Understanding different views is an essential skill for personal growth, creative innovation, fostering empathy, critical thinking and building community. It also promotes diversity, inclusion and tolerance, which are vital to creating a more harmonious society. This activity aims to help you reflect on your personal journey and understand why people have different views within your community and across the country. By the end of this activity, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate empathy and understanding towards people who hold different views
- Understand the impact of diverse views on communities
- Analyze the relationship between your community and the larger society
Your community, in this case, can be your town, city or region.
Part One: Your Community
Goals:
- Identify the community you live in and describe how it’s unique from other parts of the country
- Research the history and geography of your community and analyze how that’s shaped your community’s politics
- Interview family members, friends and people from your community about their views on storytelling and the media
Answer the following:
- What community do you live in? How is your community unique from other parts of the country?
- How does your community shape or inform your views on specific issues and the media more generally? What stories are important to your community? What issues do you hear being debated in your community?
- Interview friends, family members and/or community members. Do they think research and journalism matters? Do they feel their voice is heard and well-portrayed in the media? What kind of news media do they consume? Why do you think they consume stories from these sources?
- Who are your local elected representatives? What party (if any) do they belong to?
- Look at polls from across the country and find communities that are similar to yours (culturally, economically, geographically, etc). Why do you think similar views are shared between these communities? Now find communities that are different. Why are they different?
- What traditional territory do you call home? What is the historical relationship between Canada and the Indigenous nations that first resided here? Is there a treaty? What is your local land acknowledgement?
- Look at a map of your community. What ecozone are you in? What species exist in your area? How much original natural land remains? What species are at risk in your area? Do you have any parks near your community? How does your community connect to nature? Is nature relevant in your community?
Part Two: Your Views
Goals:
- Analyze the news media you consume and explain why you enjoy it
- Discuss similarities and differences in news media consumption with your classmates
- Reflect on why it’s important to consume news from different sources and why understanding the views of other people matters
Answer the following:
- What types of news media do you consume? Why?
- Gather with your classmates to discuss the similarities and differences between the media stories you consume. Check out the media that someone else enjoys – from your class or even from a different community (check out online polls as a resource!) – and discuss with others why you did or did not enjoy it.
- Why is it important to understand other people’s views/context? How is that the backbone of good research? How can it help us tell better stories?