Weekly Journal Prompts

• If someone were to read your insecurities off of a sheet, what conclusion would they draw about how you might hold yourself back from success?

• How might arrogance show up in your behavior?

If arrogance is a defense mechanism against insecurities, what is your arrogance protecting?

• If your inner child were to fully materialize, what’s an activity you would take them on to make it their best day ever?

• What areas in your life do you feel the least supported in?

  • How would an older version of yourself support you in the ways you feel unsupported?

• Has there been anyone in your life that you would describe as a mentor?

  • How have they made an impact on your life?

• Describe how the Just World Hypothesis could interfere with having compassion for others.

• If you became a mentor for someone (student, teacher, subordinate etc.) what’s a lesson/saying that you would want to be known for instilling in them?

• How do you believe people see you?

• What emotions typically bring out the worst in you, and why do you think this happens?

• What’s something you wish that other people understood about you?

Journal Prompts from the Article

• Why do you think the history of Dr. King not being liked at the time is often ignored by the public at large?

• What are some ways to embody the spirit of MLK day throughout the year?

• How might Dr. King be treated or looked at today if he was still alive?

• What are some issues today that Dr. King would fight for?

• What are some songs that can instantly make you feel better?

  • Do you remember what it was like the first time you heard these songs?

• If you had to create a 5 song playlist that describes you, what songs would you choose?

• What are some areas of opportunity to bring your type of music into your work life?

• What kinds of influence does music have on the lives of our scholars?

  • What are some genres, artists, songs etc that you'd like to share with them?

• What do you notice about how your scholars talk about people with disabilities?

• What kind of education is missing from the classroom that would help slow down discrimination? 

• Where do you think your scholars receive their information about disabilities?

  • Is this a reliable source?

  • How might this information and source impact how they interact with people who have disabilities?

• Have you found yourself treating others with disabilities differently?

  • Overall, do you think you’d treat scholars differently if you knew they had a diagnosis? 

  • What are some actions or behaviors you can implement when a scholar might have a disability but hasn’t been tested?

• What might be some reasons scholars haven’t been tested for disabilities?

• What have you noticed about how your scholars talk about folks a part of the LGBTQIA community?

  1. What kind of education is missing from the classroom that would help slow down discrimination? 

• What are some other emotions associated with the isolation of folks a part of the LGBTQ community?

  1. How can you create a safe space for your scholars experiencing these emotions?

• What are some of the daily stressors in your life?

  1. How might they relate to your identity in ways that you can’t control?

• How can you provide relief to some of the stressors your scholars face?

  1. (Whether you know what those stressors are or not)

• What social norms can you suggest to deter the stressors in our community?

• How do you notice the stressors in yours and your scholar’s lives?

• Have you ever done a deep dive into the history of the land you live/work at?

  1. What do you think you’ll find?

• How might knowing the history of this land might shape the way our scholars see and feel about the world?

  1. Are there ways to incorporate Native American history into your lessons?

• The article mentioned “You can’t heal shame without recognizing how it shows up.” How do you show shame and guilt?

  1. How would you know if you’re experiencing shame or guilt?

  2. What secondary emotion comes up when you experience shame (anger, sadness, isolation, etc.)?

• How might shame manifest itself during conversations about discrimination?

  1. Do these conversations spark shame within yourself? If so, where does that come from? 

• What’s your actionable plan for addressing the shame you or someone else might feel when having tough conversations?

• How often do you participate in local elections?

  1. Is this important to you? Why or why not?

• What are some current barriers to voting that you’ve experienced or seen?

  1. Is there something you can do to remove these barriers?

• Do you discuss with your friends/family the importance of voting? Why or why not?

• How do you think where you currently live or/and work has been shaped by the 1928 plan or the civil rights movement in Austin?

• Where do you think Austin would be had there been no segregation or economic deconstruction of the East side?

• How do you think scholars are impacted by the effects of segregation?

• What would be some actionable steps you can take to prevent another devastating event like the 1928 plan?

• How has art influenced your life (music, poetry, paintings, sculpture etc.)?

• If you could master any form of art, what would it be and why?

• How would you feel if someone told you, you were the inspiration behind their greatest work of art? 

• What’s an important work of art to you that you’d wish would still be relevant 200 hundred years from now?

• If one day, the entire world lost its memory on racial differences and the history of it, and you were the only one who retained their memory, how would you explain racial differences in a way that avoids out-group bias as a result of the physical differences we can see in each other. (Feel free to do research to better understand race and its history)

  • What laws or policies might you put in place to prevent racial discrimination?

  • How much education would you assign to familiarize everyone about genetics and sociology?

• How different would your life be if you were born in the generation above and below you?

• What piece of advice would you give to a person in the generation after you?

• What do you see as the most noticeable differences between generations in the workplace?

• What are some ways communication differences can be improved between generations?

• If you could live in any Latin American country where would you live and why? 

• What’s an aspect of the many Latin American cultures do you wish more people knew about?

  • Is there an aspect you wish you knew more about?

• What’s a hobby you used to do that brought you the most joy when you were younger?

  • Why do you think this hobby made you feel the way you did? 

• What’s a hobby you’d like to pick up if you had the time and resources?

• Describe the perfect day

• Retell your most favorite memory

  • Feel free to create an activity to have with your class that asks them to retell and share their most favorite memory (if they feel comfortable) *If they can’t think of one, have them describe the perfect day

• This week's video touches on the differences between an individualistic and collective culture. Where do you fall on this spectrum regarding your upbringing?

  • Do you believe you’ve been influenced by it? If you had to pick a side, which side do you tend to favor? 

  • Which side would like to lean more towards?

• What are some positives from both sides that you would use to blend to create a super society? 

• What were some of your reactions to the article?

  • Do you agree with the egalitarian approach Americans have in certain situations?

  • If you could create a guide for international college students, what are your top 3 American cultural pieces you would inform them about? 

• This week's video discussed two types of socializations (anticipatory & secondary). If you had to create a lesson plan or series of lessons, how would you use both to teach positive masculinity?  

  • What are some pillars you would emphasize?

  • What are some aspects you would avoid?

  • How do you plan to create a safe space for the scholars or others to challenge what you’re telling them without them feeling judged for doing so?

  • Can you predict some pushback you’ll get? What’s your plan for addressing them before they occur?

• If you could reimagine the socialization process for your younger self (and by extension, our scholars now), what would you change to give yourself and them a better sense of awareness?

  • How would you alter both anticipatory and secondary socialization to create more empathy within our society?

• How do you think your behavior and perspective would change if each aspect of your identity were dramatically altered?

• Which aspect of your identity would have the biggest impact on your life if it were changed?

• What does this say about how we subtly treat those that are different from us?

• What's your strategy for interacting with a culture you're unfamilar with?

  • How do you handle making a cultural error?