How can educators get learners to think differently about the consequences of unprotected sex?
The first exercise includes four edited news articles that are certain to get every learner involved. In each of the selected case studies someone has acted in a questionable way.
Divide the class into groups of no more than five learners. Read the four cases and ask each group to decide who the worst offender is (across the case studies) and to rank them. There is no right answer but each group must be able to defend its choices.
A spokesperson for each group must report back on the worst offender and the person who the group believes acted in the least questionable way. The spokesperson must outline the arguments that support the decisions made by the group.
Although the material is not about HIV/Aids, it focuses on behaviour that could be regarded as irresponsible. It gives the learners the chance to examine the actions of different people and decide for themselves what they think is right or wrong and to appreciate the fact that human behaviour has a ripple effect that involves others.
Four case studies for learners to look at
Chased-away pupil misses a year of school
A year ago a teacher sent a Soweto boy home to put on “proper school shoes” to replace the takkies he was wearing.
For the rest of the year 17-year-old Tebogo stayed at home in an informal settlement. It was months later that the matter was brought to the attention of the school principal. Several attempts were made to locate him and bring him back to school, but he could not be found.
Finally the teenager returned to school, wearing a new pair of “proper shoes”, thanks to his uncle.
In an interview with the Star Tebogo said: “I’m ready to go back to school because I want to pass matric and study electrical engineering.”
At weekends he would try to get part-time work to help buy stationery and textbooks. However, it was decided that he would not have to pay fees this year because the school now understood his circumstances. He would also be included in the feeding scheme to ensure he did not go hungry.
Abandoned
The mother of a four-month-old baby left the child at a home for unmarried mothers in Pretoria because she wanted to concentrate on her studies and had no family support. She was a final-year BCom student.
An estimated 3 500 to 5 000 babies are abandoned every year.
The baby-faced bomber
Daleeb (20) is the third Palestinian woman to carry out a suicide attack this year. In central Jerusalem Daleeb ended her life the way dozens of Palestinians had done before: she blew herself up, killing herself and six Israelis and injuring scores more.
She was a quiet, soft-spoken woman. Her best friend said: “She was like any other girl her age. She spoke about love and marriage. I am so sad she is gone.”
On a video taken before the bombing Daleeb said: “I’ve chosen to say with my body what Arab leaders have failed to say. My body is a barrel of gun-powder that burns the enemy.”
Girl’s city dreams lead her into sex slavery
Thembile (not her real name) was 14 when she left her home in Zimbabwe and fled to South Africa in search of a better life.
She found life was harder than she had imagined and within weeks of her arrival she was forced to work as a sex slave.
Her story is not unique. Johannesburg NGOs and social workers estimate that there are at least 2 000 underage children working as prostitutes in Hillbrow and Berea alone.
Joan Dommisse is a teacher. Contact her on 011 616 8404 or [email protected]