You wake up as the opposite gender. You don't know if or when you will "turn back into" what you originally were. What do you do?

I'm guessing that a lot would change. I might lose my significant other, for one. I don't know if I would fit into my clothes very well or shoes; I don't know if my mindset about life would change or not. I wouldn't have to worry about being as "clean" perhaps, as I do now. My hair might need to get cut which would be sad. I wouldn't have to take certain medications, and I guess I would start to grow a beard?

Financially, I suppose I'd be okay. I wouldn't lose my job, and maybe I'd get more respect as one, but the students would possibly start rumors that I was a weirdo. Upfront, however, the costs to buy new clothing would be expensive. 

Would my voice change, too? I obviously have a lot of questions.

I don't think I would like it very much; I may fall into a depression.

I maybe shouldn't have been shocked that it was pretty split down the middle; some thought their life would be VERY different, some thought nothing would change. There were also some sprinklings of racist comments. I don't know what to do with those; I'm thinking of just reading aloud (in the 1pm and 3pm classes = they seemed to be the most opinionated) the most intriguing responses where students thought critically about how A LOT would change. And how they would be looked at differently.

I guess it shows me how some students, whether they are "racist" or not, can't wrap their heads about what it is like to BE in others' shoes! 

Yes, they might have the same faith, but they would've had parents with different backgrounds, too, so they might have pushed them to do other things. Sure, there aren't "black farmers," so what else would your parents be doing for work/career then? Think think think... it's complex, for sure.

And a handful used the term "colored." This saddens me to no end. I mean, really, guys? Let's get with the program & if we must label people, let's label them appropriately by their backgrounds. Plus, there were a few who claimed they'd use the "race card" or whatever. Jeeeezus. So disappointed with how they think.

*shakes head*

I know I can't change minds, but what can my course of action be with this? Maybe by just having it as a prompt, that will help the neurons in their stale melons to make some noise? I should look through the prompts I had them create to see what they threw at me after we responded to this one. (Yes, I had them create prompts after responding to the race one. So, those could be interesting, to say the least.)

Last thought: Many just figured that WHITE covered everything. Many were okay with lumping German with French and Norwegian when really those cultures are VERY different... different histories, etc. Yeah.

If I wasn't "white," I don't know if I would be where I am right now. My parents used food stamps when I was a baby, and I'm unsure if the same opportunities would've happened to them if they were, say, Hispanic or African American. So, it all starts there. If they would've found employment and educational opportunities in THIS area of the country, I might be where I am now. I may not be, however, dating the same person I am. It's not that he is racist or anything like that, I just don't know if we would've hung out in the same areas for me to run into him AND would I still find him attractive? And that begs the question, too, do I find him attractive because he's "white" like I am (even though I'm 99% German & he's mostly Dutch)? I haven't dated outside my "race," ever, so... it's simply a very good prompt. 

I hope this prompt makes my students think really hard, and I hope they don't just say things like, "I'd have an awesome afro," or whatever. We'll see, I guess. I should've read through my 8am students' prompts, but I was too busy with other things this morning.

The rules of this experiment are as follows:

1. No complaining/criticizing/gossiping. Defined by Tim Ferriss as: "Describing an event or person negatively without indicating next steps to fix the problem."

2. Internal complaints do not count. The idea here is that when we begin to stop vocalizing these thoughts, they will eventually cease to exist. Spoken words influence the mind's words.

3. Constructive criticism is ok, if you are voicing negativity for a reason that leads to a productive end goal. Practice clear communication!

I read about this Project here, and the list is from the link, too.

2. Being lied to.

3. People who are know-it-alls (or basically can't admit they are wrong).

4. Being sick.

5. When students, who are getting As, worry about teeny tiny assignments...

I was thinking today about how English 110 and English 120 "go together." 

I think the chart above is close.

General:

Opposite:

After Prompt:

1. Have a classmate, or two, look at your P3 draft.

2. Play with polishmywriting.com + P3. See below. I used my prompt above.

3. Play with wordle.net + P3. See below. I used my prompt.