mÓdulo 1 - scm.oas.orgscm.oas.org/idms_public/english/hist_07/cidi01887e08.doc · web viewmÓdulo...

Distance Course for Teachers:

The Inter-American Democratic Charterand the Teaching of Democratic Values and Practices

WORKBOOK

ENHANCEMENTS / TO KNOW MORE

ACTIVITIES / LEARNING BY DOING

1

TO KNOW MORESECTION 1 / MODULE III

/ ENHANCEMENTS

1. Basic psycho-developmental aspects of children's moral development from 6 to 16 years of age1.1. Introduction: moral stage, cognitive progress, social perception, and moral

conduct.

ENHANCEMENT 1 / Moral development can be encouraged

ENHANCEMENT 2 / Ethics and morality: are we talking about the same thing?1.2. Intellectual development greatly influences moral conduct. Piaget and the

study of moral reasoning.

ENHANCEMENT 3 / A central aspect of Piaget: patterns

ENHANCEMENT 4 / Is it true that Piaget does not study emotionality?

ENHANCEMENT 5 / A 1932 book: The Moral Judgement of the Child (J. Piaget)

ENHANCEMENT 6 / Simple, but immutable, rules: the game of marbles

ENHANCEMENT 7 / Who broke this cup? How to judge intentions

ENHANCEMENT 8 / Little (or big) lies: evaluating a lie1.3. Do I know the stages of moral development? Description of Kohlberg's

moral stages.

ENHANCEMENT 9 / Stages of moral development (Kohlberg)

ENHANCEMENT 10 / How Kolhberg conducted his study

ENHANCEMENT 11 / Is anyone capable of reaching stage 6?

ENHANCEMENT 12 / The “voice crying out” for justice: Martin Luther King1.4. I think, therefore I help others. Prosocial reasoning.

ENHANCEMENT 13 / Nancy Eisenberg: can socialization be improved?

ENHANCEMENT 14 / Make your children (your students?) more socially adept1.5. Conclusion

1.6. Bibliographical references

LEA

RN

ING

BY

DO

ING

/ EN

HA

NC

EMEN

TS

/ S

ECTI

ON

1 /

MO

DU

LE II

I

2

TO KNOW MORE / ENHANCEMENT 1 / SECTION 1 / MODULE III

Moral development can be encouraged

If the aim is to influence people's behavior, it is not enough to explain ethical or moral principles to them. These principles must be presented in such a way as to help give meaning to people's lives, and to help develop their thinking in or-der to increase their ethical awareness.

As in planning any other classroom activity, we have to lay out the objectives we wish to achieve through moral education and the content we are going to make available to students: what we want them to learn, how we plan to eva-luate what they have learned, and the activities through which such learning will take place.

For now, therefore, we are proposing only two considerations, which will be de-veloped fully and in detail throughout this course.

1. Let us take this definition as a starting-point:

Moral education seeks to collaborate with students / so that they deve-lop moral intelligence / and acquire the necessary moral culture / to cope autonomously and dialogically / with situations that involve a con-flict of values or moral controversy / so that it is possible for them to live justly, cooperatively, and happily. Puig, J. MAª. 1998. La educa-ción moral en la escuela. Teoría y práctica, Edebé, Barcelona, pp. 25-27)

We address this question in detail in the second section, so for now it is enough to read this definition slowly and pause for a moment over the meaning of each of the six elements proposed. If you wish, you may do Activity 1.

2. It is not enough to inform children that certain values are good or bad. We have to develop the capacities that will enable them to claim those values, to make them their own. As we shall see, these are the capacities for self-esteem and self-awareness, for empathy (putting oneself in another's place), for developing moral judgment, for engaging in dialogue, for having a critical understanding of reality and committing oneself to it and, lastly, for developing behavior consistent with the values that we are proposing.

3

TO KNOW MORE / ENHANCEMENT 2

Ethics and morality: are we talking about the same thing?

Ethics is the study of moral life and of the reasons why people should behave in a certain way. Morality is the set of behaviors and values that tell an individual, a group, or a culture what needs to be done. Lived morality seeks to explain itself through ethics, while ethics seeks practical expression in the moral life of individuals, groups, and society.

Both words are commonly used as interchangeable synonyms to refer to individual behavior. Sometimes, however, we are interested in differentiating or contrasting them, as we are at this moment, in order to distinguish between (or underscore the importance of) the what and the why of the behavior of an individual, a social group, or a culture.

4


A central aspect of Piaget: patterns

The pattern concept is central to Piaget's theory. A pattern is a type of structured be-havior that can be repeated under conditions that are not strictly identical. Through exercise, patterns are differentiated into new patterns, which in turn give rise to other, different patterns.

Delval (1994, p. 125) explains it this way:

PATTERN:

A succession of actions, real or mental, that have a structure and are capable of being applied to similar situations. They have a trigger element and an effector element. The patterns become automatic. They are action patterns.

SUCCESSION OF ACTIONSThe pattern consists of a series of linked actions that succeed one another in an established or-der.

MAY BE REAL OR MENTALThe patterns can be executed through real motor actions that materially change the environment, or mentally, with no external actions.

HAVE A STRUCTURE The actions succeed one another in an establis-hed order that, in general, cannot be changed.

MAY BE APPLIED TO SIMILAR SITUATIONS

The capacity to assimilate a pattern can be exer-cised in a situation similar to a previous one, pro-vided that it does not differ greatly from that si-tuation; otherwise, it will have to be modified or may not be applicable.

TRIGGER AND EFFECTOR ELE-MENTS

An element in the environment selects a pattern and it is then executed.

ARE AUTOMATIC Patterns are executed automatically, without the need for conscious activity.

ARE ACTION PATTERNSPatterns are not purely a way of storing knowle-dge; rather, they act on the real and the mental world.

5


¿Is it true that Piaget does not study emotionality?

It is frequently said that Piaget did not concern himself with the emotional aspects of development. He is rarely thought of as one of the most important psychologis-ts; however, Piaget jokingly said, "I am not a psychologist, I am an epistemolo-gist," adding: "what interests me is the question of knowledge, and what happens is that we know little about the emotions, the explanations are very provisional, and it is to be hoped that physiologists will provide precise endocrinological expla-nations." So yes, one would say that he is not interested in the emotions.

Yet in reality, it is often the case that we do not know what role Piaget attributes to the emotions – a very important role. The four factors that we have presented ex-plain the most important aspects of the intellectual and cognitive development of the child, but emotional development and motivation must also be taken into ac-count. The needs to create, to assert oneself, to love, and to be valued are the en-gines of intelligence itself. In Piaget's own words (he was then 72 years old):

Emotional motivation is the driving force, the motive for everything. In behaviors, there is a structure of behavior and a force that drives behavior. There is the mechanism and the motor. For example, just take two children in relation to arithmetic lessons: one who likes and understands arithmetic, and another who has the impression that he does not unders-tand it, who has feelings of inferiority and all the complexes that those who are weak in mathematics have during lessons, as we well know. The first child will get there much fas-ter; the second, much more slowly. But for both of them, two plus two will equal four. (Conversations with Piaget, pp. 92-93)

There is no behavior, however intellectual, that is not motivated by emotional factors; nor, however, would emotional states exist without the perceptions and the understanding that constitute the structure of cognition: behavior is a whole, and the two aspects of behavior – emotional and cognitive – are both inseparable and irreducible.

6


A 1932 book: The Moral Judgement of the Child (J. Piaget)

The Moral Judgement of the Child deals, as its title indicates, with the moral judg-ments of the child, that is, with the child's ideas and attitudes concerning rules, justice, ethical behavior, etc.

It is the fifth of Piaget's best-known experimental books, written between 1926 and 1932, on such questions as language and thought, judgment and reasoning, reality, causality, and – the one we are concerned with here, written in 1932 – mo-ral judgment, which differs from the four previous books in the series, all of which have a similar content and purpose. Piaget would continue writing for another 30 years (often in collaboration with Dr. Inhelder) on such topics as quantity, number, time, chance, and adolescent reasoning, but these first five books were sufficient to make him a figure of worldwide importance in psychology. In general, the books describe a wide variety of observations and experiments on developmental chan-ges in the thinking process, from early infancy to the first years of adolescence.

Egocentrism is a central concept

Although there are many terms in use, the concepts of synchretism, animism, juxtaposition, realism, and awareness are the most common. Egocentrism, however, is undoubtedly the most important. It is a central concept, and most of the changes that these books describe are or can be interpreted in terms of a gradual replacement of egocentric thinking by socialized thinking in the growing child.


Simple, but immutable, rules: the game of marbles

Piaget conducted an interesting investigation of children's attitudes and behavior con-cerning the rules of a game, the game of marbles, as played by children in French-speaking Switzerland. The investigation has two parts.

The first part is designed to determine the extent to which the child adapts his specific playing behavior to the rules of the game of marbles. The experimenter gives the child some marbles and, pretending not to know the game, asks him to explain how to play it (Piaget had, of course, taken pains to master the rules of this game, including all local variants, in order to detect any violation of the rules as soon as they occurred). In the case of the youngest children, he supplemented this procedure by observing the chil-dren while they were playing together.

The second part of the investigation deals with what children are capable of expressing in terms of their understanding of the rules, where they come from, their attitudes to-ward them, etc. The experimenter begins by asking the child whether he can make a new rule for playing the game of marbles and, if he does so, whether other children would agree with it, whether this rule would be "good," etc. He then asks questions

7

about the history and origins of the rules: whether people always played by the rules of that time, and how they originated.

The result is that up to 3 years of age, children play freely with marbles, without trying to adapt to social rules. From 3 to 5 years of age, the child imitates aspects of the playing behavior that he has observed in adults, but incorporates them into his private and ra-ther egocentric patterns and changes the rules at will. From the age of 7 or 8, the child begins to play in a genuinely social manner, according to mutually agreed rules. Howe-ver, new rules are "no good," even if others agree to abide by them. Curiously, at the same time that the child regards the rules as sacred, he bends them constantly and breaks them in his actual practice. Up to 11 or 12 years of age, however, the child's grasp of the rules and obedience to them is still vague and approximate.

From this age onward, the rules are fully understood and strictly obeyed. Furthermore, the child likes to make up rules and devotes himself to reading them over in order to discover new situations that have to be regulated. His beliefs change completely, and the rules can change, provided that others agree to abide by them. They are no longer God-given or eternal; ages ago, children were probably the first to play with marbles, and there is no doubt that the rules have changed and developed greatly since then. In contrast to the previous stage, this relativist attitude toward the rules is accompanied by scrupulous observance of them in practice.


Who broke this cup? How to judge intentions

In addition to the rules of games, Piaget studied other questions with significant moral content, such as intentions behind actions, lies, responsibility, and the notion of justice. He used various narratives in which children had to evaluate the degree of good or evil in them.

