the main conclusions of the session and what they can do in terms of their own leadership.
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Our lessons: 1. We come for economic reasons. 2. We come temporarily. 3. El Sol is a place of solidarity. 4. We need to help and support. 5. When we help...we become leaders Leadership trainings at El Sol Neighborhood Resource Center, Jupiter, Fl |
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