Mirror, Mirror…

Read the short poem carefully.

I look in the mirror

And what do I see?

Two bright eyes

Twinkling back at me

I look in the mirror

And what do I see?

Two dull eyes

Trying not to be

I look in the mirror

And what do I see?

Careless eyes

pretending to be free

Answer the following questions

1. Do you recognise yourself and your friends in the short descriptions in the poem? Which of the descriptions fit you best?

2. If you had to choose one word to describe the person in each of the stanzas (verses), what would the three words be? Try to think of words on your own first. If you cannot pinpoint the exact words, look at the words listed below and then choose from the list.

Stanza 1:

Stanza 2:

Stanza 3:

[LO 3.1]

Word list:

Cheerful, dopey, sad, insecure, confident, positive, negative, clever, stupid, bad

This is about new pupils arriving at a new school

Martin feels his stomach lurch when he spots the group of boys waiting at the entrance of the schoolgrounds. It is clear that they regard themselves as the main guys - die manne! They discuss the newcomers loudly and without mercy, laughing at their own witty remarks. The target at this moment is a thin, pale boy with a very neat (and recent) haircut. His school uniform is obviously new and a little bit too big for him - which unfortunately draws the attention to his bony knees and thin legs. "Look at Chicken Little here, he must be looking for the primary school. His mother must have dropped him here by mistake." The pale boy blushes furiously and shuffles past the group.

Martin approaches the group slowly, as nonchalantly as possible. What will they see when they look at him? He tosses his hair backwards. His hair is sun-bleached and slightly too long. His shoes are quite scruffy and his shirt is not tucked in properly. His tie has been in his hand since his mother dropped him on the corner at his request. "Aw, Mom, the guys will think I'm a softie if you take me to the gate."

"Come and have a look, Beth. We've got a new surfer boy here. Hello Pretty Boy." They make chirruping noises. A very well-developed girl in the shortest school uniform Martin has ever seen, undulates towards him. She looks him up and down. "Now, he is just another wannabe. His mommy gave her little boy a big old kiss at the corner. Yes, Mummy, No Mummy..." The others roll with laughter at Beth's impersonation of Martin. Martin feels his ears get hot and red. For a moment he almost let his anger get the upper hand. His father did warn him about ragging at new schools - and fighting. He tries to leave the semi-circle of fiends, but the girl blocks his way. A sharp and clear voice cuts through the air. "You are a very pretty girl. It's a pity that you are so nasty and common." Everybody freezes in shock and surprise. Chicken Little!

Answer the following questions:

1. Was Martin calm and self-confident while approaching the boys? Quote to motivate your answer.

2. Would you feel like Martin under similar circumstances? Explain your answer briefly.

3. How do you feel about nicknames and name-calling?

4. How do nicknames originate?

Do you find Chicken Little's reaction strange or not? If so, is it because his appearance is so at odds with his actions? People often judge others on their appearance: which clothes they wear, their hairstyles, etc. We could call that giving another person a label.

It is also true that people often adjust their appearance (image) to be accepted into a certain group. Look around you and see the similarities in clothing among friends. Oh, yes, and then we still have the "in" things to do and the "in" places to go! The other boys labelled Martin as a surfer because of his sun-bleached hair. Chicken Little labelled the girl "common" because of her too short school uniform - or was it because of her behaviour?

It is so that a person's appearance and behaviour give us clues to his or her personality, but it is also true that one can make mistakes if one does not take a closer look. So, it may be best to reserve judgement till you really know a person.

In a group

Does your school have different groups with different "labels"? For example, nerds, babes, potheads, goths, etc.

Make a list of the "labels" you can identify in the school. Do not use specific people's names, it may be hurtful.

Have you ever judged a person wrongly?

[LO 3.2]

Brainstorm

A brainstorming session is a thinking exercise during which a smallish group of people put their heads together to generate as many ideas as possible. You have heard the expression: Two heads are better than one. What about 5 or 6 heads? One idea sparks the other.

Guidelines for successful brainstorming

Make sure of the instructions before you start

The group should not be too large

One person must jot down the ideas

Take turns and ge0nerate as many ideas as possible

Write down the ideas without discussing them at all (Some ideas may strike you as worthless, but it can generate another idea which may have merit)

Stick to the time limit given to you

Action!

Storm 1

A positive characteristic is something good in a person's nature, for example, friendliness, honesty.

Write down as many positive characteristics as the group can think of on a loose sheet of paper.

Storm 2

A negative characteristic is something that makes a person not so pleasant or difficult to deal with, for example, unfriendliness, dishonesty.

Write down as many negative characteristics as the group can think of on a loose sheet of paper.

Afterwards

Compare the efforts of the different groups. Do you have more or less the same information? Maybe some of the characteristics are difficult to place under either of the headings: positive or negative. For example, to be shy is not necessarily negative, but to be too shy can make life difficult for that person.

How many different positive characteristics did you find?

How many different negative characteristics did you find?