One narrative on responsibility and intention recounts that a boy, upon entering a house, opens a door that has some cups behind it, of which the boy was unaware. As a result of his action, 15 cups are broken. In another narrative, a boy, taking advantage of his mother's absence, tries to take down a jar of marmelade that is kept in a cupboard and, although he is unable to reach it, catches a cup on his sleeve while getting down, and breaks it. The child is asked to compare the two narratives and to say whether the two children are equally culpable or one is more culpable than the other.

Up to the age of seven, children usually say that the boy who broke 15 cups is more culpable than the other one, because he broke 15 cups, while the other boy broke only one. These children are evaluating the action not by the intentions, but by the objective results. Taking intentions into account is probably more complicated than only taking results into account.

8


Little (or big) lies: evaluating a lie

One narrative recounts that a boy is walking in the street and meets a big dog that frightens him. He then tells his mother that he saw a dog as big as a cow. In the other narrative, the boy, upon returning from school, says that the teacher has gi-ven him very good grades, which is not true, since the teacher has not given him any grades, either good or bad.

When children are asked to evalute these two narratives, the youngest ones, up to seven years of age, frequently say that the most serious lie is the one about the dog, since dogs canot be as big as a cow, whereas it is plausible that the boy may have received good grades in school. Again, it is the objective responsibility, that is, the content of the lie in this case, which makes it more serious for young children, who do not take the intention or subjective responsibility into account.


STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT (KOHLBERG)

1. At the pre-conventional level, the person resolves moral conflicts so-lely from the standpoint of the interests of the persons involved in the conflict.

2. At the conventional level, he resolves them from the standpoint of the interests of society and of the social group.

3. At the post-conventional level, the person resolves or judges moral conflicts from a standpoint higher than that of the individual and socie-ty, that is, according to criteria of justice that his own conscience de-termines. To reach this stage, however, a person must have develo-ped what we have been calling "moral judgment."

9


How Kolhberg conducted his study

Kolhberg's first subjects were between 10 and 16 years of age, an age group very similar to the one with which we are concerned in this course. He conducted a truly broad longitudinal study that continued for 20 years, and he has always been criticized for using only male subjects, which might suggest that concern with rights and justice is peculiar to men. Although many experiments have been done that validate the studies in different societies, the weight of Western characteristics is ever present. And in relation to the differences between women and men, one study has indicated that women are more likely to think about moral issues and link them to relations between persons and to their interdependence, which generates mutual responsibilities.

There have been shorter longitudinal studies and several cross-cutting studies of adolescents and adults. It is clear from these data that, under normal conditions, a person moves from one stage to another in around two and a half years. However, the majority of adults do not reach post-conventional reasoning. Most of the subjects studied were at stages 3 and 4.

Kohlberg (1927-1987) dedicated virtually his entire life to the study of moral reasoning, seeking to formulate stages that are as precise as possible, and to carry out transcultural studies to determine the value of those moral ideas in different cultures.

TO KNOW MORE: ENHANCEMENT 11

Is anyone capable of reaching stage 6?

The stages that have given rise to the most doubts and controversies have been 5 and 6, in which there are always few subjects. In some studies conducted in Turkey, there were no level 6 subjects, which led Kohlberg to doubt the universality of this stage. This would imply that in the end, the sixth stage is merely an advanced form of stage 5, whi-ch might represent a minority, and an exclusively Western one.

Doubts were also raised about whether stage 5 and stage 6 always follow that order; at one point it was thought that they were alternatives, and that subjects might be in one or the other stage depending on the nature of the problem. As we recall, this has its para-llel in the idea that we expounded earlier concerning the importance of content and how, in habitual or familiar contexts like those of our work environment and daily life, we rea-son more abstractly than in other contexts that are alien to our experience. Content is important.


The “voice crying out” for justice: Martin Luther King

10

The delicate balance between social reform and moral education can be understood th-rough the example of Martin Luther King. As we all know, King was a moral leader. But he was also a moral educator of adults, not because he was a spokesperson for the we-ll-being of black people, not because he was against violence, not because he was a mi-nister of religion, but because, as he himself said, he was the main “VOICE crying out” for justice. His words and deeds were designed essentially to induce America to res-pond to national problems in terms of a sense of justice. And any particular action that he carried out had value for this reason, and not specifically for the concrete political aim that it might achieve.

Kohlberg, L. 1981. "Education for Justice: A Modern Statement of the Socratic View," in Kohlberg, L.: Essays on Moral Development. Vol. I, The Philosophy of Moral Develop-ment. San Francisco: Harper and Row.


Nancy Eisenberg: can socialization be improved?

Nancy Eisenberg (who studied at Michigan, obtained a doctorate at Berkeley in 1976, and worked at Arizona State University in the United States) has been concerned with the hidden motivations behind prosocial behaviors, and also with the way in which they develop and are elicited in various situations. At what point do girls and boys first manifest prosocial behavior, particularly altruism?

How do helping, sharing, and caring attitudes change with age? Why are some boys and girls more obliging than others? Are there differences between children's prosocial behaviors that are due to hereditary factors, education, or both? Can prosocial inclinations be improved through deliberate efforts by families and teachers to inculcate altruistic motivations and teach helping behaviors?

Her studies raise dilemmas (they generally use four) in which a child's wishes come into conflict with those of another or others. The subjects are between 4 and 18 years of age. Eisenberg and her collaborators have gathered data through longitudinal and cross-cutting studies in various cultures. The data are coded according to certain categories and map out five levels of prosocial reasoning.

11


Make your children (your students?) more socially adept

1. Make your child pay attention to the feelings of others. Tell him to imagine how he would feel in their place.

2. Ensure that he knows the impact of his actions on the feelings of others and on his own feelings.

3. Explain to him why people feel a certain way.4. Explain to him (or encourage him to find out) what actions he can take to

show greater consideration.5. Let him know that you expect him to be considerate, that it is important to

you.6. Let him know that you understand his feelings and are concerned about

them, and that you are trying to offer him a way to get at least some of what he wants, if not now, then later.

7. Do not expect him to be a mind-reader. Spend time explaining things to him.8. Help him to understand the feelings of others by reminding him of similar

experiences in his own life.9. Help him to resist the influence of persons who stifle and ridicule his

empathetic feelings.10. Express your approval of him when he is considerate. When he is not, show

disappointment.11. Educate him in empathetic self-control by teaching him to imagine himself in

the other person's place whenever he is inclined to hurt that person.12. Share your own empathetic feelings with him.13. Give him examples of individuals who are empathetic and others who are

not, and express your admiration for good-hearted persons.14. Stress the good feelings that come from being obliging to others.15. Encourage him, when selecting his friends, to consider their capacity for

empathy.Eisenberg (1999, pp. 146-147)

12

TO KNOW MORE

SECTION 2 / MODULE III

/ ENHANCEMENTS

2. Basic theoretical foundations of the process of teaching and learning democratic values in school

2.1. Models of moral education. The choice of the “Minimum pedagogical model”: What do we mean by moral education? 2.2. Purpose of education about values

2.3. Factors that should be taken into consideration in adapting the curriculum to the purposes of education in democratic values

ENHANCEMENT 1 / Development of empathy ENHANCEMENT 2 / Development of moral judgment. Example

for primary school (moral judgment concerning the act of stealing)

ENHANCEMENT 3 / Development of moral judgment. Example for secondary school (xenophobia)

ENHANCEMENT 4 / Learning social skillsENHANCEMENT 5 / What is the organizing principle of a

democratic classroom and school?

TO K

NO

W M

OR

E / E

NH

AN

CEM

ENTS

/ SEC

TIO

N 2

/ M

OD

ULE

III

13

TO KNOW MORE / ENHANCEMENT 1 / SECTION 2 / MODULE 3DEVELOPMENT OF EMPATHY

Children develop empathy through a series of stages, gradually overcoming the egocentric and intuitive perspective that exists prior to 4 years of age:

In the first year of life, the child cannot distinguish clearly between his "I" and the world around him (for example, he interprets another child's sobbing as his own and bursts out crying).

From ages 2-3, approximately, children begin to understand that the feelings of others are different from their own, so that if they see another child crying, they may caress that child.

Around age 6 (primary school), children can already see from things from another person's perspective – provided that they know the person or can observe that person's feelings. We therefore observe many behaviors in which children seek to console and help another person who is having difficulties and are aided in this by the use of language.

Around ages 11-12, empathy becomes more abstract – it is not in vain that children begin to be capable of performing formal operations, that is, reasoning in the absence of objects, manipulating ideas and feelings. Accordingly, empathy extends to persons whom they do not know and whose feelings they cannot observe personally. It is then that boys and girls put themselves in the place of persons who are suffering in other regions and countries, and can feel the need to help those who are far away, to the extent of their abilities.

DEVELOPMENT OF MORAL JUDGMENT

(reasoning, thinking critically, making critical and valid judgments about reality, avoiding simplification and uncovering the hidden and false arguments that are concealed behind some apparently ethical arguments)

TO KNOW MORE / ENHANCEMENT 2 / SECTION 2 / MODULE 3Example for primary school (moral judgment about the act of stealing):

Stealing is an action that is always morally reprehensible. But if we automatically apply the value of “respect for others' property,” that could lead us to make an unfair judgment about a child who steals fruit from an orchard because he is hungry. Therefore, it is necessary to consider other "reasons" that the person involved may have in order to arrive at a fair judgment. In this case, the injustice afflicting a person who is hungry, and the value and use made of what was stolen (fruit to be eaten), lead us to a different conclusion than the one we would arrive at in the case of someone who steals to cause harm or to enrich himself. This judgment does not invalidate the general and unquestionable value of respecting the property of others (a value that even the child in our example should know, if he saw the need to transgress it at that moment), but it allows us to judge a person's

14

specific action in a concrete situation more fairly.

A child whose moral autonomy is not yet developed will perceive that it is more serious to steal something "big" or that "costs a lot of money" or to "steal from an adult" than to steal something small, or that has no value, or from someone who does not represent authority. Later this child will learn that stealing is an immoral behavior regardless of the value and size of the object stolen, and that it depends on the "intention" of the one who steals, the "harm" that it causes to another person or other persons, and the degree of "awareness" of the harm that is caused.

TO KNOW MORE / ENHANCEMENT 3 / SECTION 2 / MODULE 3Example for secondary school (xenophobia):

Respect for individual differences (of a person or social group) is an unquestionable right. There are persons, groups, and communities that demand their separation (territorial, legal, etc.) from other persons, groups, and communities based on their social, cultural, or other differences. In principle this is a demand that in no way merits a negative moral judgment, since it may correspond to the exercise of a right – unless the reasoning behind it contains what is called a "hidden argument": that is, unless the statement "we are different" contains the underlying idea "we are superior" (culturally, socially, economically, sexually, or ethnically) and therefore we have more rights and we wish to separate ourselves from others (expell them from a territory, a neighborhood, an organization, etc.). The unethical nature of this argument should undoubtedly be questioned if the argument is defended by an individual, but if it is advanced by an institution, a social organization, or a political party, it is unacceptable from an ethical and a democratic standpoint. The reason is simple and derives from a higher principle: the equality of rights of all human beings regardless of their culture, ethnicity, ideology, economic level, sexual preference, etc. No one can wield superiority over others by claiming more rights or marginalize others by denigrating their differences. Throughout history we have seen the consequences of this lack of democratic values (Nazism is one of the most notable examples), but we also see behavior that is xenophobic (rejection of homosexuals, immigrants, etc.) and racist in our neighborhoods, our cities, and even in our schools, classrooms, and circles of friends.

