Stamina: We need you with us for the long haul

This lesson plan is focused on how we can brace for lifetime's worth of hard work. Shifting our perspectives to recognize that we're one piece of an inter-generational relay race can help us avoid burnout. I'm sharing some of my favorite strategies for handling the hard days, some of the typical pitfalls that can trip folks up. I'm talking about Hope as our most valuable (and most fragile) resource as activists, and some strategies to protect and manage it.

These are the preparation materials, which would traditionally be the more passive, lecture component of the class. These are the materials that my students work with before we get together in class.

Prep materials.docx

This worksheet is what we would be doing in a 2-hour class period, where we have a chance to work together. This time is especially valuable because you can really apply the concepts you learned, while getting perspective and support from other folks. . The worksheet represents 2 hours of work in groups of 3.

This link will take you to a .doc file, for easier editing

stamina worksheet.pdf

This handout is mentioned in the worksheet. It's a list of some of the realizations and world-changes that folks might typically go through when they're coming into social justice work for the first time. They're useful for me as a teacher to remind me that I'm asking people to rethink a LOT in s short period of time. It's useful for the students to have a clearer perspective on how they've changed and grown over time, as well as a handy cheat sheet/summary of some points they may want to hang on to. I usually print handouts in colored paper so they're easier to track down among the worksheets.

This link will take you to a .doc file, for easier editing

Scaffolding epiphanies.pdf

This handout is mentioned in the worksheet. It's a one-page summary of this article from everydayfeminism.com. I wanted to give folks something to look at during class, and something they can take away with them. I usually print handouts in colored paper so they're easier to track down among the worksheets.

This link will take you to a .doc file, for easier editing

20 reminders.pdf

This is a summary video I made for my online students. It might give you a sense of some of the ideas from the worksheet and an overall view of the ideas from that lesson.

Here are some great things that I couldn't include in the lesson, if you're interested, keep looking!

Stamina Extra materials.docx