What are the issues in Maciene school?

Supporting each other’s development through a global partnership

In this reflection ‘Supporting each other’s development through a global partnership’, students examine the Millennium Development Goals to understand the overall issues that global society is facing. They then focus on the specific issues facing Maciene School, in particular the education and experience of female students.

Key Questions

What are the issues in Maciene school?

Learning Objectives

• Understand the issues that affect the Maciene School
• Analyse the ways in which those issues could be solved

Starter

Introduce the theme using the Maciene issues Powerpoint Unit 2 Lesson 2 Issues in Maciene

Pupils discuss the following questions in pairs:

1. What would be different about a school day without any computer access?
2. What would you find hardest to cope with? Why?
3. What would you like about it? Why?

They then share their answers with the class

Main Activity 1

Pupils are given a sheet with four different issues to consider: Maciene Issues Worksheet

• Rebuilding rooms during a storm:  Last year the rooms in one of the buildings were knocked down meaning that they could not be used for lessons. It also posed a security risk for some of the equipment in there. Why not use the money to rebuild these rooms and help the students’ education through their access to new facilities?
• Recruiting Teachers: Mozambique has a shortage of teachers. Schools have to compete for staff and teachers who are only training are thrown straight into the classroom without proper supervision. Could you use the money to encourage more teachers to train and work at the school and improve the students’ education?
• Encouraging Orphans: 20% of students at the school are orphans who cannot afford to stay in school. They start to work at a young age and also become pregnant early on, which severely limits their opportunities later in life. You could use the money to help these orphans to stay in school and receive a more thorough education
• Lack of Internet Access: The location of Maciene school, Mozamique, means that it is very expensive and difficult to provide the school with internet access. Education is provided through textbooks instead, preventing teachers and students from accessing the most up-to-date information and resources. A school could use the money to help a partner school get internet access and widen the horizons of the education provided.

Pupils must decide which of these issues they consider to be the most important and why. They are told that they have £2000 to solve the issue so must consider how they would spend it. After a while this is reduced to £1000 and then to £500 to help them consider how to solve these problems on a budget.

Main Activity 2

Pupils consider how they could help raise money to solve these issues. This links back to the previous task as, however much money they raise is how much there is to spend. If they don’t put the effort in then they won’t raise much money and won’t be able to solve the issue

Plenary

Pupils then consider what Mozambique students could do to help their school with particular issues that they are having.

Learning Outcomes

• All pupils will be able to describe an issue that affects Mozambique schools
• Most pupils will be able to explain how this issue could be solved
• Some pupils will be able to consider their fundraising responsibilities

Resources and Points to note

• Maciene Issues PPT  Unit 2 Lesson 2 Issues in Maciene
• Worksheet on Maciene issues Maciene Issues Worksheet
• Teachers may wish to update the resources with reference to their own link school

Theology

• Entering into the experience of a global neighbour – empathy
  (John 11.28-37 – Jesus identifies with Mary & Martha’s loss & weeps)
• Balancing competing ethical priorities in a constrained situation
  (cf. Just war theory of Thomas Aquinas – competing goods/lesser of evils)
• Identifying action to undertake themselves to help a global neighbour
  (extending concept of neighbour to human family created by God – Genesis 1.27 cf. Paul’s speech in Acts 17.24-29.)

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