Ways of Understanding Interculturality in Different Contexts

SEE: ENHANCEMENT 4 / SECTION 4 / MODULE 2

15

TO KNOW MORE / ENHANCEMENT 4 / SECTION 2 / MODULE 3

LEARNING SOCIAL SKILLS

(Vélaz de Medrano, C., 2003: Intervención educativa y orientadora para la inclusión social de menores en riesgo. Madrid, UNED, Chap. I)

The learning of social behavior is a complex topic that has been approached from various perspectives. The first theories about the teaching of social attitudes and skills put the emphasis on the adult's power of persuasion (family members, tea-chers, etc.), while the dominant approach currently is one that emphasizes the im-portance of socio-cognitive conflict in destabilizing prior attitudes and promoting change in attitudes and behavior. Cognitive conflict is produced by:

Dissonance between a person's attitudes and those of the reference group (the person puts himself ahead of the group, or changes groups).

Cognitive dissonance between a person's attitudes and behavior (sometimes we change our behavior, adjusting it to our values, or we reorder the values without changing our behavior: for example, when a person knows that he should take care of his health, yet continues to smoke or take drugs).

Dissonance between a person's values and knowledge of society (when I know how society operates, I can change my values and/or my behavior).

The notion of the utility of conflict was already present at the beginning of the [last] century, when Claparède (1918) formulated his "law of awareness" (loi de prise de conscience), which holds that conflicts, problems, or disequilibria arouse the subject to activity. Later, other authors underscored the importance of that state of confu-sion or doubt (problem, conflict), which goes hand in hand with a thinking process that consists of an active search through the subject's experiences, values, and knowledge for a solution to the problem. That search, and that thinking process, will not occur if certain environmental conditions exist that prevent the confusion from being resolved by thinking. This is the case with very authoritarian families or tea-chers who impose roles, rules, and solutions at the outset.

Socially appropriate (ethical, democratic) behavior is the set of behaviors of an individual in an interpersonal context whereby he expresses and exercises his feelings, attitudes, wishes, opinions, or rights in a manner appropriate to the si-tuation (in the context of the family, school, work, etc.), respecting the behavior and rights of others. Such behavior generally resolves the immediate problems of coexistence, and at the same time minimizes the probability of future proble-ms occurring.

Socially inappropriate (neither ethical nor democratic) behavior implies that the person expresses and exercises his feelings, attitudes, wishes, opinions, or ri-ghts in a manner inappropriate to the situation (in the context of the family, school, work, etc.), without respecting the behavior and rights of others. Such behavior generally does not resolve the immediate problem of coexistence and also creates new problems.

16

TO KNOW MORE / ENHANCEMENT 5 / SECTION 2 / MODULE 3

WHAT IS THE ORGANIZING PRINCIPLE OF A DEMOCRATIC CLASSROOM AND SCHOOL?

The rules of a democratic classroom derive from a concept of education based on learning through the experience of freedom, responsibility, rights, and obligations within a community of students and teachers which applies the principles of mutual assistance, solidarity, autonomy, cooperation, and self-management, both in the execution of common projects defined by common agreement, and in the execution of personal projects.

If we wish to make the school one of the places where free, autonomous, responsible, and just men and women are formed, it will be necessary to change the rules based on the incapacity and irresponsibility of boys and girls – which legitimize practices of submission and dependence – and replace them with rules based on the notion of the boy citizen and the girl citizen.

The experience of many democratic educators and schools demonstrates that children can be responsible agents of their school lives when they are given the right and the means to do so.

Education for democratic citizenship will be effective, provided we can say that in the classroom and in the school, each and every one of us enjoys our rights:

The right to be yourself The right to safety The right to affection and respect The right to learn The right to speak The right to move The right to play.....

IN A DEMOCRATIC CLASSROOM, BOYS AND GIRLS WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD AND LIVE BY VALUES UNIVERSALLY ACCEPTED AS GOOD:

JUSTICE HONESTY

PEACE RESPONSIBILITY

INTEGRITY IMPARTIALITY

FREEDOM INDEPENDENCE

EQUITY DETERMINATION

RESPECT PARTICIPATION

TOLERANCE COOPERATION

SOLIDARITY COMMITMENT

GENEROSITY CONSISTENCY

17

TO KNOW MORE /SECTION 3 / MODULE III

/ ENHANCEMENTS

3. Proposed Curriculum for Education in Democratic Values

3.1. Introduction3.2. Objectives: general competencies that students will develop gradually3.3. Contents 3.4. Methodological strategies for education about values

ENHANCEMENT 1 / Guidelines for designing learning activities that promote democratic values

3.5. Evaluation of the teaching and learning process for education in democratic values

ENHANCEMENT 2 / Abilities needed for the general objectives set out in the evaluation criteria (primary school)

ENHANCEMENT 3 / Abilities needed for the general objectives set out in the evaluation criteria (secondary school)

TO K

NO

W M

OR

E / E

NH

AN

CEM

ENTS

/ SE

CTI

ON

3 /

MO

DU

LE II

I

18


Guidelines for designing learning activities that promote democratic values

Raths proposes 12 principles for designing learning activities (Raths, J.A. 1973. "Teaching without specific objectives", in R. A. Magoon, ed., Education and Psychology, Meurill, Columbus, Ohio).

1. Under equal conditions, one activity is preferable to another if it ena-bles students to make reasonable decisions about how to implement the activity and to see the consequences of their choice.

2. Under equal conditions, one activity is preferable to another if it affor-ds students an active role in its implementation.

3. Under equal conditions, one activity is preferable to another if it re-quires students to investigate ideas, intellectual processes, events or phenomena of a personal or social nature and motivates them to co-mmit themselves to that investigation.

4. Under equal conditions, one activity is preferable to another if it re-quires students to interact with their reality.

5. Under equal conditions, one activity is preferable to another if it can be implemented by students at different levels of ability and with di-fferent interests.

6. Under equal conditions, one activity is preferable to another if it re-quires students to examine an idea, concept, law, etc., that they al-ready know in a new context.

7. Under equal conditions, one activity is preferable to another if it re-quires students to examine ideas or events that are usually accepted at face value by society.

8. Under equal conditions, one activity is preferable to another if it pla-ces the students and the teacher in a position to experience success, failure, or criticism.

9. Under equal conditions, one activity is preferable to another if it re-quires students to reconsider and revise their initial efforts.

10. Under equal conditions, one activity is preferable to another if it re-quires students to apply and master meaningful rules, standards, or disciplines.

11. Under equal conditions, one activity is preferable to another if it offers students the opportunity to plan it with others, participate in its implementation, and compare the results achieved.

Under equal conditions, one activity is preferable to another if it is relevant to the students' explicit purposes and interests.

19

TO KNOW MORE/ ENHANCEMENT 2 / SECTION 3 / MODULE 3

Abilities needed for the general objectives contained in the evaluation criteria (primary school)

Aw

aren

ess

Sel

f-est

eem

Em

path

y

Dia

logu

e

Crit

ical

und

erst

andi

ng o

f re

ality

Con

trolli

ng o

ne's

thou

ghts

, em

otio

ns, a

nd a

ctio

ns

Cla

rific

atio

n of

one

's o

wn

valu

es

Dev

elop

men

t of m

oral

ju

dgm

ent

Res

pect

for r

ight

s an

d fre

edom

s

Rul

es o

f coe

xist

ence

in a

de

moc

racy

Dev

elop

men

t of m

oral

au

tono

my

Per

sona

l con

sist

ency

Mak

ing

an e

thic

al c

omm

itmen

t

Man

ipul

atin

g sp

ecifi

c co

ncep

ts a

nd te

rms

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 141 2 P P2 2 P P3 3 P P P4 2 P P5 1 P6 2 P P7 3 P P P8 2 P P9 5 P P P P P

10 3 P P P11 3 P P P12 2 P P13 4 P P P P14 3 P P P15 4 P P P P16 3 P P PT 44 4 4 3 4 4 8 2 2 5 2 2 1 1 2

20

TO KNOW MORE/ ENHANCEMENT 3 / SECTION 2 / MODULE 3

Abilities need for the general objectives set out in the evaluation criteria (secondary school)

Aw

aren

ess

Sel

f-est

eem

Em

path

y

Dia

logu

e

Crit

ical

und

erst

andi

ng o

f rea

lity

Con

trolli

ng o

ne's

thou

ghts

, em

o-tio

ns, a

nd a

ctio

ns

Cla

rific

atio

n of

one

's o

wn

valu

es

Dev

elop

men

t of m

oral

judg

men

t

Res

pect

for r

ight

s an

d fre

edom

s

Rul

es o

f coe

xist

ence

in a

dem

oc-

racy

Dev

elop

men

t of m

oral

aut

onom

y

Per

sona

l con

sist

ency

Mak

ing

an e

thic

al c

omm

itmen

t

Man

ipul

atin

g sp

ecifi

c co

ncep

ts

and

term

s

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 141 2 S S2 3 S S S3 3 S S S4 4 S S S S5 3 S S S6 2 S S7 5 S S S S S8 2 S S9 3 S S S10 5 S S S S S11 3 S S S12 4 S S S S13 4 S S S S14 4 S S S S15 6 S S S S S S16 4 S S S S17 3 S S S18 2 S ST 62 3 5 4 6 6 8 3 6 7 3 3 1 3 4

21

Distance Course for Teachers:

The Inter-American Democratic Charterand the Teaching of Democratic Values and Practices

WORKBOOK

ACTIVITIES / LEARNING BY DOING

22

LEARNING BY DOING


/ ACTIVITIES

1. Basic psycho-developmental aspects of children's moral development from 6 to 16 years of age

1.1. Introduction: moral stage, cognitive progress, social perception, and moral conduct.

ACTIVITY 1 / Do you want to think a little more about the definition of moral education?

1. 2. Intellectual development greatly influences moral conduct. Piaget and the study of moral reasoning.

ACTIVITY 2 / What do I want to remember about Piaget's theories?

ACTIVITY 3 / From coercion to cooperation1. 3. Do I know the stages of moral development? Description of

Kohlberg's moral stages.

ACTIVITY 4 / The value of human life1. 4. I think, therefore I help others. Prosocial reasoning.

ACTIVITY 5 / There is someone in our class who is frightening the others

1.5. Conclusion

1.6. Bibliographical referencesLE

AR

NIN

G B

Y D

OIN

G /

AC

TIVI

TIES

/ SEC

TIO

N

1

/ M

OD

ULE

3

23

LEARNING BY DOING / ACTIVITY 1 (OPTIONAL)

Do you want to think a little more about the definition of moral education?

