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New York Councilfor the Humanities
PERSONPLACE
THING
CONVERSATION
TOOLKIT FOR
YOUNG ADULTS
Dan Savage
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New York Councilfor the HumanitiesPERSON PLACE THING CONVERSATION TOOLKIT
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Table of
Contents
Welcome
Tips for Hosting & Facilitating
PPTConversations
Dan Savage Bio, Conversation
Questions, and Additional
Resources
Sample Lesson Plan and
Standards
Sample Participant Evaluation
Keep the Conversation Going:
Other Grant and Program
Opportunities from the New York
Council for the Humanities
P2
P3
P5
P7
P8
P9
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WelcomePerson Place Thing(PPT)
Conversation Toolkits like this
one provide all the resources
necessary to host the type of
engaged, in-depth, and
surprising conversations that
are the hallmark of the PPT
radio program.
Each toolkit focuses on a particularPPT
episode and includes questions for at least one
of the episodes three audio segments (Person,
Place, and Thing), as well as tips for creating
engaging conversation, and resources for
further reflection. While you might use this
toolkit to spark informal discussion around
your kitchen table, if you plan to host a more
structured conversation at, say, a local
community center, we suggest allowing at
least an hour of conversation perPPTaudio
segment.
Finally, in addition to the segment-specific
questions weve included a few general
questions to encourage participants to reflecton their own person, place, and thing.
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Tips for Hosting &
Facilitating PPTConversations
Person Place Thing Conversation
Toolkits encourage thoughtful,
engaged dialogue using a short
radio segment of aPPT
interview to foster discussion.
The goal is a convivial,respectful, curious, and
reflective conversation free of
bias and judgment. We hope the
following suggestions will help
you create an inviting
environment for you and your
community.
Goal 1: Use the radio segment as a basis for
a discussion
Always start the conversation by listeningto the audio segment together at least once.
The interview should be the starting pointfor discussion and a place to return if thegroup gets too far off topic.
The interview can be a neutral place toreturn if the conversation gets toouncomfortable or difficult.
Goal 2:Let the group do the talking
Your job is to encourage the participantsto discuss the topic and the interviewnotto lecture.
Interject historical or other contextualinformation only when required to clarify
or correct. Aim to talk only about 15% of the time. Participants should think and respond
conversationally, rather than participate inQ&A dialogue.
Goal 3: Guide the conversation by asking
good questionsGood questions
Are open-ended and dont have a rightor wrong answer.
Avoid focusing on basiccomprehension or facts.
Invite personal response and text-to-world connections.
Encourage the group to build meaningtogether.
Continue the conversation byreferencing comments and responses.
Are genuinely curious and invitemultiple perspectives.
Give participants the tools to continuethe conversation in other settings.
Good follow-up questions Ask for clarification or other opinions. Link comments and opinions. Introduce new perspectives or play
devils advocate.
Goal 4: Create a safe space for conversation If possible, seat participants in a circle or
semi-circle so everyone can make eye-contact with each other.
Test audio equipment ahead of time tomake sure the volume is loud enough foreveryone to hear (don't play off of regular
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computer speakers). If using a transcript,make enough copies so that everyone has acopy.
Give everyone a nametag if people dontalready know each other. Provide snacks if
possible. Use first names. Value all opinions, but guide the
conversation away from prejudice andstereotyping.
Set up guidelines for the conversation,such as:
Listen to each other. Respect other opinions and ideas. Share your ideas with the whole group, not
only your neighbor.
Make sure everyone gets a chance to speak.Be aware how much youre talking.
Decide ahead of time if participants needto raise their hands to speak. Decidewhether you will queue comments or not.Let the group know your process.
Be comfortable with silence: its often asign that participants are thinking beforethey respond. Silence does not mean thatthe conversation has stalled and no one hasanything to say.
Goal 5: Wrap up the discussion but keep the
conversation going
At the end of the discussion, summarizekey ideas, note changes in perspectives,and point to concerns not yet adequatelyexpressed to leave room for furtherexploration.
Its okay to end the discussion by havingraised more questions than you answered.A sign of a good conversation is that
participants want to keep talking with theirfriends and family after they leave theroom.
End with one or more of the generalPerson Place Thingquestions.
Thank you for hosting a
PPTConversation!
Tax-exempt organizations and
schools in New York State are
eligible to receive a $25 Amazon
gift card for hosting a PPT
Discussion using this toolkit. To
receive your gift card, please
complete this short online survey
from the New York Council for the
Humanities:
https://nych.wufoo.com
/forms/s7x0k7/
Feel free to use the participant
survey on page 7 to see what your
audience thought about the
discussion. You are encouraged
but not required to shareparticipant feedback with the
Council.
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Dan SavageEpisode #6
Dan Savage (born 1964)is anauthor, activist, editor, andjournalist who is best known for
his syndicated sex and relationshipadvice column and podcast SavageLove and as the co-founder of the
It Gets Better project with hishusband Terry Miller. In writingand as a television pundit, Savagehas been a prominent advocate ofgay, lesbian, bisexual andtransgender rights. Savage lives inSeattle with Terry and their sonD.J.
Conversation Questions
Person: Caroline Matilda
Do you agree with Dan Savage thatCaroline Matilda was sort of arevolutionary figure? Why or why not?
Savage and Cohen discuss the sexualthrough-line of Carolines rule: herposition came from her husband and herreforms were made in partnership with herlover. Do you think this conflicts withSavages view of her as in control andnot a pawn?
Do you agree with Savages assertion thatpeople often read back feminist intentwhen it isnt there? Are there othercontemporary views you think people readback?
Do you think its important to know aboutthe personal life of influential figures? Arethere cases when a public figures personallife is irrelevant?
