- Pupils look at how different forms of campaigning, protesting or complaining have been used recently to try to gain a change in government policy or the law, eg hunt saboteurs, writing to MPs about accommodating asylum seekers, damaging property during an anti-capitalism march, boycotting sportswear companies that use child labour, a vigil with placards outside an animal testing laboratory. They consider the role of pressure groups (both for and against) in these campaigns. They consider which forms of protest are legal and which are not. In cases where protesters broke the law, do they think this action was right? Where relevant, pupils find out what laws have been broken. Which strategies are acceptable and which are not? What are the outcomes?
- Pupils review what they have learnt during the unit and think about how they could relate these ideas to the way rules and policies are made in their school or in the local community. If they have a student council, how does it consult with pupils or discuss issues with other members of the school community, including staff, governors and parents? Are pupils involved in working with the local council? How?
- Pupils consider different ways of having their say. Is there a bill or law that they feel strongly about, and how could they make their views known, given that they are not able to take part in the democratic process, through voting in elections, until they are 18? Are there any pressure groups that represent their point of view? Pupils devise a checklist that helps make a written protest about an issue that concerns them, eg research who to write to, what information to include, and what format the protest should take.
- Extension activity: Pupils could investigate one campaign to change the law, whether current, recent or in the past, eg to ban smoking in public places, to decriminalise cannabis, to ban handguns, to extend the vote to all men and women in the UK. They find out how the campaign was waged, what pressure groups were involved, both for and against the change, how it was funded, and to what degree it was successful.
|
|
- identify different ways in which individuals and groups protest or complain about particular issues and describe recent examples of legal and illegal protests
- recognise the role of individuals, voluntary groups and pressure groups in bringing about social change
- recognise why laws are needed and how the process of making laws can be consultative
- identify ways in which they can make their views known and how they can contribute to making rules and policies in their school and wider community
|
