Exercise 8.5. – The statues

Procedure

1. The students carry out the following preliminary exercises in pairs:
   • One student strikes a pose; the other has to imitate. They reverse roles.
   • One student places his hand a few centimetres from his/her partner’s. When he/she moves his/her hand the other has to twist into whatever (uncomfortable) position is necessary to keep the same distance.

   These exercises train students to take notice of each other.

2. In the plenary session, the students represent and discuss situations of oppression:
   • Two or more students agree on an idea and then form a group of statues to represent a situation of oppression (example: a kneeling child polishing the shoes of a seated rieh man).
   • If a member of the audience thinks of a way of resolving the situation and making it more equal, he/she rearranges the actors aecording to his/her new model.

   Ideally the exercise should be condueted in silence, to encourage the students to mime and develop expressiveness.

3. More actors may partieipate in the scene progressively.
4. The teacher reserves the last 10 to 15 minutes of the lesson for a follow-up plenary session. The students give feedback, and they may come forward with questions that can lead to further study.

Variation

1. The same procedure is used to illustrate human and children’s rights and instances of how they are violated.
2. The exercise may be resumed in situations of conflict and in real situations that invoke strong feelings.