ACTIVITY 1

“What written rights should children have?”

Aims:

• To update the pupils’ notions of what “right” means and to arouse their interest in discovering their rights.

• flipchart paper and felt-tip pens
• a copy of ”The Convention on the Rights of the Child”

Carry out a short discussion on the topic bearing in mind the following questions which will help you structure the dialogue between you and the pupils:

• When somebody says that he has the right to something, what does he really want to share?
• In which situations do you usually say that you have a right to something? Give examples.
• Do you know that there are rights that people have decided to write down and follow together?
• Why have people decided to have written rights? Are the rights that have been put on paper followed more strictly than the rights that have not been written down? For example, why have you decided to write down your rights for working in a group?
• Should children have their own written rights? Why “yes” and why “no”?

Straight after the discussion use the brainstorming method with the students: “What written rights should children have?” You could motivate their participation with the following problem solving and decision making activity:” Imagine that adults on our planet have sent their representative (e.g. me) in order to ask you what the children’s written rights should be? What are you going to suggest to him?”

It is necessary to write on a flipchart sheet all the answers putting down the names of the pupils who have suggested these. This approach will stimulate more children to participate while the poster produced could be used for the aims of education on some other topics.

Having finished with the brainstorming, show the pupils “The Convention on the Rights of the Child” and explain that some of the rights suggested by them have already been written in the Convention and they have to be compulsory for all adults and children all over the world. It is necessary to explain the word “convention” as an agreement between different countries which they are obliged to follow and guarantee the following of the rules (rights) that have been written in it. So ask the pupils whether they have had the chance to negotiate with somebody and to prepare a contract (as a promise to one another). What is the process of negotiating and what does an agreement look like?

• To begin a process of discovering your own rights through reflection on your own needs and desires.

• a set of cards (see the illustration below)
• a hat or a box
• a piece of flipchart paper with some Rights of the child written on it

Prepare some cards in advance on which some rights of the child have been presented by pictures following “The Convention on the Rights of the Child”. Put all the cards in a box (or a hat) and hand them out to pupils to choose, explaining the task with the help of an instruction: “There are cards in this box (hat) with various pictures on them. Each one of you is going to pick one card and will have to look at it and answer the question whether you have a right to what has been drawn on the card explaining why you think the way you do.”

It is necessary to follow the instructions exactly and to ask supporting questions to students who are hesitant in their decision making. In case of such difficulties you could look for the opinion of other students in class without requiring the person who has made the choice to follow them. It is important that everyone knows why s/he has taken that decision and to (give reasons for his/her choice) and to be convinced that this choice expresses his/her own will.

Put away the cards that have a picture of something which children think they haven’t got the right to. These cards you are going to offer to children for re-evaluation, having already tried to raise awareness of their content with the help of the Convention.

At last show “The Convention on the Rights of the Child” and explain that the rights that students have commented on are written in it and this means that all adults and children in the world have to follow them. In order for students to better perceive and understand the rights you should present a poster on which in a comprehensible way you have put some of the most important rights according to the Convention of the rights of the child.