Traditions - Discussion Plans and Excercises
Initial Excercise:
In small groups, try to come up with a list
of traditions. Think of the traditions that exist in:
- different cultures
- families
- churches
- groups of friends
- workplaces
Follow up Questions:
Are the traditions in different cultures very
different from each other? Can you see any similarities? Does each
family have its own traditions as well as the traditions of its
culture? Are church traditions similar to or different from cultural
traditions? Do we carry our family and cultural traditions into
our peer groups and workplaces? Do peer groups and work places have
seperate traditions? If they are seperate, why are they seperate?
Discussion Plan: What is a tradition?
- What makes something a tradition?
- Does a practice have to be old to be a tradition?
- How many people have to know about a practice for it to
be a tradition?
- How many people have to follow a practice for it to be a
tradition?
- If everyone stopped following it, would it still be a tradtion?
- Can one person have their own traditions?
- Who has the power to make something a tradition?
Discussion Plan: What is the value of traditions?
- Why do we have traditions?
- Are they important? Why or why not?
- Are they useful? What do they do for us?
- Are there ways in which traditions are not useful or even
harmful? Examples?
- Can traditions become outdated? What would make them outdated?
- Are there tradtions that you would change if you could?
Which ones?
- How would you change them?
- Why would you change them?
- Can traditions be changed, and still be traditions? Can
they change and still be valuable?
Scenario for Discussion: Identity and Tradition
Imi is a Samoan woman. When she leaves school
she decides to give up going to church, and she refuses to look
after her brothers and sisters anymore. After a while, she gets
a job, moves out of home and eventually marries someone who her
parents do not approve of. Imi and her husband say that when they
have children they will not bring them up in the Samoan way.
- What has Imi lost? What has she gained?
- Is Imi still a Samoan woman? In what ways is she? In what
ways is she not?
- Imi?s parents say that she has lost her identity. Do you
agree?
- Her husband says Imi has become more of an individual. Do
you agree?
- Does Imi owe it to her children to teach them about Samoan
traditions?
- Does she owe it to her children to bring them up to follow
Samoan tradtions?
- Can you understand a tradition without following it?
- Should Imi keep some tradtions and let go of others?
- Which should she let go? Why?
- Which should she keep? Why?
- What difference does it make to your answers if Imi?s husband
is Samoan? If he is from another culture? Does it matter which
other culture he is from?
Discussion Plan and Excercise: Traditions and Power
- Does having traditions make you more powerful? If so, how?
- Do traditions make everyone more powerful?
- Small group Exercise:
Using the list of traditions from the
first exercise, each group chooses three traditions. For each of
these, work out whose power is increased by that tradition and whose
power decreases. Collect and discuss results.
Supplementary Questions:
Are you more powerful if you know who you
are? Are you more powerful if you have control over others? If you
are controlled by others, can you still be powerful, as long as
you know who you are? Do all traditions increase at least one person?s
power? What kind of traditions increse people?s power? What kind
of traditions decrease people?s power? What kind of people ususally
have their power decreased by traditions? What kind of people usually
have their power increased by traditions?
Supplementary Discussion Plan: Power
- What different kinds of power are there?
- What kind of people have power?
- For some people to be powerful, must others be weak?
- If someone has power over you, do you still have any power?
- Could one person be so powerful that no-one could hurt them?
- What are the advantages of power?
- Are there any disadvantages of power? Are there things you
might fail to see, or enjoy, if you are powereful? Would your
friendships be different?
- Could everyone be equally powerful?
- What would the world be like if everyone was equally powerful?
- Is there any kind of power that everyone could have?
|