Moral education is possible, and, as we shall see in the next section, there are strategies for its implementation and the achievement of certain objectives. There are contents that can be learned (and hence, taught) and therefore such education can also be evaluated, however strange that may seem at first glance.

Look at the definition of moral education that we have included in Enhancement 1, and you will see that it has six parts. Would you be capable of explaining what each of these six parts refers to? What is THE KEY to each of them? Why do you think the author INCLUDES THEM in the definition? Write your ideas in the right-hand column.

A definition of moral education:

Moral education seeks to collaborate with students

so that they develop moral intelligence

and acquire the necessary moral culture

to cope autonomously and dialogically

with situations that involve a conflict of values or moral controversy

so that it is possible for them live justly, cooperatively, and happily.

LEARNING BY DOING / ACTIVITY 2 / SECTION 1 / MODULE III

What do I want to remember about Piaget's theories?

We have already heard Piaget's works mentioned on other occasions, and perhaps we spontaneously associate him with the concept of stages of development, which is good. And it follows, then, that we should concern ourselves with the ages that Piaget discussed: from 0 to 2 years, from 2 to10, from 11 to 18. This is also good. In reality, however, those ages are only approximate. Question 1. Ages can change from one child to the next. So what is more important about the stages than the reference age groups?Question 2. Can you remember the three main stages of development, according to Piaget's research?Question 3. As you evaluate these stages, do you recognize them as applicable to your region or culture?

24


From coercion to cooperation

Here is one of the narratives that Piaget used to research the concept of justice:

One afternoon, on a holiday, a mother took her children for a walk by the Rhi-ne river. At four o'clock she gave each of them a bread roll. They all began eating their rolls, except for the littlest one, who was careless and dropped it in the water. What is the mother to do?

Look at an answer at age 7: They should not give him another one. There was no need to drop it. – And what would the older ones have said to the little one if he were given another roll? – That it was not fair: 'he dropped it in the water, and you go and give him another one.' – Was it fair to give him another one? – No, he had not been good.

Another answer, but at age 13: They should have divided what the other children had left and given it to the littlest one. – Was it fair to give him a little more? – Yes, but the boy should have been more careful. – Was does "fair" mean? – It means that everyone is equal.

And look at this other answer from an 11-year-old (remember, do not put blind trust in ages), who nonetheless reasons more subtly and maturely: The little one should have been careful. But he was tiny, so they should have given him a little more. – What did the others say? – They were jealous and said that they should have been given a little more, too. But the little one deserved to be given a bit more. The bigger ones should have understood. – Do you think it was fair to give him a little more? – Of course! It was carelessness on the little one's part. When someone is little, he does not know what he is doing.

Question 1. We are talking about justice, equality, and equity. What fee-ling prevails in the first answer? And what happens in the second and third answers?

Question 2. Piaget talked about going from a "moral code based on coer-cion" to a different one, a "moral code based on cooperation." Can you find in your recent experience some similar example that reflects such progress, from the strict letter of the law to mutual respect and reciprocal relations? Write it down in a manner similar to the example we have pre-sented.

25


The value of human life

Kohlberg himself offers us a sequence, based on his six stages, that deals with placing a value on human life, as may be discussed in "Heinz's dilemma."

1. The value of human life is confused with the value of physical ob-jects and is based on social status or on the physical attributes of its possessor.

2. The value of human life is seen as instrumental to the satisfaction of the needs of its possessor or of other persons.

3. The value of human life is based on the empathy and affection of family members and other persons toward its possessor.

4. Life is viewed as sacred in terms of its place in an absolute morality or a religious system of rights and obligations.

5. Life is valued both in terms of its relationship to the well-being of the community and as a universal human right.

6. Belief in the sacredness of human life as representative of a univer-sal human value of respect for the individual.

This is a truly dense list (it has very specific information, and cannot easily be put into operation in our daily activity), which, however, can provide much food for thought. Let us see.

One relatively simple but very useful method for you to practice and become trai-ned in identifying the stage of development of your students is to read and compa-re this list with the columns on "what is right" and "reasons for doing what is right" in the tables for levels I, II, and III that we have shown you in the text. Use only those two columns, which are those most applied and "visible" in your students' behavior, and see whether this list matches the descriptions found there.

Another, somewhat more complex method is to identify the levels of value placed on human life as reflected in the statements, declarations, and newspaper and television news reports on the many daily conflicts that cause death and all kinds of destruction to human life. These conflicts are ever present in our daily lives. At which of these levels do we find the values placed on human life by our government leaders, other social representatives, or those involved in the conflict? Can we identify the level of the values that our friends and relatives, or that we ourselves, place on human life?

26


There is someone in our class who is frightening the others

Nowadays it is fashionable to call it bullying. In Spanish, when a student uses his strength to take advantage of a classmate – annoys him, harasses him, or hits him outright – what he is doing is not "intimidating" or "frightening" the other student. In the following text, "the boy" is referred to as "the bully" and it is translated as "chulo" (show-off), which is not a great word. Apart from the terminology, read one of the cases that Nancy Eisenberg used in one of her longitudinal studies:

One day, while John was playing in his garden, he saw that a boy was pestering, pushing, and laughing at another boy whom he did not know. There was no adult nearby. John noticed how the boy kept on knocking the other boy down whenever he tried to sit up. John was having fun playing in his garden, and the bully might pick on him too if he tried to help.

The methodology of the longitudinal study allows us to see the answers given by a boy who was interviewed at different ages, from his early childhood education to his adolescence:

5 yearsWhat should he do? – He should stay in his garden. Why? – The other boy would push him and knock him to the ground. (At 6 years of age he gave a similar answer.)

8 yearsWhat do you think John should do? – Help him. Why – So that the bully will not hurt him. So that he will not knock him down and bother him.

10 years

What do you think John should do? – Well, if there is no adult around, he should try to stop the bully.Why do you think he should try to stop the bully? – Because he might not like him, and he might not want him to hurt the other boy.Why do you think that he might not like the bully? – Because he might pick on his friends....He should help, because it would be two against one, and if the bully knocks one to the ground, the other one could help him and pull the bully off him.

16 years

What do you think John should do?– Simply help the other boy, because I do not think that he would like to see him get hurt or whatever, and he can always go back to playing, alone or with the other boy….It is not right for someone to harass someone else.Explain a little more about what you're referring to, about it not being right.– People should not harass each other, they should have fun together, they should not cause one another physical or mental harm, or whatever….That is how human beings should act with one another, because we are all equal. No one is more important than another, so we should treat each other the same way…Because we really would not want that boy to get hurt, because the same thing could happen to us if the situation were reversed. So I think that we would want the other boy to help us.

Question: Can you explain, with the information we have about the prosocial reasoning and the behavior typical of each level, how this boy has progressed? Write one or two paragraphs describing this evolution.

27

LEARNING BY DOING

/ ACTIVITIES SECTION 2 / MODULE III

2. Basic theoretical foundations of the process of teaching and learning democratic values in school

2.1. Models of moral education. The choice of the “Minimum pedagogical model”: What do we mean by moral education?

2.2. Purpose of education about values

2.3. Factors that should be taken into consideration in adapting the curriculum to the purposes of education in democratic values

NO ACTIVITIES

LEA

RN

ING

BY

DO

ING

/ A

CTI

VITI

ES

/ S

ECTI

ON

2

/ M

OD

ULE

3

28

LEARNING BY DOING


/ ACTIVITIES

3. Proposed Curriculum for Education in Democratic Values3.1. Introduction

3.2. Objectives: general competencies that students will develop gradually

ACTIVITY 1 / What do the general objectives comprise? 3.3. Contents

3.4. Methodological strategies for education about values

3.4.1. General methodological strategies

ACTIVITY 2/ Activities for practicing values3.4.2. Specific methodological strategies

ACTIVITY 3/ I find out what my students know in order to encourage them

ACTIVITY 4/ Bolstering self-esteem (primary and secondary school)

ACTIVITY 5/ Incomplete sentences (secondary school)

ACTIVITY 6/ I think about what I like most and what I like least

ACTIVITY 7/ Mice and dragons (primary school)

ACTIVITY 8/ As educators, we clarify our values and attitudes

ACTIVITY 9/ Questions for clarifying values (primary and secondary school)

ACTIVITY 10 / A diamond for thinking about our values (secondary school)

ACTIVITY 11 / Discussion of moral dilemmas (primary school)

ACTIVITY 12 / Discussion of moral dilemmas (secondary school)

ACTIVITY 13 / How do you analyze a moral conflict? ACTIVITY 14 / Applying the ADU method to analyze an issue (primary school)

ACTIVITY 15 / Applying the ADU method to analyze an issue (secon-dary school)

ACTIVITY 16/ We develop and formulate positive rules (primary and secondary school)

TTO

KN

OW

MO

RE

/ AC

TIVI

TIES

/

SEC

TIO

N

3

/ M

OD

ULE

III

29

ACTIVITY 17 / Thinking activity: "I exercise my rights and understand their limits" (secondary school)

ACTIVITY 18 / Reflecting on the importance of collaborating and sha-ring our strengths

ACTIVITY 19 / Learning about our city (primary and secondary school)

ACTIVITY 20 / Autonomy and collaboration – The Hanoi tower: a com-plicated game with simple rules (secondary school)

ACTIVITY 21 / Reflect and comment on the following sentence, while thinking about your school

ACTIVITY 22 / All different, all important (primary and secondary school)

ACTIVITY 23 / Activity: I identify my students' goals and motivations and help them to reformulate them from the stan-dpoint of moral development

ACTIVITY 24 / Activity to help students self-evaluate and self-regulate3.5. Evaluation of the teaching and learning process for education

in democratic values

TO K

NO

W M

OR

E / A

CTI

VITI

ES

/ S

ECTI

ON

3 /

MO

DU

LE II

I

30

LEARNING BY DOING / ACTIVITY 1 / SECTION 3 / MODULE 3 /

¿WHAT DO THE GENERAL OBJECTIVES COMPRISE?

The nine general objectives of the proposed curriculum for education in democratic values are set out below. Underline all the abilities that are explicitly and clearly formulated in them. Note in the right-hand column the abilities that you have identi-fied and make a list of all of them, avoiding duplication. Compare your list with the one we have proposed in the text.

1. Develop awareness of your own thoughts, motivations, and actions, and de-velop self-esteem.

2. Develop empathy and a social perspective so that you are able to relativize your own point of view and put yourself in another person's place in order to understand his reasons, feelings, and motivations.

3. Develop and practice critical, flexible, and reflective thinking about the reality that you know, based on knowledge and manipulation of some concepts and terms that refer to democratic values and countervalues.

