- Ask the class to reflect on what they learnt during key stage 3 about basic human rights. Draw up a summary/list and keep this to refer to later.
- Working in small groups, pupils look through a range of newspapers to find reports about things that have happened to others in the UK or elsewhere that they would dread happening to themselves, eg being executed, being evicted from their homes, being taken away from their parents, being tortured or given a degrading punishment, being forced to marry, having their post opened or censored, being arrested for an offence they did not commit, being arrested without being told why, being deprived of food and water, being made a slave, being bullied. Are there any circumstances in which any of these things could be justified? Which should never be allowed to happen to anyone?
- Drawing on real cases, pupils explore and discuss circumstances in which it may be necessary to limit some people's rights in order to protect the rights of others. They could consider whether it would ever be acceptable to do any of the following:
- use CCTV surveillance to prevent crime
- read prisoners' letters and censor what they read
- restrict free speech in order to prevent people inciting racial hatred
- tell racist jokes
- allow pornography on the internet
Other issues that could be considered include:
- whether the law is right to prevent parents hitting children with sticks but to allow smacking by hand
- whether it is acceptable for a person to slap their girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband if they have been provoked
- whether a prisoner who is having a baby should be handcuffed while in hospital
- whether prisoners should have the right to vote
- whether lack of access for wheelchairs to a polling station could deny a disabled person the right to vote
- whether religious freedom means that any practice accepted by a particular religion should be allowed, eg parents refuse permission for their children to receive blood transfusions
- whether employees who do essential work should be allowed to strike
- whether night flights that interfere with people's sleep are justified on the grounds that they contribute to the economic prosperity of the country
- These issues could be used as the basis for an attitudes questionnaire, where only one side of the argument is presented, eg CCTV invades people's privacy, but invading people's privacy is OK if it prevents crime. Pupils identify the extent to which they agree or disagree with the statement by circling a number from 1 to 5, where 1 means 'strongly agree' and 5 means 'strongly disagree'. In pairs, they compare their completed questionnaires and discuss their reasons for agreeing or disagreeing with each statement. If the pupils have different responses, each tries to persuade the other to change their point of view through reasoned argument.
- Extension activity: a whole-class activity could follow in which the numbers 1-5 are written on pieces of paper and placed at intervals in a straight line across the room. Some of the statements from the questionnaire are read aloud and, when asked, pupils move to stand near the number they circled for that statement. This creates a human graph of class opinion. Pupils compare their reasons for agreeing/disagreeing with the people standing near them.
Next, remove number 3 so that those pupils who neither agreed nor disagreed with a statement have to make a decision. Then, all the pupils who agree with the statement join a large group with those who strongly agree with it, and all those who disagree join a large group with those who strongly disagree. The two groups then devise statements to support their opinion, and record these. Finish by holding a debate on one of the issues.
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- discuss difficult issues, giving reasons for their views and showing respect for the views of others
- understand that there is often no right or wrong answer on human rights issues, but a need to find a balance between the rights of one individual and those of another
- reflect on their own values and the way in which they treat their friends and family
- recognise that human rights issues affect the lives of people in the UK every day
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