Workshop 1

So..what is Be Her Lead?

overview

This celebratory launch session introduces Be Her Lead as a programme and establishes the Be Her Lead space as student-led with a non-hierarchical structure.

Students will probably enter the space asking ‘So… what is Be Her Lead?’ We respond by flipping the question back to the students, so they find their own answers and meaning, and immediately start to shape the space.

You will do a creative activity together that draws attention to each word in ‘Be Her Lead’. As you collage journals or ice cakes with letters, or join together alphabet beads to form bracelets, you’ll have an opportunity to reflect on what those words mean for you as individuals and as a collective.

you will need:

• Be Her Lead journals and perhaps a goodie bag (optional)

• Snacks and decorations (optional)

• Creative activity materials dependent on activity you choose (either cake decorating, colour-in letters, bracelet-making, or newspapers and magazines for collaging)

SET-UP:

Have craft materials, snacks and Be Her Lead journals ready on tables, looking enticing. A big central table or smaller scattered clusters are best – rearrange desks if they’re in rows.

Balloons or decorations might help make the space feel celebratory, or look patronising – your call!

Sit everyone in a circle with staff and students, different ages and peer groups, all mixed up.

Hand round their journals and some snacks and give them some time to chat and settle in.

Draw attention to their new Be Her Lead journals, explaining that these are for them to keep, and will not be monitored or checked unless they choose to share something.

check-in

Begin with a welcome, and an acknowledgement that they are probably wondering what this ‘Be Her Lead’ thing is all about.

Explain that the answer to that question will be up to you as a group, and that that’s what this workshop is all about.

Ask everyone to do a squiggle in their journals to express how they are feeling today. There is no right or wrong way to do this.

Go round the group asking everyone to say their name and show or describe their squiggles, with no pressure to share more than they feel comfortable.

Ask them how they would like to feel in this space, perhaps doing another squiggle or saying one word each. Relaxed? Accepted? Cared for? Bold?

What would help them feel that way? Flag that in week 4 they’ll draw up an agreement together, a contract or code.

creative activity

Now you’ve established the space and introduced everybody, come back to the central question for today: ‘So...what is Be Her Lead?’

We’ll begin to answer this through a creative activity that takes apart the name ‘Be Her Lead’ and puts it back together in our own unique ways.

Ideas for activities include:

• Decorating cupcakes or biscuits with the words ‘Be’ ‘Her’ ‘Lead’ one word or letter per biscuit / cupcake

• Creating bracelets with ‘Be Her Lead’ plus our names on them, using alphabet beads

• Decorating colour-in Be Her Lead words on a poster/ filling in large empty letters with patterns etc for a sign on the door or a display in the classroom where you host sessions

• Decorating journals with cut out letters from newspapers and magazines spelling out ‘Be Her Lead’ and our own names

Discussion prompts

Please note:

These questions are suggestions to spark discussion, not intended to be prescriptive.

Be guided by the students’ ideas, and be receptive to what kinds of discussions the name ‘Be Her Lead’ opens up.

If it is helpful in facilitating discussion, offer students thinking time by inviting them to do a free write in their journals before discussing each word – use sentences starters like "For me, 'being' means..."

It is up to you whether you chat as you do the activity, or have pauses to discuss each word. Likewise, you can decide whether to talk in pairs or small groups, or as a whole round-table.

BE (identity, sense of self, aspirations, relating to the world)

• What makes you, you, and how do you like to be?

• Who do you want to be in this group?

• How would we like to be as a group, together?

HER (gender identity, inclusion and diversity, social and cultural expectations)

• What does her mean for you, and for others?

• What expectations and judgements do you associate with the word her?

• Is Be Her Lead the right name for our group, or would ‘Be Their Lead / Be Our Lead’ be more inclusive? (This is absolutely fine if so.)

LEAD (social structures, power balance, leadership, collective action)

• What comes to mind when you hear the word lead?

• What makes a good leader? Do you feel like a leader?

• how would you like this group to be led – could we lead together?

check-out

End the session by getting everyone to write on a post-it or in their journals their own answer to the question ‘What is Be Her Lead?’. Offer them the option of sharing these as a group.

If there’s time, you could do a check-out squiggle and reflect on how they feel now compared to at the start of the workshop.

Further reading

Identity and gender:

This workshop has the potential to open up a useful discussion about gender identity, and inclusion – topics that you will continue to explore together in the Be Her Lead space.

Our champion and board member Dr. Lloyd Houston’s training slides are useful for prepping for this discussion, and contain a list of recommended books and organisations at the end.

This blog on ‘creating an identity-safe classroom’ is also potentially useful.

If the group's discussion about 'her' leads to some students being uncomfortable using this pronoun, you could consider using the name 'Be Their Lead' or ‘Be Our Lead’ in your school context.

Mindfulness tools:

The creative activity has the potential to be done in a mindful, meditative way – as we slowly cut out and arrange letters into words, we think more deeply and creatively about their meaning, and ourselves. If you are interested in embedding mindfulness practices into your Be Her Lead sessions and teaching practice, we encourage you to take the time each week to do so.

Summary of research into effectiveness of mindfulness in schools

Educators get free access to the Headspace App, which contains a wealth of mindfulness tools.