4. Develop and practice basic skills for dialogue. 5. Control your own actions (mental and physical), and take responsibility for

them. 6. Gradually develop moral autonomy – the capacity to control your own beha-

vior in a manner consistent with universally accepted democratic values. 7. Gradually construct your own scale of values in a personal and interactive

way, and thus come to understand and respect universally accepted human rights and freedoms.

8. Use democratic values to judge reality, behave appropriately in situations of moral conflict, and develop personal consistency.

9. Gradually acquire an ethical commitment to reality.

31


ACTIVITIES FOR PRACTICING DEMOCRATIC VALUES “IN AND OUT OF” SCHOOL: “PARTICIPATION” AND “COLLABORATION”

Hold periodic (weekly) class assemblies to decide on important aspects of coexistence and work.

Involve students in the school's governing and participatory bodies (student council, students and parents association, etc.): help students to democratically elect their representatives (in a way that is free, transparent, fair, and proportional), and help the latter to democratically represent their classmates.

Prepare internal ground rules (for example, a democratic charter for the classroom and for the school).

Organize work in a collaborative manner, by setting up various committees in the school and in the classroom, such as committees on coexistence, parties, extracurricular activities, sports and leisure, and volunteering, that are responsible for promoting and organizing activities in which all members of the educational community (students, teachers, other persons who work in the school, community associations, etc.) can participate and collaborate.


I FIND OUT WHAT MY STUDENTS KNOW IN ORDER TO ENCOURAGE THEM

In evaluating our students, we teachers are frequently tempted to ascertain what they do not know how to do. That is how we ourselves have been eva-luated many times, and besides, it is easier. It is more complex to become [fa-miliar with] what the student knows and knows how to do. But we have to try, because it is from that point onward that students will continue to learn, and it will also make them feel capable and valued.

We propose that you engage in two activities with your students:

1. Suggest activities to the students that enable them to show what they know, and focus on that.

2. Notice what they are not capable of doing alone, but are capable of doing (or knowing) with another person's help (yours, or that of a co-lleague).

By ascertaining both things, we will know what the students know, as well as their learning potential (what they are capable of knowing and doing with a little help). In that area, we will have to help them define their objectives (not in ter-ms of what they already know, nor in terms of what they do not know, but in ter-ms of what they can achieve with a little help). That will be the appropriate level of difficulty for the task you assign. In this way, students will neither be demoti-vated (because it is too easy), nor discouraged (because it is too hard).

We should not forget that a demoralized person finds it more difficult to behave morally.

32

LEARNING BY DOING / ACTIVITY 4 / SECTION 3 / MODULE 3 / PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL

PLANNING OUR TEACHING TO BOLSTER OUR STUDENTS' SELF-ESTEEM

We suggest that you review your syllabus in light of the following "Conditions for making your students feel competent" and maintaining their self-esteem:

The difficulty of the task is geared to the students' chances of suc-cess.

Performing the task gives the students an opportunity to feel capa-ble of fulfilling it.

The students can exercise their abilities without boredom or anxiety. The classroom environment promotes increased competence for

each student. Once the review has been completed, write down (so that you will be able to remember them) those "obstacles" to development of your students' self-es-teem that you have identified in your syllabus.

33


INCOMPLETE SENTENCES (SECONDARY SCHOOL)

Engage in the following activity with your students:

Give each one the following list of incomplete sentences, asking that they read them slowly, ask questions about what they do not understand, and complete the senten-ces by stating what they truly think. They should know that there are no better and no worse answers. All are equally valid.

You are happy when....................

You are concerned about things like.........

I would be very happy if............

I would be very sad if...........

You feel that you are good at.........

On the other hand, what you never get right is.............

Have you ever asked for help from a friend?........... For what reason?........

You could help a friend to.........................

What I would most like to change about myself is...............I would not like to change anything:.....

What could you do to make that change happen......................

Explain the meaning of the sentence "Every human being is unique and irre-placeable."............

Do you agree with that sentence?.... Why?....................

Do you believe that knowing ourselves can help us in life?............ Why or why not?...........................

After they have finished completing the sentences, you can have a feedback ses-sion in which the students voluntarily comment on and justify their answers (it must be made clear that this is a voluntary activity, and that anyone not wishing to com-ment on a particular question, or any questions, need not do so). It is also important to comment on those sentences that they have not known how to complete or that have been more difficult for them to complete, since this indicates aspects of the-mselves that they know less about, or questions that they feel ashamed to answer.

Prepare a short report analyzing the activity: difficulties you encountered; difficult moments in which you did not know how to act; the educational value of the activity, etc. Discuss it with your course tutor.

34


I THINK ABOUT WHAT I LIKE MOST AND WHAT I LIKE LEAST

Prepare a series of questions for your students, asking about what they like most and what they like least in different areas: activities and situations in class, at home, at meals, in their subjects, with friends, in what they do in their free time, in the work they have to do to help out at home or to contribute to their families' work activities, etc.Select those most appropriate to your situation and choose a number sufficient for the time you wish to spend on them. You can invite the students to cut two small ovals out of cardboard and draw faces on them, a happy face on one and a sad face on the other. They should color them (or use green cardboard for one and red for the other, for example) and attach a small stick to each one to serve as a hand-le. They can all express their opinion at the same time by raising the face that they deem most appropriate to the situation that is being discussed.They should explain the reasons for their preferences. The whole group should draw up a common list of what no one likes, what we would not like to happen to us, or would would not want done to us. The teacher can then suggest that when they do not like something, they can complain, saying clearly what they do not like. When an unpleasant situation occurs, they should learn to express their opinion and react appropriately to improve the situation.

35


MICE AND DRAGONS

(PRIMARY SCHOOL)

We propose that you tell the following story to the children, or, even better, that they take turns reading it in one of the class assemblies and answering the in-terspersed questions:

Mice are appealing animals – small, delicate, soft. If no one bo-thers them and life goes well for them, they run around, look for food, and play together. However, since they are not very strong because of their small size, when they encounter a problem – a setback, an enemy approaching, another mouse that tries to take their food away – then they behave like cowards. They keep silent, they hide, they run away. People sometimes also act like real mice. When an enemy takes so-mething away from us, yells at us, insults us, looks at us contemp-tuously, nudges us at the movies – instead of acting like REAL HU-MAN BEINGS and defending ourselves calmly, securely, and firmly, we keep silent, we get scared, we become nervous, we hide or we run away. Other people call these mouse-people insecure or timid.

Write down other words that are used to describe "mouse-people." Tell us (or write) about a time when you acted like a mouse, and how you felt. Do you think it would be good to learn to behave differently than mice?

Dragons are another type of animal – big, very strong, powerful. Unlike mice, dragons are proud, and they are bullies! For this reason, when they have a problem with other animals, big or small, they con-front them. They slap, push, destroy their belongings, yell, and scorch them with the fire they breathe. Dragons go through life dominating other animals and, in general, they abuse the weak and defenseless. Sometimes some people also act like dragons. They look for fights, yell, insult, and abuse others….And most of the time, they do these things for no reason, only because something is hurting them, or they missed the bus, or something displeases them, or someone has contradicted them. Other people often call these "dragon-people" aggressive, bullies…and other things. Perhaps you have sometimes acted like a dragon with your friends, relatives, classmates, or stran-gers….

Write down other words that are used to describe "dragon-people." Tell us (or write about) what you feel when you act like a dragon. How do you

think other people feel at those times? Joyful, concerned, ashamed, furious, in-secure, frightened, etc.?

What do you think the people whom you treat that way think about you? That you are strong, kind, responsible, disagreeable, aggressive, happy, timid, etc.?

What can other people do when you act like a dragon? Do you think there are ways to behave other than like a mouse or a dragon to

solve problems or things that we do not like? What are they?

Of course, people – children and adults – do not always act like

36

mice or dragons. People are often honorable, sincere, cordial, kind, well-intentioned – and those same people sometimes behave like a dragon or a mouse. Perhaps you, too, sometimes solve problems like a mouse or a dragon. And I am sure that you would like to learn how to be YOUR-SELF, A REAL HUMAN BEING WHO DOES NOT NEED TO ACT EI-THER LIKE A MOUSE, OR LIKE A DRAGON.

REAL HUMAN BEINGS are strong and powerful people. YOU ARE A STRONG AND POWERFUL PERSON even if you do not believe that you are, even if you cannot run very fast, get tired, and cannot lift a table. So where does your strength come from? Your real strength lies in your ability to CONTROL YOUR OWN LIFE, TO MAKE DECISIONS. All people have that power, and, what is more important, no one can take it away from us.

You have heard that people are FREE – and perhaps you do not understand how you can be free and still have to do things that you do not like and not be able to do other things that you like a lot. So where is your freedom?

Say what things you do not like to do and are forced to do. Say what things you would like to be able to do (or say) that you are not allo-

wed to do or say.

We HUMAN BEINGS cannot always do what we want, but we are ALWAYS, ALWAYS free TO MAKE DECISIONS.

Mouse-people do not use that power and often allow others to make the decisions. You are acting like a mouse when:

... You do something that you do not want to do to keep your friends from laughing at you..... You say something that you do not believe to please others or to "get along."... You ask your parents to buy you things that are in fashion or

that are "branded" without stopping to think about whether or not you like them.

... You say or do something that you do not believe in order to look older, more "with it," prettier or more handsome, or more intelli-gent.

Describe all the ways of acting you can think of that are typical of mouse-peo-ple....

(García and Magaz. Dragones, ratones y seres humanos auténticos. 1998)

Teachers can continue with this story – it is in the bibliography – which teaches children to make decisions, to be assertive, and to have self-esteem, or they can make up more stories about dragons and mice depending on their objectives. In any event, this is an activity that can continue through several classroom assemblies.

37

LEARNING BY DOING / ACTIVITY 8 / SECTION 3 / MODULE 3 / AS EDUCATORS, WE CLARIFY OUR VALUES AND ATTITUDES

We are proposing an activity for you to carry out with your school colleagues (those who volunteer to participate, or the group of teachers with whom you usually work most closely).

The point is to identify some aspects of education in the school that you consider most important, and others in which some problems have been detected. We are offering you an example that can serve as background for the work of the team.

We are very much in agreement on:

The values that our students should learn. Each teacher makes a list, gives reasons for it, and out of all the values, chooses five, ranked according to their importance.

The basic aspects of our work as educators, in order of importance, are (re-peat the same procedure as above):

o Transmitting knowledge o Educating about values o Other

The school's pedagogical priorities should be (repeat the same procedure as above):

o Attention to diversity o Equality between boys and girls o Improving academic outcomes o Collaboration among teachers o Participation by familieso Other

With regard to our students' values, we detect problems, in order of impor-tance, in the following areas:

o The gap between the values promoted in school and those promoted at home

o Lack of responsibility on the part of students o Lack of effort o Lack of respect for.... o Other

38

LEARNING BY DOING / ACTIVITY 9 / SECTION 3 / MODULE 3

QUESTIONS FOR CLARIFYING STUDENTS' VALUES(LAST COURSES IN PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL)

Carry out the following activity with your students. The objective is to help them clarify what is truly important in their lives, what they attach value to – to clarify their values and the importance they assign to each one.