Place: Front Porch in Champaign-Urbana
Implicit in Savages discussion of theporch is the connection between a place(the porch) and a person (Tommy). Doyou believe place can carry memory ofpeople in this way?
Randy Cohen observes that the porch wasthe place that set Dan Savages life on a
certain path. Do you have a place likethat in your life, and if so, where is it?What path did it set you on? Would youwant to mark that place with a plaque?
Savage and Cohen spend a lot of timediscussing what role college is supposedto play in our lives.
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What role do you think college shouldplay in young peoples lives?
GLBTQ groups, such as Gay-Straight
Alliances, campus support groups, orcommunity centers, may also want to use these
discussion questions:
Why do you think that the porch wasdefining to Savages identity as a gayman? After all, he was already out.
Dan Savage observes that for many gaypeople of his generation, college waswhere they came out. Is that still true for
youth today? What about for people whodont go to college?
Where did you come out? Was (is)college a time of affirming your identity?
Thing: Savages Dining Room Table
Is there a difference in your mind betweenan heirloom and what Savage callsimmigrant furniture? Whats your
immigrant furniture?
Have you ever rescued something thatothers didnt think was valuable orspecial? Why?
Most people cherish items passed downfrom their families, but Savage sees theirdark side. Why is this?
Why do you think Savage does not seemparticularly troubled that his son mostlikely wont want to keep the table?
GeneralPerson, Place, ThingQuestions
What does knowing someones person,place, and thing tell you about them?
What kinds of questions do you ask to findout more about someone whom you knowslightly? Know well?
What is your person, place, and thing?Additional Resources
Savage Love column:http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/SavageLove?oid=11412386
It Gets Better Project:http://www.itgetsbetter.org/
Stella Tillyard, A Royal Affair: George IIIand His Scandalous Siblings (New York:Random House, 2006).
Gay-Straight Alliance Network:http://gsanetwork.org/
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Sample Lesson
Plan forPersonPlace Thing:
Dan Savage
15 minutes
Get students thinking about the topic.
(Activate prior knowledge.)
What do you know about [TOPIC]?
10 minutes
Listen to the radio segment that you will be
discussing. If time, listen to the segment
twice.
Ask students to write down one or twosurprising facts or quotes from thesegment as they listen.
If a transcript is available, give a copy toeveryone allow students to read along
with the interview.
5 minutes
Check comprehension.
Did everyone understand the vocabulary? Are there any phrases that need further
clarification?
45 minutes
Discuss!
Focus on interpretive and evaluative questions.
Interpretive: What does Dan Savage meanwhen he says [quote]?
Evaluative: What do you think about whathes saying? Do you think what hesays is true?
10 minutes
Why Person Place Thing?
Close the conversation by thinking about howwe get to know someone new and what we
learn when we ask about someones person,place, thing.
What does knowing someones person,place, and thing tell you about them?
What kinds of questions do you ask to findout more about someone whom youknow slightly? Know well?
What is your person, place, and thing?New York State Standards for Grades 6-12
Common Core English Language Arts:Comprehension and Collaboration andConventions of Standard English
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Conversation Participant Evaluation
Strongly Disagree Disagree Possibly Agree Strongly Agree
The facilitator made it easy for me to
share my ideas about the radio
segment.
The facilitator made sure everyones
voices were heard.
The facilitator asked questions about
the radio segments that were relevant
and interesting to me.
The discussion made me feel more
comfortable talking about complex
ideas with other members of my
community.
This discussion deepened my
understanding of the topic we
discussed.
What advice, if any, would you give to future facilitators of this program?
Are there issues in your community that might best be explored through a discussion like this one? If so, please share.
Conversation Participant Evaluation
Strongly Disagree Disagree Possibly Agree Strongly Agree
The facilitator made it easy for me toshare my ideas about the radio
segment.
The facilitator made sure everyones
voices were heard.
The facilitator asked questions about
the radio segment that were relevant
and interesting to me.
The discussion made me feel more
comfortable talking about complex
ideas with other members of my
community.
This discussion deepened my
understanding of the topic we
discussed.
What advice, if any, would you give to future facilitators of this program?
Are there issues in your community that might best be explored through a discussion like this one? If so, please share.
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Keep the
ConversationGoing with Support
from the New York
Council for the
Humanities
The New York Council for
the Humanities helps all New
Yorkers become thoughtful
participants in our
communities by promoting
critical inquiry, cultural
understanding, and civic
engagement. The Council
offers these grants andprograms to support
conversation-based
programming:
Community Conversations
Community Conversations promotesthoughtful, engaged community dialogueusing a short text and a facilitator from thelocal community. The Councils freetoolkits contain everything you need tohost a do-it-yourself conversation,including texts, discussion questions, andtips for hosting and facilitating aconversation. The Council offers toolkits
for three distinct audiences: kids, youngadults, and general adult audiences. Tax-exempt organizations and schools in New
York State are eligible to receive stipendsof $250 for hosting CommunityConversations.
http://www.nyhumanities.org/discussion_groups/community_conversations/index.pp
Conversations Bureau
Our Conversations Bureau facilitatorscome to your community to host a 90-
minute discussion centered on a short text.The Council covers the cost of thefacilitators honorarium and travel costs.The Conversations Bureau is open to anyNew York State tax-exempt organizationor high school. Browse our list of topicsand facilitators on the Councils website.
http://www.nyhumanities.org/programs/cb/index.php
Program Grants
The Council invites your organization todesign your own series of conversation-based programming about importanthumanities ideas or texts. Any tax-exemptorganization in New York State can applyto the Council for grants of $300-$3000.Grants must be submitted to the Council atleast three months prior to the start of theseries. Full guidelines and the applicationform can be found on the Councilswebsite.
http://www.nyhumanities.org/grants/intro.php