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Challenge 2 - Autonomy and Recognition

Page history last edited by PBworks 6 years, 2 months ago

Overview of the 5 challenges: 1. Why Children's Rights? - 2. Autonomy & recognition - 3. The right to education - 4. Protection against Child labour - 5. Rights for girls & Equality

 

By students of Rotterdams Montessori Lyceum (RML)

 

Autonomy or self-determination is an international law. It gives you, as a human being, the right to choose for yourself and decide how to live your life.
This right is given to you from the moment you were born just like other human rights. 

 

A good example is the life of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who literally fought for her life.
In her speech on education in 2011, she explains how she couldn’t go to school, not because she didn’t want to, but because girls were told they weren’t allowed to go to school anymore.

 

 

How her story continues:

 

 

 

Her speech makes you think:

  • Is autonomy a universal children's right?

  • Which articles in the Convention on the rights of children are about 'self-determination'?

  • Is it important that children have the right to choose how they want to live their life?

  • Which decisions can you make in your own life?

  • Do you have the right to have an opinion about many things? At what age?

  • Autonomy has a connection with responsibility. What are the things that you are responsible for? At what age? 

 

Other examples of autonomy are: choosing your sexual orientation, your clothes, your hobbies, the school you want to go to, etc.

All in all just how you want to live your life.

 

Assignments:

Dear readers, now it´s time for you to get to work!

We have designed 3 reflective assignments for you, to think about your own situation. And of course, possible situations that could occur.

It´s important to give us a bright picture of your situation.

There are no wrong answers in the following assignments. Let´s begin, shall we?

 

Assignment 1: the drawing

 

Things may not be what they seem. Tell us and most importantly ask yourself what you see in the drawing. 

1. What is the meaning of the drawing according to you? Try to explain your answer using the word ‘autonomy’.

2. Describe in one word how the left person might feel.

3. Make a short poem of at least 6 sentences about autonomy.

4. Make your own drawing about autonomy.

 

 


 

 

Assignment 2: the poem

 

Choices

 

As long as there are no

choices to be made

everything in your life

will be the same

 

Free in dreaming

the desire to

reconcile with family

and love in abundance

 

A hobby

is special

dancing, soccer

you can do it all

 

You are the one

who decides your happiness

you are the one

who creates your life

 

 

1. Can you choose what you wear?

 

2. Do you play sports?

If the answer is yes: Which sport? And did you choose it yourself?

If the answer is no: Would you like to play sports? If yes, what´s holding you back?

 

3. Write down 3 things you can´t choose for yourself. Do you agree you can´t choose these things for yourself?

 

4. And last but not least, we want you to make a short story about the choices you made today, from the moment you woke up until the moment you started writing this story.
Do you regret some of your choices?

 

 

Assignment 3: The story

 

Read the story, before you answer the questions.

 

1. We would like you to look for the different types of autonomy in this story. Write them down.

2. If you were Lysander or David, how would you have reacted on the comments of the girls or the man, who passed by?

 

The story

 

It is only three o’clock when Lysander returns home. He is, like so many times before, struck with the hollow feeling of standing inside his gigantic but empty house. It is too quiet inside these cold walls. 

The silence almost deafening.

It wasn’t always like this. But when his mother died three years ago, it was as if she took all the warmth with her.

 

Lysander’s trained fingers dance across the piano keys. Music begins to fill the silent room. Lysander feels his entire body relax with the warm sound produced by the grand piano.

In the beginning, Lysander didn’t like the piano lessons. They were forced on him by his father. However, he is thankful for them now. The music makes him feel less lonely. 

His phone, still in his schoolbag, buzzes. A little reluctant, Lysander stops playing. Almost right away, the silence settles in again. He doesn’t mind it this time, though. He grins at the text message on his phone. It’s from David.

 

In front of the park stands David, waiting against the green metal bars of the park entrance. He looks up from his phone when Lysander walks towards him. David’s eyes light up and Lysander feels his heart speed up a beat. 

‘I thought you had a maths test to learn for?’ 

A sly grin creeps across David’s face. ‘I’d rather spend time with you, though.’ 

Lysander raises an eyebrow. ‘I’m going to fail that test anyway, so it doesn’t matter what I do',’says David, shrugging, and he links his arm with Lysander’s.

Lysander rolls with his eyes, but he lets David drag him into the park. 

 

They sit down on one of the wooden benches near the lake, which glitters brightly thanks to the sunrays. Big willow trees surround the lake, their branches almost touching the water.

David lays his hand on Lysander’s and their fingers intertwine. 

‘Have you talked to your father about 'you-not-wanting-to-be-a-doctor-and-go-to-a-medical-school-thing' yet?’ 

Lysanders sighs loud. ‘No.’ 

David studies the expressions on his boyfriend’s face. He knows this is a touchy subject for him. After a second of silence, he concludes that it’s safe to continue. ‘Why not?’ 

‘I’m his only son. I don’t want to let him down. I’ve told you this before.’ 

David nods. Lysander did tell him that before. Many times before, actually. It is the usual response he gets when he asks Lysander about his father. 

“I don’t want him to be disappointed in me.”

‘I’ll tell him. One day,’ Lysander murmurs.

David squeezes his boyfriend’s hand shortly. ‘I know you will.’

 

‘That is so gross!’ 

David looks around so quickly, that his head almost snaps. Two teenage girls, still in their school uniforms, walk past them giggling, their eyes locked on Lysander’s and his hand. 

David feels Lysander shift uncomfortably beside him. He starts to retract his hand, but David holds on to it tightly. ‘Don’t. You shouldn’t listen to them,’ he says while looking straight into Lysanders eyes. Lysander looks back, a flash of guilt in his gaze and then his shoulders sag back. He smiles and brings David’s knuckles to his lips. ‘You’re right. I’m sorry.’ He places a soft kiss on David’s fist. 

David feels a blush rising up to his cheeks. 

A rough voice from behind them interrupts their romantic moment, however.  

 

‘Gays shouldn’t be allowed to display themselves so openly!’

 

Both boys turn to the middle-aged man standing behind the bench. 

Lysander seems taken aback, David scowls. ‘Excuse me?’ the latter asks, anger clearly audible in his voice. But the man just clicks his tongue with a disgusted look, turns around and walks away.

David jumps up. ‘That was beyond rude!’

Lysander stands up an puts his hand on his boyfriend’s shoulder. ‘I know.’

‘And just walking away like that. That’s incredibly insolent!’

‘I know.’

‘And he ruined our moment!’

Lysander chuckles. ‘I know.’

David frowns. ‘Why are you so calm about this?’

‘One of us being angry seems more than enough, don’t you think?’ Lysander smirks, the left corner of his mouth just a little higher than the right. 

‘By the way, you were the one who told me not to listen to what other people say about us.’ 

David smiles softly. ‘True…You know what, I could totally go for some ice-cream right now.’

Lysander holds out his hand, a broad grin forming on his face, which makes David’s heart flutter. 

‘Well then, shall we?’     

 

 

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