RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITES

In this presentation, you will learn;

The difference between needs and wants

What responsibilities come with having rights

The types of rights given to children

About the rights and responsibilities of different people involved in the supply and purchase of goods and services

Ground Rules – A Task

In order to understand how rights and responsibilities work, it is important to establish some ground rules within your class.

Take some time to think about some rules you could introduce to your lesson so that every body feels safe and everybody is able to get their point across.

Some rules you could use are;

Listen quietly when others talk Understand that we may not all share the same views Only speak when invited to

Try to come up with a list of 10 rules that everybody agrees on.

Needs And Wants

It is likely that you didn’t all agree on what is a need and what is a want.

What is the difference between needs and wants?

A need is something necessary to stay alive. For example, without clean drinking water, most people would struggle to stay alive for very long.

A want is something which might be considered a luxury. For example, as much as we all like watching DVD’s, would our lives be any worse off without a DVD player? Probably not.

To summarise, things which you want are generally luxury items, but things which you need are necessities. Your human rights are based around the things that you need.

What Rights Do You Have?

All human beings have certain rights they are entitled to, and these are set out in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights.

Did you know there is also a United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child?

In 1981, the United Nations developed a list of rights which they felt all young people should be entitled to.

Using the class ground rules you have developed, try to come up with a list of rights which you think all children should be entitled to.

Compare your ideas with the actual list on the next slide.

Responsibilities

With rights come responsibilities.

For example

If you receive the right to a free education, do you think you have a responsibility to behave so that other people can receive the same privilege?

If you receive the right not to be discriminated against, shouldn’t you treat other people the same?

Too often, people feel they have the ‘right’ to something, but they are not prepared to accept the responsibility which goes with it.

Responsibilities At School – A Task

Imagine that the school council in your school has decided to open separate Common Rooms for all year groups at lunch time.

It is now your right to use that Common Room.

What are your responsibilities?

On your own, or as a class, make a list of responsibilities that go with your new rights.

Responsibilities At School – A Task

Your responsibilities include;

Behave appropriately when using the Common Room Ensure the Common Room is kept tidy Speak to staff in the Common Room in an acceptable manner Leave the Common Room as you found it Treat other Common Room users with respect

Rights and Responsibilities For Consumers – A Task

Think about sales of alcohol.

Discuss as a class who has rights and who has responsibilities and what you think their rights and responsibilities are.

Some people have been named below to help you.

Consumer

Seller

Alcohol producer

Rights And Responsibilities – A Task

Consumer – any person who has the right to buy alcohol (people over 18 years of age) must understand the responsibilities which go with it. They must make sure they are aware of the risks associated with drinking alcohol and also that they are aware of the law related to alcohol.

Seller – any shop owner who has the right to sell alcohol has a responsibility to ensure they do not break the law. In the main, this means that they must not sell alcohol to anyone they think may be under 18 years of age.

Alcohol producer – the companies who make and distribute alcohol have a responsibility to ensure the alcohol they provide is safely packaged and clearly displays the alcoholic content of their drink.

Do you think all people follow their responsibilities?

Do All People Follow Their Responsibilities?

Unfortunately, there will always be a small minority of people who do not accept their responsibilities.

When it comes to alcohol, there will always be;

Shop Keepers who knowingly sell to children under the age of 18 People who know the dangers of alcohol but drink too much

One of the reasons we have so many different laws is to make sure people keep their responsibilities. There are laws;

To stop shop keepers selling to under age drinkers To prosecute people who are ‘drunk and disorderly’

What Have We Learnt?

There is a difference between what we ‘need’ and what we ‘want’

Children have rights of their own as written in the Convention on the Rights of the Child

When people are given rights, they must accept the responsibilities that go with the rights

Sometimes, people break the law because they do not accept the responsibilities associated with their rights