The following social extensions are connected to the Search Institute's 40 Developmental Assets which are described as "concrete, common sense, positive experiences and qualities essential to raising successful young people."

We encourage you to explore more about the Search Institute, the 40 developmental assets and the supporting research here .

Social Extension: First Impressions

Although many of the 40 developmental assets are addressed in this activity, certain assets are easier to connect to the material than others. Below you will find our top picks for opening solid, valuable conversations with your students.

Key Assets

1. (Internal: Positive Identity) - Self Esteem
2. (Internal: Positive Values) - Equality and Social Justice
3. (Internal: Social Competencies) - Cultural Competence

Example Lesson

• (Internal: Social Competencies) - Cultural Competence

Cultural Competence is described as "the student knowing and being comfortable with people of different racial, ethnic and and cultural backgrounds and with her or his own cultural identity."

In First Impressions, the idea is to let students feel what it is like to be treated like a superstar or a homeless person; to be discriminated against, praised, ignored, overly-cared about or generally what it is like to walk in a different pair of shoes. What makes this work is that the whole experiment is disguised in fun an laughter. No one is taking it seriously and everyone generally has a blast trying to figure out what characteristic is taped behind them.

Reflecting on the Experience:

The power of the activity is in the conversation afterward. Ask students to think for a moment about what it was like.

• Did you like the activity and why?
• Did people treat you well?
• Did people ignore you?
• How did that make you feel?
• Have you felt this way before and are you willing to give an example?
• Do you feel this same activity happens in the real world, and if so, where?
• Have you ever made a generalization, assumption or adopted a first impression about a person before, and why?
• What was it based on?
• If we were to look at this activity from the prospective of culture, nationality, race or gender, how would this activity connect?

From here it's easy to see the direct connection between cultural competence and the activity itself. First, it's about being empathetic and experiencing life outside of one's own "bubble." Empathy is a powerful topic for your group to explore. For example, to be truly empathetic, a person must be open and take the time to learn about and see the world from a different point of view.

Personalizing the Experience: 

Second, students must understand the idea of stereotypes, how quickly they are formed and how many times these stereotypes act as wall between people and keep people from understanding each other. By not jumping to conclusions, subscribing to stereotypes or judgments and having the patience to look past color, race, religion or physical identity a person is far better equip to understand and internalize the idea of cultural competence.

Acting upon the Experience: 

Next, ask students to get in groups of 5-8 and find a place to stand in the room. Pass out a piece of butcher paper and markers to each group. Give the students three minutes to write down everything they can think of that they share in common with everyone else in the room, as quickly as possible. Points awarded to the group with the most characteristics (you many choose to award small prizes). The commonalities could be physical attributes like "we all have tongues," or comments as basic as "we all breathe air." The point is that there are many things we share in common if we look for them.

Next take a moment to celebrate those things that make us unique. Use culture as the rally point. Ask for volunteers from each group to speak to the whole, or within their own small group about their own culture, or family life. What do you know about your culture and family traditions? What is unique about your culture? What is one thing that people might not know about your culture? How would you define your culture? You could even ask students to ask their parents about their cultural background, and report out the following day as a variation. The more students share, the more culturally competent they become.

Close by asking what the students learned, and what they will take away from this experience.