Nature or Nurture:

-What makes us who we are?

- What role do family and friends play in establishing who we are?

- What happens to our sense of belonging if we find ourselves in conflict with those closest to us?

- Is it possible to have a strong sense of identity and belonging without strong family ties?

- Our identities are shaped by many different factors.

- Our families are the first group to which we belong.

- Families ideally, provide love, protection and the opportunity for us.

- Not all provide the same kind of nurture or opportunities for personal growth.

- Pressures to conform.

- While we do not choose our families we can choose the intimate connections we make with other people.

- We learn a lot about ourselves from the people we choose to build close relationships with.

- Thus confirming, our own understanding of who we are.

- We might say that adult identity is formed, in part, by the experiences we have throughout childhood.

- Our earliest experiences have a powerful influence on the kind of person that we become.

Defining ourselves through others:

- Do you feel happier doing things alone or as part of a group?

- Have you ever pretended to be something you are not in order to belong to a group or community?

- The paradox is that we gain a sense of self through our interaction with others.

- Groups and communities can provide security, support and acceptance.

- Human beings are not by nature, solitary creatures.

- Contributing to the social fabric, can enhance our self esteem and self worth.

- We belong to families and to other groups, including racial, religious, or cultural groups.

- Some people feel very comfortable fitting in with groups.

- Experience of belonging are not the same for everyone.

The Cost of belonging: Sacrificing the self

- What fears might make someone want to join a group?
- Does belonging to a group always involve some sacrifice or your own identity?

- Belonging is often contradictory in nature

- People may want to belong to a group out of a sense fear.

- We may be afraid of being left out.

- We may feel that if we don’t belong to a group we will be alone or no one will like us.

- We may feel alienated if we hold different beliefs to the majority of society.

- People feel that they must make sacrifices for the things they believe in

- We may choose to hide of disguise in order to be accepted by a group.

- While belonging suggests a desire to be connected to others, it may also result in a dependance on others and a subsequent loss of individuality.

Challenging and Developing our identity:

- Have you ever given up anything for what you believe in?

- Does your peer group make it difficult or easy for you to stand by the things that matter to you?

- Our identity develops as we grow and change

- Our identity can be challenged in both positive and negative ways

- As teenagers our identity and belonging can be challenged by peer pressure

- How others see us has a big influence on how we see ourselves, in both positive and negative ways

Choosing not to belong:

- Can we feel complete if we don’t belong to the mainstream

- Do you think that individuals who choose not to belong have a strong or fragile sense of self

- Can choosing not to belong cause more harm than good

-Being an outsider is a lonely and painful situation for many people

- Often this comes about because of a refusal to compromise

- It is true then that the ideas and groups we reject show us who we are just as much as the ideas and groups we choose to identify with

	Created by Winbaj08 over 10 years ago

VCE English (Context- Growing Up Asian in Australia) Note on Key Ideas/ Concepts, created by Winbaj08 on 09/09/2013.

Key Ideas/ Concepts