Background discussion
In this activity – after having previously reached the strange location with Hercules, noticed various objects on each half of the scene and
then encountered two rather different women, we come to make a
choice between the women and the ways of life they represent.
So far, the activities I
have been presenting have been concerned with the complexities of a particular
social situation. This includes in relation to the body language of Hercules
and the two women, and the eye contact that is variously being made – and
refused. The activities have also been concerned with how to gain the attention
of someone else – through pointing for example, or through looking at the other person. There
has been some emphasis upon using language to express what is going on and what
characters might be feeling, and what the children themselves might be
feeling, but vocalisation is not necessary, and the activities should be
suitable for those who are non-verbal.
The key goals of this final
activity are around how to open up the potential for different perspectives on
a given issue, and how to understand how the present can impact on the future.
The Activity
If children are able, one initial
task that the facilitator could set is as follows. This is to construct a
narrative, or set of narratives, for the episode that they have been working
through.[1]
This could take the form of a rehearsal of the various stages of the myth - the
worksheet that I mentioned in the previous posting that I am planning would be
useful here.
But following the myth as it
is recounted in various tellings, ancient or modern, is not essential. Indeed,
as I have said previously, it is not vital – or necessary – to focus
particularly on the details of the myth – or on the identity of the various
personages. Another option would be for the group to construct their own
narrative. This could be done in various stages, starting perhaps with how the
hero found himself in a strange landscape filled with curious things, and then,
subsequently, with two persons. Then there could be a shift, to a narrative
focusing on one of the women – followed with a third narrative focusing on the other
woman.
Then, we move to the Choice!
Here, the children could be encouraged by the facilitator to move Hercules round
the picture. Alternatively, they themselves could move round the classroom and
the various models and props that have accumulated. The facilitator could
encourage Hercules – or the children – to pick up various objects and play
with them. They could hold or wield the sword for instance, or put on the
helmet or pick a flower.
Then the facilitator should divide
the various objects into two groups in line with where they figure on the
picture. The facilitator then might ask the children to describe each set of
objects. As before, if appropriate, the children can use a prepared set of words
or emojis.
Next, the facilitator should
ask the children to choose between, on the one hand, the helmet, serpent, sword
and woman pointing up the hillside, and, on the other hand, the fruit, flowers
and the drinking vessel and the woman seated in the midst of these features.
If the facilitator considers
it suitable, this stage of the session could include an account of what it is
that Hercules chooses in specific versions of the myth. According to authors,
this is way of Virtue. However, as I have said earlier on this blog, it is also
possible Hercules actually chooses the other option. This activity could be particularly
suitable for those children with an interest in the classical myth and the
figure of Hercules – because it offers potential for relation the episode to
other instances where he is, on the one hand, the ultimate suffering hero, and,
on the other, also the great lover of eating and drinking.
Finally, to encourage the
children to think about how the present can turn into the future, the facilitator
should encourage the children to think about the impact of what Hercules
chooses on his subsequent adventures. If he chooses Pleasure – what might this
mean? If he chooses Virtue, what would this
mean for his future?
If the children have each coloured
in their own copy of the picture, they might take it away with them – if they
have worked collaboratively to create a larger coloured in picture, this could
be displayed in the classroom.
I have now reached the end of my initial draft
of these activities around the Choice of Hercules. And let me stress that what
I have been presenting are just this – initial drafts. Over the next few months, I am going to share
them with as many people as possible, not least teachers and other
professionals who work with autistic children. If you have any comments on what
I have presented – or what I might go on to present – I would love to hear from
you. In the next posting, I shall build on this point by pulling together some
of the key things I have been seeking to achieve and by saying a little more
about my future plans.
[1] On the role of creating narrative
in work with autistic children, see Lisa Capps, Molly Losh and Christopher Thurber, “The Frog Ate the
Bug and Made his Mouth Sad: Narrative Competence in Children with
Autism." Journal of Abnormal
Child Psychology 28.2
(2000): 193-204; Joshua J. Diehl, Loisa Bennetto and Edna Carter Young,
"Story Recall and Narrative Coherence of High-Functioning Children with
Autism Spectrum Disorders," Journal
of Abnormal Child Psychology 34.1 (2006): 83-98; Helen Tager-Flusberg and Kate
Sullivan, "Attributing Mental States to Story Characters: A Comparison of
Narratives Produced by Autistic and Mentally Retarded Individuals," Applied Psycholinguistics 16.3 (1995): 241-256.
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