Disability rights: What about Doug's rights?
Introduction
PDF 
Level: Year 9 and up (14 years and up)
Time needed: 1-4 lessons
Introduction
These resources will help students to explore the concepts of disability discrimination. The resources focus around the story of a school student (Doug) who returns to school after a serious basketball accident.
A DVD 'What about Doug's rights?' has been developed to complement the resource and activity sheets. A script of the DVD is supplied as an alternative to the DVD, or as an additional resource for reference in the discussions arising out of the study of this topic.
As well as the specific issue of disability discrimination, the notion of 'difference' between people is explored. Students will look at how people respond to difference through how they treat other people. In exploring these ideas, students are encouraged to think about them in the context of their understanding of the applications of human rights and responsibilities. An understanding of the concepts of rights and responsibilities are essential to young people so that they can effectively participate in both their school environment and in the broader community.
With the changes to policies of inclusion and integration in Australian education institutions that have occurred in the last 20 years, issues of human rights in a context of disability discrimination may arise for students and teachers in their own daily dealings. The activities provided will enable students to work through the steps of a potential real-life situation and develop their decision-making and problem-solving skills, learning that sometimes there are competing human rights issues in the one scenario.
Aim
Disability rights - What about Doug's rights? activities are designed to:
- raise students' awareness of the human rights issues around disability discrimination
- develop their decision making skills to enable them to find informed and practicable solutions to the issues raised.
The activities can be photocopied for class use and used individually or as an entire resource.
Learning outcomes
In this resource students will:
- investigate the issue of 'difference' and how this relates to the way people are treated
- understand the key features of the law in relation to disability discrimination
- understand that there may be multiple human rights and responsibilities to be considered in any situation
- apply the concepts of human rights to their own lives
- identify a range of human rights and responsibilities that apply in the school setting
- develop cooperative learning and decision making skills.
Activities/resources
The resources provided can be used in the order suggested as per teaching and learning activities, or selected individually according to class needs:
- Script: What about Doug's rights?
- Multimedia resource: What about Doug's rights? DVD (8 minutes)
- Activity sheet: The school community
- Resource sheet: The law
- Key questions: Rights and responsibilities
- Activity sheet: Position cards
- Activity sheet: Decision making
- Resource sheet: Making a complaint with the Commission.
Teaching strategies
1: The themes, task and process explored
Resources:
- DVD and script - What about Doug's rights? (8 minutes)
This stage establishes the matters that will be examined through viewing the DVD (or reading the script) and through participating in the activities included; which are designed to assist students in developing problem solving skills. You may find it useful to introduce this topic with a class discussion about human rights issues generally. Some of the ideas presented in the introduction may be useful in guiding such a discussion and may give students an opportunity to acknowledge any prior learning and understanding in the area of human rights that they may have.
The themes raised in the DVD/script are:
- How are competing human rights and responsibilities balanced appropriately to best meet the needs of all?
- How do the issues of disability discrimination relate to notions of 'difference' for students in the context of the school community?
- What responsibilities do different members of the school community have toward each other?
- What rights are legally protected for students and for teachers in a school environment?
The task is to work out a solution to Doug's situation which best meets the need to balance his rights with others' rights, and clarifies the school's role in achieving this. The solution also needs to fulfill the requirements of the law.
The process is to discuss the DVD/script in class, to understand the issues that are raised, and then to use decision-making skills to come to a solution. It is important that the process takes into account all points of view and all implications using the position cards provided.
The solution to be sought should best fit the needs and obligations of all parties. In discussion students will be able to consider the relevance of the issues raised in their own lives.
2: Identifying the issues in Doug's case
Resources:
- Activity sheet: The school community
- Resource sheet: The law
Students are each given a copy of the Activity sheet: The school community - what are Doug's rights and responsibilities? The questions on the sheet are guides to the notes students should take during their viewing of the DVD, which will assist in the recall of the range of issues that arise in Doug's school. Teachers should encourage students to use their notes to inform their discussion as they work toward a solution within small groups in later stages of the topic.
After they have finished watching the DVD, engage students in a class discussion (with reference to the notes they have made) to ensure they are clear about the facts of the situation: what has happened, who is involved, what the key issues are.
Points of discussion could include:
Identifying issues of 'difference', both in terms of before and after the accident, and from one person to another:
- in how Doug behaves
- in how Doug is treated by other students
- in how Doug is treated by teachers.
Identifying the rights applying:
- to Doug, in terms of disability discrimination
- to the teaching staff, in terms of a safe work environment
- to the other students, in terms of accessing education
- any others, and how these are interconnected.
Identifying the areas of responsibility and whose they are:
- to provide appropriate access to education for all students
- to provide a safe environment under duty of care principles for students and occupational health and safety for teachers
- to uphold the laws against discrimination on the basis of disability.
Some questions to assist in identifying these areas may include:
- What has happened to Doug?
- How does his behaviour affect classmates, teachers and the school?
- What are the different points of view expressed by Doug's teachers?
- What points are being made by the counsellor and by Doug's mother?