1. Give your students a list of values: friendship, family, money (or toys), health, having fun, learning, etc. (In primary school the values should be less abstract, while in secondary school they may be more so: solidarity, love, peace, justice, etc. In any case, they have to be values that are kno-wn to the students.)

2. Ask the students to rank the values in order of their importance or interest for them, from highest to lowest.

3. From that list of values, the students should choose only three that they consider most important.

4. The students should explain why those three values are so important to them.

5. At the end, you as the teacher will indicate the top three values chosen by the majority of the class, as well as those that the majority considers less important than others.

Prepare a short report analyzing the activity: difficulties you encountered; difficult moments in which you did not know how to act; the educational value of the acti-vity, etc. Discuss it with your course tutor (onsite or online).

39


A DIAMOND FOR THINKING ABOUT OUR VALUES (SECONDARY SCHOOL)To help your students think about and discuss their priority values in relation to the inclu-sion of people in society, we suggest that you carry out the following activity with them.

On nine sheets of paper, write nine sentences or ideas related to the concept of "inclu-sion" (you may use others that you consider more useful for the activity or for your stu-dents):

1. Tolerance and respect for others 2. Having radical opinions about things 3. Accepting other points of view 4. Everyone has an equal right to vote. 5. We should be fair to minorities. 6. The majority should decide. 7. A charismatic leader is necessary to keep the various factions united. 8. It is appropriate to get involved in the life and concerns of your own neigh-

borhood. 9. The group of students should decide on the idea.

Organize the class into groups of three or four students and distribute the same nine sheets of paper to each group.

The objective is for each group to build a diamond with the nine sheets of paper, putting the ideas in order of importance (always in relation to the theme of "social inclusion"):

In the first row, the idea that is considered most important In the second row, two ideas that are considered [the next] most important In the third row, three ideas of equal importance Two ideas underneath Finally, in the last row, the idea that is considered least important

Remember that the group should incorporate the idea. Thus, the pieces of paper will form the shape of a diamond, like this one:

It is important for the students to be aware that this is not a contest, that there are no better or worse answers, but that the OBJECTIVE is to conscientiously analyze their own ideas and values. The diamond will show the group's priorities.

40

LEARNING BY DOING/ ACTIVITY 11 / SECTION 3 / MODULE 3 /

DISCUSSION OF MORAL DILEMMAS (PRIMARY SCHOOL)

“The animals in the terrarium”

(Buxarrais et al.: La educación moral en Primaria y Secundaria. 1998. Madrid, Edelvives)

In María's class, the students have different responsibilities (jobs) that change on a weekly basis. One week it is your turn to erase the blackboard, water the plants, or other similar things. This week it was María's turn to feed the animals in the terra-rium. On Thursday, the teacher realizes that most of the animals have died, and asks what happened. María knows that she forgot to feed them. When the teacher asks, she does not know whether to say yes or no.

What do you think María should do? Why? What reasons might she have for not telling the truth? What are the reasons why she should tell the truth?

Imagine that María does not tell the teacher the truth. The teacher is very angry be-cause she does not know what happened and no one will tell her, and she decides to punish the whole class if there is no explanation of what happened. María says nothing, because Alberto, who is a very close friend of hers, knows the truth (that María is responsible because she did not feed the animals).

Do you think that Juan should tell the teacher the truth? Why? Should the teacher be allowed to punish the whole class? Why? If Alberto and María were not friends, what should Alberto do? Why?

(DISCUSS THE DILEMMA IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PHASES AND GUIDE-LINES PROVIDED IN THE COURSE TEXT.)

41

LEARNING BY DOING/ ACTIVITY 12 / SECTION 3 / MODULE III

DISCUSSION OF MORAL DILEMMAS (SECONDARY EDUCATION)

(In Pérez Serrano, G.: Cómo educar para la democracia. 2003, Madrid, Popular).

Mr. José owns a data processing company where he works with his brother and two other persons whom he has hired.

One of the workers, Juan, is a young man, aged 22, who has worked in different occupations. Several years ago he was offered the opportunity to work with Mr. José, a family friend. Juan knew nothing about information technology, but he has made significant strides, and is infatuated with his new job and happy because he needed the money. He lives with his parents, and had no intention of becoming in-dependent for the time being, but now that he has a job that he likes, he is thi-nking about going to live by himself.

The other worker is Andrés, who is 39 years old and of Nicaraguan nationality. He was born and lived in Nicaragua until he had to leave the country because of the economic difficulties that have led many companies to close. Andrés was working in one of the companies that closed, and he had no way to support his family. He was faced with choosing among irregular and poorly paid jobs, or emigrating to another country. He decided to emigrate to Spain and was lucky enough to find a job in Mr. José's data processing company. Without a job, he would not have ob-tained a residence permit, nor would he have been able to have his family with him.

Mr. José's company has begun to experience economic setbacks because of the large number of companies in the information technology sector, and he finds hi-mself in the position of having to let a worker go.

Because of his friendship with Juan's family, and because the boy is very hard-working and solves many problems for him, he doubts whether he should let him go. Furthermore, he has always preferred to give jobs to citizens of the country ra-ther than to foreigners. On the other hand, he knows that Andrés is also a good worker, that he gives the job his all. He has had to emigrate, and if he winds up unemployed, he and his family will have to return to a very uncertain situation in his country.

In these circumstances, Mr. José does not know what to do:

a) What reasons does he have for letting Juan go? b) What reasons does he have for letting Andrés go? c) What criteria should Mr. José use in addressing this difficult situation?d) When two persons apply for a job, one a citizen and the other a fore-

igner, what criteria do you think should be used in making the hiring decision?

(DISCUSS THE DILEMMA IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PHASES AND GUIDELINES PROVIDED IN THE COURSE TEXT.)

42


HOW DO YOU ANALYZE A MORAL CONFLICT?(adapted from Puig, 1995, p. 202)

We propose that the teacher and the students take a news story or a con-flict situation that has arisen in class, in school, or in the lives of the studen-ts and analyze it according to the following guideline (the activity can be ca-rried out in one session or throughout a week or another period, depending on the conflict in question):

1. Brief description of the conflict

2. Explanation of the history of the conflict (origin, evolution, and current situation)

3. Description of the context in which it has unfolded

4. Presentation of the parties (persons) in conflict

5. Statement of the type of problems that the conflict has gene-rated: events that have been unleashed; values that conflict with one another; opposing interests; erroneous perceptions that complicate or create the conflict

6. Descriptive analysis of the actions and processes that are changing the conflict situation

7. Search for and discussion of alternative proposals for solving the problem fairly, as well as means of ensuring that it does not reoccur.

43


APPLYING THE ADU METHOD TO ANALYZE AN ISSUE(PRIMARY SCHOOL)

We propose that teachers give their students a sentence such as the following (always relating it to their interests, concerns, and prior knowledge):

The ADU (advantages, disadvantages, and unknowns) of prohi-biting boys and girls from eating chocolate from now on.

The ADU of requiring us to come to school wearing a sign that indicates how we are feeling that day (sad, joyful, angry, etc.) so that everyone would know.

Teachers can propose topics that they consider more relevant or more suitable for their students.

With all the students sitting in a circle, the teacher can ask them questions of the following type:

What good things would happen? (A student writes them on the blackboard.)

What bad things would happen? (Another student writes them on the blackboard.)

What things do you not know [that you need to know] in order to reach a conclusion? (Another student writes them on the black-board.)

What is the most important thing we are talking about, and what is the least important?

As frequently happens, when we make a decision, things ha-ppen that seem good to us and things happen that we do not like or that seem bad to us. What can we do to make better deci-sions? (The correct answer would be that it is not the number of one or the other, but their importance, their consequences, and the values at stake.)

What should we do when we have many unknowns?

What is important is for students to learn to reason, to defend their statements, to imagine the consequences of one action or another, and to see the values (general interest, health, equality, etc.) and countervalues (selfishness, greed, intolerance, etc.) that are at stake.


44

APPLYING THE ADU METHOD TO ANALYZE AN ISSUE(SECONDARY SCHOOL)

We suggest that teachers give their students a sentence such as the following (always related to their interests, concerns, and prior knowledge):

The ADU (advantages, disadvantages, and unknowns) of banning oil from now on and permitting only solar and eolian (wind) energy to be used.

The ADU of requiring us to come to school wearing a sign that would say what mood we are in every day.

The ADU of wearing uniforms to school. The ADU of having people of the same race or country live together in

the same neighborhood (a Chinese neighborhood, an Arab neigh-borhood, an indigenous neighborhood, etc.).

Teachers can suggest topics that they consider more relevant.

With all the students sitting in a circle, the teacher can ask them questions of the following type:

What possible advantages would there be? (A student writes them on the blackboard.)

What disadvantages would there be? (Another student writes them on the blackboard.)

What unknowns do you have that you need to know to be able to rea-ch a conclusion? (Another student writes them on the blackboard.)

Which main ideas have we discussed, and which secondary ideas? As frequently happens, there are a number of advantages and disad-

vantages. How can we weigh them in order to reach a decision? (The correct answer would be that it is not the number of one or the other, but their importance, their consequences, and the values that are at stake.)

What should we do when we have many unknowns? (The answer should not be "instead of thinking, follow the opinion of someone who knows," "take a wild guess," or "flip a coin".)

Is the ADU method easily and frequently used before arriving at a con-clusion or making a decision? Do we usually do it? Why?

What is important is for students to learn to reason, to defend their statements, to imagine the consequences of one action or another, and to see the values (gene-ral interest, health, equality, etc.) and countervalues (selfishness, greed, intoleran-ce, etc.) that are at stake.

45


WE DEVELOP AND FORMULATE POSITIVE RULES

(PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL)

The best way for children to learn to respect rules is not only through simple "obe-dience" to authority, but by understanding that the rules protect everyone's rights.

We propose that you carry out the following activity with your students. Given the following list of school or classroom rules, suggest that the rules be formulated in a positive way, i.e., so that the right protected by the rules can be better unders-tood, as shown in the following example:

As a prohibition: "You must raise your hand and wait until you are called on in order to speak."

As a right: "Express your opinions. But you have to ask for your turn to speak so that we can all talk without being interrupted and be able to listen to each other."

The following rules are expressed as "prohibitions." Express them as "rights":

"Do not talk to your classmates during the exercise." "You cannot go to the reading area until the exercise is finished." "Anyone who does not return a borrowed book by the due date will not

be able to borrow another book for a week." "Playing and singing in the school corridors is prohibited."

You can give further thought to other rules in your school and classroom and try to formulate them by first expressing the rights and then the limits that must be obe-yed to make those rights possible.

