Agree Or Disagree

Workshop 2: Agree or Disagree? Exercise

Age: For ages 7 and up

Aim: To encourage students to consider where they stand on different political issues.

Process: Facilitators and at least 3 people

Materials: Space for young people to move around, ‘agree’ and ‘disagree’ signs, and a list of debateable statements

Method:

1. Post ‘agree’ and ‘disagree’ signs on different sides of the room and ask pupils to assemble in the space between the signs.

2. Read aloud a statement and ask the young people to move to the sign that best mirrors their opinion. The stronger they feel about the issue, the further they should go towards the sign. If someone is undecided, they should remain in the middle and listen to contributions from both sides before coming to a conclusion.

3. Challenge the pupils to discuss their position on the given statement.

4. Once discussion on the topic has closed, begin with another statement and restart the entire process.

5. Keep in mind that recording game results may be beneficial for future work with the group and may lead to information on the group’s opinions of specific issues.

6. Start the discussion with some easy / fun statements.

7. The list below is only a sample of questions, feel free to adapt as appropriate to your subject matter.

Potential Statements and Discussion Points

· I like watching Eastenders.

· I enjoy playing video games.

· I prefer sweet food to savoury food.

· I prefer summer to winter.

· I am creative.

· I am sporty.

· I like watching Hollyoaks.

· I like reading books.

· I like listening to music.

· One Direction are cool.

· Justin Bieber is cool.

· I like going on Facebook.

· I like pizza

· My opinion matters.

· Sometimes when I go shopping people speak to the person I am with instead of talking to me.

· I have the power to change things.

· I am able to campaign about things I would like changed.

· I enjoy public speaking.

· I am confident enough to stand up for myself.

· I know how to put my point across to convince others.

· I am good at listening to other people’s point of view.

· People are poor because they are lazy

· It is ok to buy products made by children

· Only girls should learn to cook in school

· People should be paid to vote.

· Children have the right to have a say in decisions that affect them.

· Adults always listen to what young people think

· It is ok for footballers to earn millions of pounds when there is so much poverty in the world

· Young people are able to contribute to decisions made by local councils

· My school cares about how much I improve in my studies

· The school staff have high expectations of me

· The school staff set goals I can easily achieve

· My views are listened to and taken seriously by school staff

· My school rewards pupils who receive good marks or make good progress

· There is nothing to do and nowhere to go for young people our age

· It can be difficult to take part in a social life when you have to depend on your parents for transport

· Young people experience pressure to belong to a social group; the pressure to “fit in”

· Today’s youth are tomorrows adults

· The voting age should be lowered to 16.

· Voting at elections should be required.

· People should be able to vote via the internet or text message.

· There should be an equal number of male and female politicians.

· On Election Day, polling stations should be set up in shopping centres.

· There is increasing availability of alcohol and drugs and pressure to use

· Young people are under huge pressure to achieve academically in school or college

· Young people are an important part of the community

· When young people hang around it is often felt that they are “up to no good”

· There is a pressure to live up to media ideals of lifestyles