Students may identify other issues in discussion. Allow them to explore the various points of view so that they can see the competing nature of some of the rights and responsibilities identified.
Students should then read The law resource sheet. (Note that the information provided is a guide only, and should not be relied upon for legal advice.)
3: Investigating the implications of Doug's case
Resources:
- Key questions: Rights and responsibilities
- Activity sheet: Position cards
In this stage, the focus is on the teamwork element of understanding the problems faced in a community and coming to a unified position about a possible solution. Students should be divided into small groups.
It should be acknowledged that while the aim of the exercise is to come to a resolution of the issues faced in the scenario, it may be that in some situations a unified position cannot be agreed upon. In these circumstances Doug or the teachers may need to seek resolution from an external body such as the Australian Human Rights Commission.
There are different ways that the activities in this stage may be approached, and depending on the class in question, or on the cross-curricula issues you are focusing on, you may wish to have the small groups concentrate on one of the issues raised in particular. Alternatively, you could allocate different aspects of the issues to each group, e.g. disability discrimination; duty of care; occupational health and safety etc. Or it may work more effectively in terms of goals and outcomes you wish to achieve to ask the groups to address each issue consecutively. Students should be divided into small groups. They should already have a copy of the The law resource sheet and The school community notes they have taken. They are then given:
- a set of key questions which should be covered in the discussion
- a set of position cards.
The position cards contain statements and comments from the characters in the DVD/script and from the broader school community. These may be used in a role-play of 'what happens next?' in response to where Doug is left at the end of the story. This could be done within the small groups or across groups (with one or two representatives from each group in the role-play).
Alternatively, the cards may be used as launch points for further discussion of the issues and demonstration of the attitudes displayed in the DVD/script.
However you decide to use them, all position cards should be heard by all members of each group for consideration in their discussions and their proposed solutions.
Presentations of the position cards should be followed by a discussion within the small group, using the key questions to highlight some of the views presented and to work towards possible solutions.
4: Students work toward decisions about possible solutions
Resources available:
- Activity sheet: Decision making
This stage is about exploring the techniques of problem solving in a group situation through reasoned debate to work toward a mutually agreed solution.
After discussing the key questions and coming up with answers to them, students should consider a variety of possible solutions to issues encountered by the range of affected parties at Doug's school, and recommend what they think will be the best solution.
A Decision making activity sheet is supplied for use in this activity.
In their discussions, ensure that the students consider how the range of proposed solutions affect all the parties represented in the DVD/script - primarily Doug, the other students, the teaching staff, the school's administration (represented by the counsellor) and Doug's mother. They should also recognise and consider any advantages and disadvantages that their proposed solutions carry with them.
At the end of the discussion students should decide what they might do to resolve the situation at Doug's school.
Solutions might include:
- providing special assistance to Doug at school
- providing advice to teachers about their responsibilities
- providing advice to students about strategies to integrate Doug's needs into their learning environment
- seeking advice from the Australian Human Rights Commission
- moving Doug to another school - but only if Doug chooses this option
- a combination of all or many of the above.
5: Students present their solutions to the class
Depending on time available, students could create a presentation which shows how they came to their final decisions. Their presentation should also reflect the understanding they have developed about decision making in terms of negotiation, discussion and balancing the human rights and responsibilities raised in this context.
For example, some ideas they might emphasize in their presentations could include:
- the competition that can exist between moral and legal rights
- the power imbalance between different parties and how this could be addressed
- the understanding required by the whole community as to their responsibilities in upholding human rights
- the importance of employees knowing what their rights are within the workplace
- obligations in society to ensuring a safe environment at school and work
- the need to balance a duty of care from teachers and the school with the students' responsibility to act appropriately
- how and why it is difficult to satisfy all parties in an issue such as this
- the advantages of discussion over confrontation in coming to a decision.
Encourage students to choose a communication strategy that gets their message across in an entertaining and effective way.
This may include:
A role-play or drama created as
- a TV drama
- a debate
- a TV panel show
- a staged vox pop session
- a current affairs show
- an interview
- a courtroom drama
- a TV/radio advertising campaign.
6: Class discussion and debriefing
Resources:
- Resource sheet: Making a complaint with the Commission
The class can now review the issues they have identified and explored in their presentations, including the difficulties they had in coming to decisions which suit all parties.
For example, you might emphasize:
- what understanding students have developed about human rights in the school community
- how individual rights work in relation to the consideration of the rights of others
- how effectively negotiation can be used to resolve conflict
- what could happen when a mutually agreed resolution is unable to be made
- what courses of action might not be appropriate in some circumstances and why
- the point at which there may be a need to consult the Australian Human Rights Commission
- the need to bring all parties together to ensure that they understand one another's rights and the appropriate ways to show respect for those rights.
The debriefing of students could also include information on how this situation
would be handled if it came before the Australian Human Rights Commission. Some basic
information regarding the official complaint processes of the Commission is provided
with more detail available online at: www.humanrights.gov.au/complaints_information/
and includes the Pathways to Resolution Video/DVD which provides a short
introduction to the Commission's complaint handling processes.
See: Pathways to resolution
