Session 8.4
OPINION CARDS
Working with young people
Introduction
This opinion card activity is about raising
awareness and challenging the perception of how young people
are viewed by adults in society
Materials
White postcards with the opinions (one
set for each group)
Time
1 -1.5 hours
Group size
10 - 25 people
Process
Ask people to form groups of four or five
and give each group a set of opinion cards. Each person
in the group picks an opinion card and reads it out. The
person places than the card down on an imaginary line between
two points: Agree and Disagree. You can use also the following
pattern:
Other members of the group now say whether they support
where the card lies or think it should be moved, giving
their reasons.
Once the groups have finalised, everybody can walk around
and look at the position of the opinion cards of the others.
Open this out to a general discussion in the large group.
Some specific questions should also be posed:
• What opinions did most people
agree/disagree with? Why?
• Was it easy or difficult to
reach group agreement?
• Did they feel that each group
member had an equal amount of speaking time?
Opinions about young people (*)
This are examples, of course you can add
yours or ask the group to write statements about young people.
• Young people, as a rule take
more from society than they give back.
• Young people think talking
to adults about life is a waste of time.
• You need to learn to love yourself
before you can love anyone else.
• You can't expect the world
to look after you.
• Young people can make a big
difference to the world.
• Young people can't influence
anything in the adult world.
• It's important to live your
life in the way that your friends do.
• It's important to live your
life in a way that's true to yourself.
• Someone will always help you
out when you need help in life.
• Young people are a bad influence
on each other, they need adult discipline.
• Without the interference of
adults, young people could make this a much better world.
• Young people respond well to
adult encouragement in dealing with problems.
Conclusion
This session is intended to help the group
address issues such as attitudes towards young people, needs
of young people, working with young people etc. Either at
this point or later this activity can form a useful base
for discussion about the role of the peer coach.
A more active version of this session is possible with
a small group. Draw in a room an imaginary line between
two points. One point is labelled agree and the other disagree.
Read out an opinion card and everybody must then stand where
they want between the two points. Some people can give an
explanation and say why they choose for this position, for
those who perhaps do not have a strong opinion, the middle
or centre can offer an 'undecided' position.
Techniques of using cards to supply information, which
is to be the basis for discussion, are well tried and tested.
The technique used in this activity is sometimes called
"diamond ranking" and can be adapted to any topic.
Another technique, which can also be adapted, is the "find
the pairs, memory game", which is described in the
activity, "Education
for all" in Compass.
(* Extract from Just Us!: Young people
in action with young people, by John Holt and Philip Hope,
British Red Cross, 1994)
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