A Story About Privilege
Sana Bagersh
Leading social impact through platforms, partnerships and advocacy. Interculturalism Expert, AI Advocacy, Strategic Communication. Digital Transformation, Thought Leadership. DEI/ ESG Advisor. Speaker, Author, Coach.
A high school teacher lead a simple, powerful exercise to teach his class about privilege and social mobility. He started by giving each student a scrap piece of paper and asked them to crumple it up.
Then he moved the recycling bin to the front of the room.
He said, “The game is simple — you all represent the country’s population. And everyone in the country has a chance to become wealthy and move into the upper class.”
“To move into the upper class, all you must do is throw your wadded-up paper into the bin while sitting in your seat.”
The students in the back of the room immediately piped up, “This is unfair!” They could see the rows of students in front of them had a much better chance.
Everyone took their shots, and — as expected — most of the students in the front made it (but not all) and only a few students in the back of the room made it.
He concluded by saying, “The closer you were to the recycling bin, the better your odds. This is what privilege looks like. Did you notice how the only ones who complained about fairness were in the back of the room?”
"By contrast, people in the front of the room were less likely to be aware of the privilege they were born into. All they can see is 10 feet between them and their goal.”
"Your job — as students who are receiving an education — is to be aware of your privilege. And use this particular privilege called “education” to do your best to achieve great things, all the while advocating for those in the rows behind you.”
Nathan W. Pyle
Event Manager | Corporate Trainer
9 年power lesson indeed! What makes it powerful is that the students were engaged in the learning process and the learning was just that - a process. They weren't given the theory or lesson learned until the very end.
Brand Positioning & Differentiation Obsessive. Sceptical of social media quick fix pushers.
9 年Privelige and the rationing of education are the greatest barriers to equality. Here ends my sermon!
Principal at Summit International School
9 年I'd like to see this carry into a project where they learn the responsibility of becoming the people of privilege. How did those who had it easy handle it versus those who felt lucky and hit the long shot. A fun experiment and a great scenario for a large interdisciplinary unit...all subjects could be incorporated. So many ideas rushing to my head, but I won't bore you all with them. This could deb really cool, and a true example of creating that "globally responsible lifelong learner" every school claims in their vision/mission.