Bruce Wayne chose the name “Batman” because he was afraid of bats as a child. He turned his greatest phobia into a powerful symbol of intimidation by adopting the persona and symbol of a bat to instill fear in criminals.
This comic book factoid is the inspiration for one of my favorite icebreakers:
Create an original superhero name inspired by something you fear.
Some memorable student answers include:
Puke Queens!
Captain Isolation
Flamey the Snowman
In July, I teach month-long college essay writing workshops in New York City for rising high school seniors as part of House of SpeakEasy’s SpeakTogether program. I kick off the workshop with icebreakers designed to ease the students into the space and encourage them to reveal personal details, such as what they are afraid of, to open a window into their unique characters.
This “Batman” icebreaker, which I first encountered as part of a fun check-in before an online workout with Mark Fisher Fitness’ “Homebody” program, is my favorite. I repurposed the prompt into a group activity by dividing students into teams of three or four people and having them collaborate to create a superhero name inspired by their fears and phobias.
The activity also helps me learn the students’ names (something that strikes fear into my heart on the first day) because I have them write their team’s superhero name on the front of a large neon index card and their names on the back. Then they stay in those teams for the first two weeks of the workshop.
I love the original superhero names students come up with based on their fears–Flamey the Snowman is dear to my heart because I’m afraid of fire and have never lit a match in my life. The other reason I start with this icebreaker is that it subtly speaks to the inherent fear connected to college essay writing.
Student fears I often hear include:
I hate writing because I’m bad at it.
I don’t have anything good enough to write about.
I’m too embarrassed to share my writing.
My superpower as a college essay writing instructor is my ability to help students open up by being honest and open with them. For example, if I’m being honest, I too step into the first session of these summer workshops filled with fear:
What if I forget or mispronounce their names? Or screw up their preferred pronouns?
Will they think I’m boring or too dorky and never come back?
How can I help so many students in so little time without failing some of them?
I wish I could call upon the Puke Queens! to help me battle that last one. What I do call upon is my favorite icebreaker. I hope that the prompt will set a tone of warmth and levity for the workshop, banishing boredom. This opening activity also allows me to lean into my inherent dorkiness right off the bat (pardon the pun) and permits students to reveal hidden aspects of their personalities.
Despite fearing that they don’t have anything “good enough” to write about, the students I work with all have valuable stories to tell. However, they are often intimidated or lack the ability to construct emotive scenes to connect with readers.
We only have eight sessions together this July. Still, I will do my best to engage these young writers in activities and discussions that will allow them to consider different approaches to the mental blocks they face and fear they can't overcome.
It takes major guts to use something you are scared of to your advantage. The “Batman” icebreaker gives students the chance to reframe their fears into a symbol of the superpower that I want them to discover together over the next four weeks:
The ability to be vulnerable on the page.