Paper trail

The thirteen students present at my Girls’ Club tonight lined up in front of me while I duct taped a piece of white paper, one by one, to their backs.

In the activity, the second during tonight’s discussion of self-esteem, each girl had to go around to write on the back of each other something they liked or admired about the person. It was one of those activities that seems so cheesy on the surface that no one ever admits to actually liking the outcome.

After 20 minutes of wandering around the 6eme classroom, the girls gathered to read out loud what was written on each other’s backs. When it was time to leave, they asked me what they were supposed to do with the pieces of paper.

I told them it was theirs to do with what they want: throw them away, carry them home or keep them on their backs.

Each girl walked away from the school that night with a white piece of paper still duct taped to their backs.