This is a an exercise that we used when we took freshman students from my High school up to a place called Frost Valley for the weekend.We took about 100 freshman students who were at risk that had problems with low self esteem,little confidence in themselves,poor grades,behavior problems,etc.. We did outdoor adventure,..discussions,games,team building,etc
The alligator story was my favorite.This story and exercise gave everyone different "perceptions,values and attitudes in dealing with our own feelings.Its hard to find a consensus about value judgments and explore the reasons why we see people differently".
Read the story..follow the directions...try to make your list up w/o looking at everyone else's list.....once you do that then you can go back and look at everyone's list.. no cheating..no peeking.....It is amazing how many of you will have a different ranking....we don't have a lot of information..don't over think...does the name influence our judgment....do we have more sympathy with a character we relate too or don't relate too...we are not told about race or nationality of the characters. I'll come back in a day or two and rank mine.I hope there are a few out there with my exact ranking... there are no right or wrong answers.....hope everyone is doing good here in MJ's....good luck...
The Alligator River Story
There lived a woman named Abigail who was in love with a man named
Gregory. Gregory lived on the shore of a river. Abigail lived on the
opposite shore of the same river. The river that separated the two lovers
was teeming with dangerous alligators. Abigail wanted to cross the river
to be with Gregory. Unfortunately, the bridge had been washed out by a
heavy flood the previous week. So she went to ask Sinbad, a riverboat
captain, to take her across. He said he would be glad to if she would
consent to go to bed with him prior to the voyage. She promptly refused
and went to a friend named Ivan to explain her plight. Ivan did not want
to get involved at all in the situation. Abigail felt her only
alternative was to accept Sinbad's terms. Sinbad fulfilled his promise to
Abigail and delivered her into the arms of Gregory.
When Abigail told Gregory about her amorous escapade in order to cross the
river, Gregory cast her aside with disdain. Heartsick and rejected,
Abigail turned to Slug with her tale of woe. Slug, feeling compassion for
Abigail, sought out Gregory and beat him brutally. Abigail was overjoyed
at the sight of Gregory getting his due. As the sun set on the horizon,
people heard Abigail laughing at Gregory.
=====================================================================
THE EXERCISE: After reading the story, rank the five (5) characters in
the story beginning with the one whom you consider as the "most offensive"
and end with the one whom you consider the "least objectionable." That
is, the character who seems to be the most reprehensible to you should be
entered first in the list following the story, then the second most
reprehensible, and so on, with the least reprehensible or objectionable
being entered fifth. Very briefly note why you rank them in the order
that you do.
The alligator story was my favorite.This story and exercise gave everyone different "perceptions,values and attitudes in dealing with our own feelings.Its hard to find a consensus about value judgments and explore the reasons why we see people differently".
Read the story..follow the directions...try to make your list up w/o looking at everyone else's list.....once you do that then you can go back and look at everyone's list.. no cheating..no peeking.....It is amazing how many of you will have a different ranking....we don't have a lot of information..don't over think...does the name influence our judgment....do we have more sympathy with a character we relate too or don't relate too...we are not told about race or nationality of the characters. I'll come back in a day or two and rank mine.I hope there are a few out there with my exact ranking... there are no right or wrong answers.....hope everyone is doing good here in MJ's....good luck...
The Alligator River Story
There lived a woman named Abigail who was in love with a man named
Gregory. Gregory lived on the shore of a river. Abigail lived on the
opposite shore of the same river. The river that separated the two lovers
was teeming with dangerous alligators. Abigail wanted to cross the river
to be with Gregory. Unfortunately, the bridge had been washed out by a
heavy flood the previous week. So she went to ask Sinbad, a riverboat
captain, to take her across. He said he would be glad to if she would
consent to go to bed with him prior to the voyage. She promptly refused
and went to a friend named Ivan to explain her plight. Ivan did not want
to get involved at all in the situation. Abigail felt her only
alternative was to accept Sinbad's terms. Sinbad fulfilled his promise to
Abigail and delivered her into the arms of Gregory.
When Abigail told Gregory about her amorous escapade in order to cross the
river, Gregory cast her aside with disdain. Heartsick and rejected,
Abigail turned to Slug with her tale of woe. Slug, feeling compassion for
Abigail, sought out Gregory and beat him brutally. Abigail was overjoyed
at the sight of Gregory getting his due. As the sun set on the horizon,
people heard Abigail laughing at Gregory.
=====================================================================
THE EXERCISE: After reading the story, rank the five (5) characters in
the story beginning with the one whom you consider as the "most offensive"
and end with the one whom you consider the "least objectionable." That
is, the character who seems to be the most reprehensible to you should be
entered first in the list following the story, then the second most
reprehensible, and so on, with the least reprehensible or objectionable
being entered fifth. Very briefly note why you rank them in the order
that you do.