46


THINKING ACTIVITY: "I EXERCISE MY RIGHTS AND UNDERSTAND THEIR LIMITS"

(SECONDARY SCHOOL)

Present your students with the following diagram, drawn on a poster board or on the black-board:

Following this diagram, conduct a dialogue with your students, using specific examples of spe-cific rights derived from the right to liberty: "the right to drive a motorcycle," "the right to smo-ke," "the right to vote in elections," "the right to learn," "the right to eat when I am hungry," etc. (Work on other examples.)

The students will learn that there are rights for which they do not need to demonstrate capability, request authorization, or declare that they are going to exercise them (because they are universal, such as learning or eating) and others for which they do need to do these things (smoking, driving, etc.).

47


THINKING ACTIVITY: THE IMPORTANCE OF COLLABORATING AND SHARING OUR STRENGTHS

Write the following sentences on the blackboard and conduct a dialogue with your stu-dents on their meaning:

"The forest would be too silent if the only birds that sang were the ones who do it best."

"No one knows more than all of us together. No one can do more than we all can together."

Write the most positive conclusions of the dialogue underneath each sentence (using two poster boards), and hang them on the classroom wall. They will be there throu-ghout the course so that we will not forget about them.


LEARNING ABOUT OUR CITY

(PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL WITH APPROPRIATE ADJUSTMENTS. IN PRIMARY SCHOOL, YOU WILL WORK ON "THE NEIGHBORHOOD.")

The students will be divided into small groups (comprising four or five at the most) that will use the following questions as guidelines for their work:

What do we want to know about our city (or neighborhood) and why? Set your goals.

How do we propose to achieve the goals that we have set? Evaluate whether it is possible to achieve them (very difficult or very easy), with whom, what information is needed, who has that information, and where might it be?

How do we distribute the tasks in the group? Who will coordinate, and why?

What does the teacher expect us to do? What do we expect of the teacher? What do we expect of one another? How much time are we going to spend and on what schedule?

What results have we obtained? Evaluation.

48


AUTONOMY AND COLLABORATION

THE HANOI TOWER: A COMPLICATED GAME WITH SIMPLE RULES

(SECONDARY SCHOOL)

With the materials available (paper, cardboard, white cork, wood, plastic, colored poster boards, etc.), students prepare circles of different sizes (there may also be material prepared previously by the teachers or by the students on earlier occa-sions, so that the game can begin immediately).

The game involves making a tower with the circles placed one on top of the other: the largest circle on the bottom, a smaller one on top, another smaller one on top of the second one, and so on. To start the game, only three floors (stories) are used, but the game can become complicated with four, five, or more stories de-pending on the children's age and the time available.

First, the students are asked to work together in groups of three, sitting around a table. The teacher has previously marked three points on the table: A, B, and C.

With the three-story tower already built on top of the table (at point A), the studen-ts are asked to move it to point C, following three rules:

A larger circle cannot be placed on top of a smaller one; A story that is underneath another story cannot be taken out and moved;

it must always be the upper one that is picked up. Only one story can be moved at a time. To solve the problem, point B can be used as an intermediate station.

Second, the students are prompted to count the number of moves they have made in total, and asked to ensure that the task cannot be performed with a sma-ller number of moves. That is, they must ascertain the minimum number of moves that have to be made, without wasting any.

Third, they are asked to add a fourth story at the base of the tower (a slightly bi-gger circle) and to repeat the process.

For the students, the game involves:

Learning to move stories while following the rules; Coordinating with one another to avoid making moves that are not

permitted; Managing to solve the problem: moving the tower from one point to

another. Doing so with the smallest number of moves necessary.

The objectives of this game are twofold:

The team must collaborate to solve the problem; It must be autonomous to find a solution.

49

Discussions within the group, the division of labor between the members of the team, communication with the teacher, and the sharing of results between the di-fferent teams to compare the number of moves and determine the minimum num-ber necessary, assume the existence of an entire interactive network that defines this activity.

In the last phase, each student is capable of solving the problem autonomously, without help.

It is still possible, however, to reach higher levels of achievement.

1. A higher level is achieved when the student is able to explain the problem to another person who is not familiar with it, and explain the rules correctly to that person.

2. An even higher level is achieved when the student is able to help another person (another student, perhaps a younger one) practice with the Hanoi tower and learn to solve the problem.

3. Even higher levels of complexity involve being able to: 4. Calculate the mathematical relationship between the number of stories and

the number of moves necessary, as the stories keep increasing; 5. Determine the general mathematical formula for ascertaining that number

(can you calculate the number of moves needed without having to physically make them and count them?).

6. Devise a manual sequence that enables a tower with any number of stories to be moved safely, knowing that you are making the minimum number of moves necessary.


THINKING ACTIVITY:

Reflect and comment on the following sentence, while thinking about your school:

"Educational institutions are not simply receptacles for the problems of coexistence; rather, they are often part of them. It remains to be determi-ned whether they can also be part of the solution."

(Fernández Enguita, 2002)

50

LEARNING BY DOING/ ACTIVITY 22 / SECTION 3 / MODULE 3

ALL DIFFERENT, ALL IMPORTANT

(PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL)

The teacher writes the following text on a large poster board that the students will find on the wall the next morning. A class assembly is held to read, discuss, and carry out in common the activity proposed in the text.

We are all different on the OUTSIDE: You can be as tall as a basketball player or as short as Tom Thumb. You can be as stout as a teapot or as skinny as a straw. You can be bald, like Casper the Friendly Ghost, or have long hair, like the

mothers and fathers who wear ponytails. You can have blonde hair or black hair, red hair or hair that's brown like

mice, but please, no lice! You can be as strong as a bear, or as nimble as a thimble. You can be....now you think of some differences between people, but they

have to be things you can see. If you write them down in rhymes, that is even better.

We are all different on the INSIDE: Some people are always angry, and everything seems bad to them, while

others are always smiling, like Mister Rogers. Some people enjoy helping others, while other people are less interested in

helping and prefer to take care of themselves. Some people vote for the Blue party, others for the Red party, others for

other parties, and others do not vote. Some people believe in one God, others in other, different gods, and others

do not believe in anything. Some people...now it's your turn to give examples of how people can be di-

fferent on the inside in terms of the things they do and the things they belie-ve. Think in particular about the people you know from school, your family, your neighborhood, etc.

We all are different on the outside and we all are different on the inside, BUT: We are all born helpless. We all learn throughout our lives. We are like to play. We all like to be told stories. We all get hungry if we do not eat. We all like to laugh and have fun. We all like to have friends who care about us. We all sometimes do not understand some things no matter how hard we think

about them. All of us, one day, will say good-bye forever.

FOR THIS REASON, ALTHOUGH WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT IN SOME WAY, WE ARE ALL THE SAME IN IMPORTANT WAYS.

51


ACTIVITY: I IDENTIFY MY STUDENTS' GOALS AND MOTIVATIONS AND HELP THEM TO REFORMULATE THEM FROM THE STANDPOINT OF

MORAL DEVELOPMENT

The table below shows certain goals that some students express when they are asked what they expect to achieve in the course.

Goals of educational activity for young people

Related to the achievement of external goals

Obtaining something (a motorbike, a job, etc).

Achieving recognition.

Avoiding the loss of something (a job, the social integration subsidy, membership in a group, etc.).

Related to self-esteem

Feeling that you are equal to or better than others.

Avoiding a negative evaluation (fear of failure).

Related to the assignment

Learning

Enjoying the assignment

Related to autonomy

Doing an assignment that you yourself have chosen.

Related to social worth

Obtaining acceptance by others.

Avoiding rejection by others.

We propose that you apply the technique of clarification of values and viewpoints. When you have mapped the goals and motivations of the students in your class, work with them on a plan to improve their personal goals (life project), consistent with the following democratic values: liberty, solidarity, honesty, veracity, autonomy, independence, and responsibility.

52


ACTIVITY TO HELP STUDENTS SELF-EVALUATE AND SELF-REGULATE

It will be very difficult for our students to become aware of what they know and what they know how to do, and to interpret their right answers and their mistakes, if they have never been trained in self-evaluation.

In this activity, we propose that teachers, either on their own or in collaboration with colleagues in the school or in the course, establish an evaluation system comprising:

Other-evaluation: the teacher evaluates the students' progress (for example, in coexistence and capacity for teamwork).

Co-evaluation: peer evaluation (the students evaluate one another).

Self-evaluation (the students evaluate their progress and difficulties in coexistence and teamwork).

In addition, an equal percentage should be assigned to each of the three evalua-tions in the overall evaluation that each student receives. To this end, we suggest that you and the other teachers prepare a "report card" for evaluating these abili-ties, showing the result of the three evaluations (teacher, classmates, the students themselves), with some final recommendations for improvement. Later on, this "report card" format can be extended to the evaluation of other objectives, or of all of them.

Lastly, we propose that you prepare an "Outline to Assist in Self-Evaluation." It will help students to reflect on their progress, their difficulties, and the reasons for each For example, it will include such questions as:

1. For me, the hardest part of coexistence with my classmates is........

2. Why do you think that happens to you?.....

3. I have tried (a lot/more or less/a little/not at all) to understand and get along with classmates who are not my friends...............

4. I need to improve in................

5. I need help to...................because I do not know how to do it alone.

6. I like teamwork (a lot/more or less/a little/not at all), because.........

Once the students have completed their self-evaluations, it will be useful to meet with them to comment on the results and help them to reflect on and better eva-luate their progress and difficulties. This type of activity can be carried out with ob-jectives in mathematics, reading comprehension, etc.

53

Workbook

PROPOSALS / THE DEMOCRATIC CLASSROOM

PROPOSAL 1 / Topic: The class assembly

PROPOSAL 2 / Topic: Participation – RulesGame and reflection

PROPOSAL 3 / Topic: Freedom of expressionI reflect and comment

PROPOSAL 4 / Topic: Universal suffrageI read a story, reflect, and comment

PROPOSAL 5 / Topic: Universal suffrage for women. Other rights of women. I listen to a report, investigate, and comment

PROPOSAL 6 / International Women's Day

PROPOSAL 7 / Topic: Equal rights. Nondiscrimination. I listen to a report, reflect, and comment

PROPOSAL 8 / International Day of Indigenous Peoples

PROPOSAL 9 / Topic: Children's rights. Child labor. I listen to a report, investigate, and comment

PROPOSAL 10 / Topic: Protection of the environment and natural resources. I view images, investigate, reflect, and comment

PROPOSAL 11 / Topic: Intolerance – Discrimination – Violence. Role-playing

PROPOSAL 12 / Topic: Intolerance – Juvenile violence. I view images, reflect, and comment

PROPOSAL 13 / Topic: The right to identity – The invisible citizens. I read, reflect, and comment

PROPOSAL 14 / Topic: The right to identity. Role-playing

PROPOSAL 15 / Topic: Poverty. Role-playing

PRO

POSA

LS

/ T

HE

DEM

OC

RA

TIC

CLA

SSR

OO

M/ M

OD

ULE

IV

54

THE DEMOCRATIC CLASSROOM/ PROPOSAL 1 /

TOPIC: THE CLASS ASSEMBLY

(PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL, WITH APPROPRIATE ADJUSTMENTS)

We propose that you plan to hold one class assembly at the beginning of the week and another at the end of the week. The objectives would be as follows:

Monday assembly:

1. Express requests and wishes for the week. 2. Plan the work for the week. 3. Distribute responsibilities. 4. Establish work groups and committees.

