The Social Mind explains how ideas, concepts, and behaviors are learned through living with and learning from the people around us. A memorable lesson activity came into mind while investigating the diverse examples of collective learning through Vygotsky, Christian, and Deacon. When I was in high school I enrolled in a cultural anthropology class during my sophomore year. This was by far the most invigerating and eye opening course I had taken in all my schooling. Our teacher, whose passion showed through his creative lessons and lectures, had us read an article that was written by the anthropologist, Horace Miner. The piece is entitled, "Body Ritual Among The Nacirema." This reading seemed completely appropriate given the nature of the class and previous readings on different groups of people around the world. Little did we know, the very outrageous and 'different' rituals that the Nacirema people performed were very similar to our own.

The story talks about a unique tribe called the Nacirema who are obsessed with beauty and often go to a "holy mouth man" and "medicine man" to maintain this status. The Nacirema also believe that the human body is disease ridden and decaying, meaning that we must take specific "potions" that are stored in a "shrine." As students read this article aloud in groups (or as a class) they are disgusted by the actions and traditions of these people. They find it very 'stupid' because it seems so foreign. Little do they know that the Nacirema is really American spelled backwards and that the holy mouth man is the dentist, the medicine man is the doctor, and the shrine on the wall is the equivalent of a medicine cabinet. Students are astounded and shocked that they did not see this. We have grown up in the 21st century and to think that this article was describing us the whole time by simply using different words, labels, and descriptions was truly enlightening for them. This shows how students' minds are able to shift in perspective when working together. There is always at least ONE students who picks up on it and shares with the group. Sometimes our perception of 'others' is entirely altered and shaped by our personal experiences and schemas of the world. 

I highly recommend using this in your classroom as an intro to the importance of perspective, especially if you are a social studies teacher. 

A lot of students are unable to come to this conclusion that the Nacirema are Americans unless they collaborate and hear the viewpoints and arguments of others around them. After using this lesson year after year I've noticed how important the social mind is in learning and growing as a group.