"Book Reviews" by Sylvia Dresser |
by Karl Rohnke "Passing Gas" Everyone involved in this simple game gets to pass gas, in this case a moist mixture of contained oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide delivered orally. Are you sitting there with an inflated balloon in your lap wondering how to acceptably pass gas? Perfect, try this: Pass your balloon to the person on your right or left. (I assume you’re not sitting there alone.) That person will do the same, etc., all the way around the seated circle. If you or she or he drops, or somehow loses control of a balloon, that balloon must be retrieved and returned to the gas-passing circular sequence. Since this attempt is being timed, balloon drops are pejorative; avoid them. Everyone (15-100) is seated on a chair, in a circle, with a well-inflated balloon on their lap. When someone, probably that person fulfilling a responsible position, says “GO!”, the challenge is to see how quickly and efficiently ALL the balloons can be passed person-to-person around the seated circle. Considerations: * If a balloon breaks, replace it with a pre-inflated substitute. If you think your balloons won’t break, think again. * Copiously scribble something on one of the balloons with a felt tipped pen so that you know when a 360-degree sweep has been completed -- not that it really matters, but… * Try marking four balloons with N., E., S., or W. to represent the cardinal points of the compass and geographically locate those marked balloons appropriately within the seated circle of people. Time how long it takes to “go around the world” by passing gas as above. * Try the circle-circuit pass at least twice in order to fully appreciate the power of cooperation and learning from experience. * Have another balloon activity in mind to follow up Passing Gas. Sitting there with a balloon in your lap, notwithstanding the poignancy and effectiveness of your insightful debrief, is like holding gas. Better get rid of it, and move on. Karl Rohnke will be presenting a full-day workshop at the TEAM Conference in February, 2004. |