Friday assembly:

5. Evaluate the work carried out during the week. 6. Evaluate coexistence. 7. Evaluate each student's responsibility with regard to assignments. 8. Resolve outstanding conflicts. 9. Realize what needs improvement and make common decisions to

improve it (if necessary, vote on alternatives).

The assembly will have ground rules of the following type:

10. Respect others' turn to speak and their opinions. 11. Respect the assembly's agenda (topics to be discussed). 12. Have claims, complaints, requests, etc., prepared and explain them

to classmates.13. Engage in dialogue with a view to reaching agreement. 14. Participate in any votes that take place and observe the voting

procedure.15. Respect the decisions adopted by the assembly as a whole.

Using these guidelines as a rule of thumb, hold your class assembly, setting the goals and ground rules for the two assemblies through dialogue with your students.

55


GAME AND REFLECTIONTOPIC: PARTICIPATION – RULES

Activity for primary- and secondary-school teachers and students

The idea consists of creating a new game (or modifying a game that the students al-ready know).

The teacher, individually or with a colleague (with the students divided into small groups), should design the rules of the game and see whether it can be played with those rules.

It will also be necessary to establish penalties for any errors that may be committed, and to determine who wins.

Once the rules of the game have been designed, they should be stated clearly, preferably in writing.

A group other than the one that created the game is assigned to play it, following the rules that have been established. After playing without changing the established rules, the group can propose changes in the rules to the group that created the game. The students debate the proposals, pointing out possible consequences of the change, and examining whether the proposed change requires that other rules be adjusted or changed.

While the activity is being carried out, the following considerations should be taken into account:

(a) the importance of participating in rulemaking(b) the responsibility of the rulemaker(c) the importance of playing by the rules(d) the possibility of changing the rules

This is the objective of the activity.

Another activity along these lines consists of developing rules to be applied in the classroom concerning how we treat one another, order, assignment of responsibili-ties, solidarity and tolerance, etc.

56


I REFLECT AND COMMENTTOPIC: FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

For secondary-school teachers and students

¿What does this cartoon suggest to you? ¿What is the situation in your country in relation to this topic?

Personal reflection may take the form of drafting a short commentary.The activity may also be used for group reflection.


I READ A STORY, REFLECT, AND COMMENTTOPIC: UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE

Activity for secondary-school teachers and students

Read the story by Isaac Asimov entitled "Universal Suffrage" (published in Cuentos Completos I, Ediciones Biblos, Buenos Aires, 2005).A PDF version is attached.

Do you think it would be a good idea to apply a system like the one the au-thor describes?

Why is everyone's participation important in a democracy? Can we say that a country with a system like the one described in the story is

a democratic country? Why? Another activity for students:

After the group reflects and comments on the story according to the prece-ding outline, invite the students, working in groups, to imagine narratives si-milar to the one in the story, in which some of the characteristic elements of

57

http://www.innova.uned.es/webpages/carta-edu-val-oea-uned/oea/contenidos/modulo_04/su.pdf

democracy as we know them today have disappeared or been supplanted by others.


TOPIC: UNIVERSAL SUFFRAGE FOR WOMEN. OTHER RIGHTS OF WOMEN

Activity for secondary-school students and teachers. May also be used for students in the last years of primary school.

Listen to the following radio spot on women's rights:http://www.radialistas.net/clip.php?id=1600061

Reflect on the status of women in your country today.

Does discrimination exist?When did women in your country acquire the right to vote and be elected to of-fice?How many women are members of parliament in your country today?


I LISTEN TO A REPORT, REFLECT, AND COMMENTTOPIC: EQUAL RIGHTS. NON-DISCRIMINATION.

For secondary-school teachers and students. May also be used in the last years of primary school.

Listen to the following radio report on situations of discrimination:http://www.radialistas.net/clip2.php?id=1500207

Discuss with the students the situation of discrimination it reflects.

Have you ever witnessed or been involved in a similar situation?What did you do, or what would you do, in that situation?Is the nurse's attitude valid? Is the police's attitude in the first case valid?

Act out a valid situation in each of the aforementioned cases or in others suggested by the teacher or by the students.

58

http://www.radialistas.net/clip2.php?id=1500207

http://www.radialistas.net/clip.php?id=1600061


I VIEW IMAGES, INVESTIGATE, REFLECT, AND COMMENTTopic: Protection of the environment and natural resources

All levels

Images of the Amazon region – Source: Greenpeace

The images are used as triggers for a debate on:Protection of natural resources

1. Deforestation affects the life and health of the population; consequences2. The dilemma of growing soybeans, which undoubtedly helps to alleviate

hunger, versus protecting resources for the future

3. How can a balanced, sustainable development be achieved?

60


ROLE-PLAYINGINTOLERANCE – DISCRIMINATION – VIOLENCE

To be carried out with primary-school students

1. The class is divided into two or more groups of students. Each group will present a situation.

Situation A. Pedro is a foreigner and has recently joined the class. He still does not speak Spanish well. Whenever the teacher asks him a question that he has to answer out loud in front of his classmates, he becomes very nervous and his words become garbled. One of his classmates imitates him. The others react (the students are free to define the reaction).

Situation B. María has very little athletic ability. Whenever she has to participate in some activity in physical education or gym class (jumping up on the step/high jump or long jump/forward or backward roll, etc.), María becomes nervous, does it badly, or refuses outright to do it and begins to cry. Her classmates and the teacher react (the students are free to define the reaction).

Situation C. Juan is a very timid boy. He does not make friends easily. During recreation periods, he likes to have quiet conversations or read a book. He never, for example, plays soccer with the other students. His classmates react (the students are free to define the reaction).

2. After each presentation, the class as a whole analyzes the reactions. Positive and negative attitudes are evaluated and, in the latter case, corrections or alternative solutions are proposed. Then the situations are presented again with the corrections suggested.

3. The students are invited to reflect on the possible impact of the various reactions that they have observed on the individual portrayed and on the group as a whole.

4. The students are invited to relate similar experiences, identifying the positive and negative attitudes.

The activity can be carried out with secondary-school students by adapting the situations.

61


I VIEW IMAGES, INVESTIGATE, REFLECT, AND COMMENT

INTOLERANCE – JUVENILE VIOLENCE

Look at the following cartoon by Ibáñez, published in La Nación, Buenos Aires, on May 23, 2006:

What comment do you think it deserves?

What is the attitude of adults in general toward violence between children?

What is the attitude of the students' parents toward juvenile violence?

Show the cartoon to your colleagues and reflect with them on the influence of adults' attitude toward juvenile violence and its consequences.

.THE DEMOCRATIC CLASSROOM/ PROPOSAL 13 /

I READ, REFLECT, AND COMMENT

THE RIGHT TO IDENTITY – THE INVISIBLE CITIZENS

At the following link you will find an article by Bernardo Kliksberg, entitled “Los ciudadanos invisibles” [The invisible citizens], published in La Nación, Buenos Aires, on May 21, 2006.

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/archivo/nota.asp?nota_id=807684&origen=acumulado&umulado_id=&aplicacion_id=12

1. What, in the author's opinion, are the causes for the lack of documentation among some sectors of the population?

2. What do you think those causes are?3. What consequences does the lack of documentation have for people?4. What does the situation described have to do with democracy?

You can carry out this thinking activity with your colleagues, with other persons in the community, or even with your secondary-school students.

62

http://www.lanacion.com.ar/archivo/nota.asp?nota_id=807684&origen=acumulado%0D&umulado_id=&aplicacion_id=12



LEARNING BY DOING / ACTIVITY 14 /

ROLE-PLAYINGTHE RIGHT TO IDENTITY

To be carried out with primary- or secondary-school students. The class is divided into two groups.

Group A will be the service providers (some will represent a hospital, others a school, others the agency that pays pensions, others a bank to which people apply for loans, others a public agency that awards housing).

Group B will represent the citizens. A sign will be placed on the shoulder of each student in this group. These students cannot see their own signs. On most of the signs, a first name will be written, but on the other signs, nothing will be written.

Instructions will be given to each group separately.

The students in Group A receive instructions to provide services to the students in Group B, so long as a first name is written on their sign.

Each service will be recorded on a small card, along with the first name of the person requesting it.

Type of ServiceApplying for credit/Requesting information/Collecting a pension/Enrolling in school, etc.

Name of Citizen

Signature of Official

The students in Group A are told that when any of the students whose signs are blank apply for a service, they will simply be told that they cannot be served, that they cannot obtain credit, that they cannot apply for housing, that they cannot enroll their children in school, etc.

If the students requesting the services ask why, they will be told "We cannot serve you," with no further explanation.

The students in Group B receive instructions to apply to the various service providers to obtain the respective service or to request information.

The teacher monitors the amount of time allotted to the game, so that the students in Group B have time to request several of the services offered by Group A.

After the game is over, the students in Group B are asked to count their cards representing services obtained. Those who do not have a name will not have

63

any services.

A debate then ensues concerning the problems that may arise when a person lacks identification. Some of the questions that may be used to guide the discussion are as follows:

Was the right to identity respected?Was the treatment discriminatory?Why does a person need identification to have access to those services?What should the government do to ensure that everyone is documented?

LEARNING BY DOING / ACTIVITY 1 5 /

ROLE-PLAYING (POVERTY)A story to be dramatized (adapted from Puig, 1995):

In the neighborhood of "La Laguna", there are many poor people in the streets, begging and collecting empty boxes. In the past month, the residents have complained so much that the town council has decided to transfer these poor people to the neighborhood of "Los Jardines." When the residents of the second neighborhood learn this news, they become very angry, and say that they do not want the poor people to come and live in their neighborhood. To address the issue, the town council has convened a meeting, attended by the following persons:

The president of the Residents Association of "Los Jardines." A young man who is unemployed and begs for charity at the entrance to the

market. An elderly lady, also poor. A representative of the town council.

The steps in implementing the exercise are as follows:

1. Adapt the story to the local context.2. Create a group climate appropriate to participating in the activity. Prepare

for the dramatization: assign roles or characters; have the students internalize their positions, values, and attitudes; rehearse the dramatization.

3. Present the dramatization. 4. Analyze the dramatization: What is the central problem? Did the

characters inhabit their roles, or did they abandon them for other ones? What ideas does each character have? What feelings and values have come into play? Why do they act this way? What would happen if they took another position? What solutions have been proposed? Which character do you identify with most? Etc.

5. Conclusion: through dialogue, identify the characters whose behavior is most appropriate from the standpoint of democratic values.

64

mÓdulo 1 - scm.oas.orgscm.oas.org/idms_public/english/hist_07/cidi01887e08.doc · web viewmÓdulo...

Documents