Reasons for doing this activity:
• Group problem solving and listening skills.
• To promote discussion about structures which will promote fair and full participation from
individuals in the group.
What to do
Explain to the group that today’s activity is about how to make sure that everyone can join in fairly and have their say about how this Woodcraft Group is organised.
Ask the group whether it is important for each to have their say in the group? Are there places in your life where you find it very difficult to speak up, or if you do speak up, find it very difficult to get people to listen?
Divide the group into smaller groups of four or five people and ask each group to devise a scenario where a young person is finding it difficult to make their views heard and as a result is misunderstood. Ask them to practice the scene up to the point where the misunderstanding occurs.
Act out the scenes one by one up to that point then ask the players to stay in role while the audience asks each one:
- What would have helped you?
- What would you have like to have happened when …?
- What could you have said differently?
- What could you have done differently?
Don’t let the questioning go on for too long. Get someone in the group to make a note of all the answers.
Once all the dramas have been played out it might be good to provide a brief pause here with a snack or a short, physical game just for fun.
Return to a large group circle and have a look at all of the suggestions on the notepad. Aske the group:
- Are there any overlaps, or common ideas that the group can pick out?
- Are there times in the Woodcraft Group when people find it hard to make their views heard?
- Are there ways in which the group could change to make sure that everyone’s voices are heard?
Make sure that the Pioneers understand that good communication in the group is not just about them speaking up but also about the group being structured in such a way that it is easy for everyone to speak up. Are there any structures that could be introduced to support the fuller participation of everyone involved?
Go back into the smaller groups and work out a resolution for their role play characters, practising the skills they have learnt.
Two alternative endings:
a. If there is the energy and interest from the whole group, each small group could play out
their piece to the end.
b. Discuss children outside the group who might have a hard time making their voices heard.
Is there some way in which the group could support them?