Social issues

• Engels
• MBO
• Studiejaar 1

Social issues

Making profit

Employers used the profit to invest in their companies, for example to buy new machines. This economic system to make profit by investing money in your company is called capitalism. They also used their money to pay for their own comfortable lives. Some factory owners lived in big houses, had plenty of food and expensive clothes, while their employees struggled to survive.

At first there was hardly any resistance to these inequalities. Many believed that God had made the world this way and this should be respected. The poet Cecil Frances Alexander wrote a hymn for children about it: ’The rich man in his castle, The poor man at his gate, God made them, high and lowly, And order’d their estate.’

A girl working at a weaving machine in a factory. Painting by Rodriguez, (1882).

summarize

1. write down the title of this paragraph
   
2. what is capitalism?
3. why was there hardly any resistance to the inequality?

Lesson goals

• To practise with social issues

What is social issue

Listening exercise

This is Sarah Knight. She is a well-known American editor and author of many self-help books, such as 'The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k'

The task of this listening activity is to learn what her book has to say and how it helps people. 

Hier verder vragen bij maken

What is decluttering?

1. Getting rid of stuff you don't use anymore
2. Getting rid of stuff to calm your nerves
3. Getting all spatulas out to throw away
4. Get negativity out by doing some exercises

What does she mean with not giving a fuck about something?

1. You don't vibe with it
2. You don't put any energy and effort into something
3. You just don't care
4. You love it

Why was she unhappy?

1. She had to sit for 8-10 hours
2. She did not like the monotone lifestyle and job.
3. She made her dreams come true
4. There was no Starbucks in the office she worked at

What was life changing?

1. Her finally leaving NYC
2. Her finally getting out of the corporate life to drink Martinis
3. Her finally walking on a beach in a bikini
4. Her getting out of the life she was unhappy in

What is she trying to do with this example?

1. Starting the topic with an anecdote
2. Creating a scenario to make the concept understandable

How would you explain the not sorry behavior method?

What is the concept of the fuckbudget?

1. You have to think about wherein to spend your fucks to
2. Considering how much money you have and where to spend it
3. Making a budget of a month to track your in and outcomes
4. You have to consider which activity will make you more happy and not feel sorry for doing it

What's the purpose of the visualize exercise?

Class debate - Social issues

The students will debate some controversial arguments related to issues in society.

Organise this depending on the size of the class. One option would be to pair the students up, assign each student to one side of an argument, and have them present one at a time. For a larger class, you may want to divide it into two groups and have them work on a couple of issues.

Give the students enough time to prepare their arguments. Five minutes if you've paired them up, ten minutes for two larger groups.

You will chair the debates and make sure that everyone has had a chance to say their piece and respond to any counter-arguments. Make it more fun by picking a winner at the end of each debate, based on their performance. You should justify your choices.

1. Is animal testing a justified?

2. Are video games containing violence appropriate for children?

3. Is euthanasia justified?

4. Torture is justified when used for national security.

5. Cigarettes should be banned.