GC2 1. Lesson 2 - child labour/ cards

• Global Citizenship
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 2

Goals for this lesson

At the end of the lesson you..

-can reflect on your own attitude to work.

-empathize with working children in different parts of the world.

- are able to reproduce stories of specific children based on a text and describe various forms of child labour.

- can explain some of the reasons for child labour and characterize its impact on children, their families and all of society.

- Work in pairs or small groups

- think of solutions to problems

Form pairs or small groups

Read the card you have been given,

read it and try to imagine in what circumstances the child lives. 

• housing
• food
• money
• healthcare

Change pairs or small groups

Talk to your new partner about the card you were given en about the child's circumstances. Talk about the bullet points from assignment 2.

• housing
• food
• money
• healthcare

From the following statements pick 3 and answer them in your pairs or your groups of three. What would you do? what could you do to help?

• Your family has got into serious financial problems.
• You live in a house together with your family. (aunts, grandparents.. )
• You do not have your own room and share a bed with at least one sibling.
• You think all your rights are respected, which rights do you think are the most important to respect?
• You are afraid of somebody robbing or hurting you in any way. What can you do?
  

Why do children work?

Poverty, discrimination and marginalisation are the main drivers of child labour. Children in poor circumstances work because work is seen as the best use of their time in contributing to the needs of the family and preparing them for the life they are expected to lead.

Poverty leads millions of children into paying jobs or – especially for young girls – domestic work that may even be unpaid but removes the burden of feeding and housing the child.

In emergency situations - during or after conflicts or natural disasters - families who have had to flee from their homes often have to use their children to earn money just to pay for food.

Child labour is not always illegal

In many countries children working under the age of 18 is illegal - but not in all. Families and employers often hide what they are doing because they worry they will be taken to court or sent to prison for having child labourers.

What countries have a lot child labourers?

Nigeria, Pakistan and Afghanistan have the highest number of child labourers. They have also been affected for many years by wars and conflicts and have the highest numbers of children not at school.

War

Years of conflict in Syria has seen a dramatic increase in poverty among Syrian families and forced more children into the labour force, especially as refugees face restrictions to legal work from host country governments. 

In pairs

Discuss the inequality of 

opportunities in the world.

Homework

Assignment 1: individual assignment

-Describe in short, like the cards you received from your teacher last lesson, what your life is like, job, school, and everything.

- Compare it to the child you have read about, then answer the question: Would you rather work or study?

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Assignment 2: individual assignment

What small things can you and you family, class, friends, do to change and better the situations of the children described? You can write about it, make a mind map or a flyer e.g.