ii. How we talk to ourselves: an
awareness exercise
Adapted from “Working
Together: Succeeding a Multicultural
Organization”, Simons & Zuckerman, Crisp Publications, 1989, 1994
How does your culture show up when your mind starts to work?
As you look at each word and phrase in the list below, a conversation
will start in your mind. Describe
briefly in the first empty column the picture, words or scene your mind
spontaneously says to you.
In the second column, jot down how you judged each time – for instance,
true/false, good/bad, beautiful/ugly.
We all really do have an opinion about everything.
Note in the last column where you think you got your idea or feeling or
where you think it came from.
Remember, you aren’t good or
bad because of what your automatic mind and culture say. It’s what you do with these thoughts later
that counts. We will all come up with
quite different answers. The point of
this exercise is to actually become aware of our automatic thoughts and be
conscious of how they affect us on a day-to-day basis. This is a very personal exercise; you don’t
have to share it – the point is for you to understand more about yourself
and think about how these thoughts may affect your teaching.
|
Word |
Image
I got |
Judgement |
Source |
|
1. immigrant |
A person on a boat or an unshaven, illiterate worker |
Good, brave or bad, rude, scary |
My grandma’s stories or My dad made comments and avoided them |
|
2. money |
|
|
|
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3. home |
|
|
|
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4. foreigners |
|
|
|
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5. management |
|
|
|
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6. working women |
|
|
|
|
7. artist |
|
|
|
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8. single mom |
|
|
|
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9. death penalty |
|
|
|
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10. white men |
|
|
|
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11. refugee |
|
|
|
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12. gay/lesbian |
|
|
|
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13. aboriginal people |
|
|
|
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14. university |
|
|
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15. Africa |
|
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16. work |
|
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