An Honest Look at Stress — A Fishbowl Discussion with Students
In this program Charis Denison compliments the research from Denise Pope’s latest book, Doing School, facilitating a discussion with a small group of students in front of a selected audience from the school community. Typically, Charis meets with the school administration, helps select a group of students who represent a diverse sample of the school community, and meets once alone with the students to organize the upcoming discussion. She then returns to the school for the fishbowl and facilitates a discussion with students about how their lives are effected by academic pressure and stress and how those issues impact their daily lives.
This dialogue occurs in a circle in front of the selected audience. That audience may consist of faculty, staff, administration, or parents depending on the needs and goals of the community. The listeners do not speak. They simply listen silently during the discussion. They have index cards to write notes or follow up questions. Afterward, conversation may take place in an open community-wide conversation or break-out groups facilitated by staff. Frequently, Charis returns for a reflection session creating space for the listeners to consider what they heard and to generate concrete plans to move forward.
This powerful and informative workshop is sometimes scheduled in conjunction with Pope and Stanford University’s SOS (Stressed Out Students) workshops. It is equally effective when booked independently.
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