The Dot Exercise

This was forwarded to me by Buffy.

Dot Exercise
(45 Minutes)
Hang the seven statements on the walls and instruct students that silently you would like them to place the dots that they are given up on the pad. On one side of the page is agree, the other side of the page is disagree – however, you aren’t going to use the dots to reflect what you believe – but rather what other people have taught you.
Yellow Dot – What you learned in school K – 12th Grade
Red Dot – What you learned from the media and televsion
Green dot – What you learned from your family or guardians
Blue Dot – What you learned from community organizations, after school programs, religious organizations etc.
Emphasize before the place the dots that they are simply noticing who taught them things, and not judging – this is a form of tracking, which we will speak about throughout the program.

Move through the exercise, one color at a time – ask students to give example of why they placed their dot where. All the same time, noticing – not judging.
When you have gone though all of the colors – ask if there are any recognizable patterns.

Statements:
· Poor people are lazy
· Everyone is equal
· In the US if you try hard, you will succeed
· Some races are more intelligent than others
· In some ways men are just more competent than women
· The only healthy relationship is a heterosexual relationship
· The best person for a job is probably not the person with the disability

Processing:
Do you notice any patterns?
Can anyone give me an example?
How does this change the way you view what you were taught?
How does this relate to orientation?
How can you mediate the former experiences of your orientee’s?
One thing you have taken away from this exercise?