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Saving the family or dealing with divorce?
Developed
by Agnieszka Kocela. www.agak.50megs.com
|Introduction
|Quest(ions)|Process |Resources |Evaluation |Conclusion
When we get married we believe that we
will stay together “till death do us apart”. Unfortunately in our fast
developing world people find it more and more difficult to get on well
together. They don’t have enough time and will to cherish the relationship.
Career and their own ego is sometimes more important than the attachment they
once had. Keeping up the bond is not only a pleasure but a hard work as
well. That’s why the easiest way out is
to get divorced. Good if the two sides can separate peacefully, but in many
situations it’s a painful experience. Sadly, if in the affair there are
children involved. Parent-child problems can also create
distress within a family. Poor communication and discipline problems are very
common. In which case a divorce is a must? How can
we save the marriage and the family?
|Introduction
|Task |Process |Resources |Evaluation| Conclusion
You’re going to take part in the debate
in which you will present arguments for and against divorce. As a student of a
secondary school you must write an argumentative essay afterwards. You will be
working with five other students to form a group that will have to decide in
which case a divorce is a must and when can we avoid it and save a family. To
complete this WebQuest you will visit various on-line sites to gather the
information you need. Your task is to decide whether the couples should or
should not divorce. You are encouraged to give enough arguments that support
your decision: the teacher will give each of you four strips of paper with the
suggestions of how to present an argument, e.g. “I agree with you, but…”, “You
may be right however…” . You ought to
use all of the strips, because you will be marked for participation in the
debate. You will have to play different roles while analysing the situation:
|
THE ROLE |
GROUP 1 |
GROUP 2 |
|
A mother |
You work, deal with the housekeeping,
take care of the children; you think that your husband doesn’t spend enough
time with the family and with you; he is always busy and doesn’t do any
housework; you are disappointed with the fact that you both can’t talk any
more, you feel lonely and neglected; every time you try to talk with him, you
start quarrelling; recently you’re arguing about almost everything, you both
think you should get divorced, besides you have two children (a teenage-son,
a four-year-old daughter) and don’t want them, to be forced to listen to
their parents’ fighting with each other like the worst enemies |
You can’t stand your husband, who’s
constantly bulling the family after abuse of alcohol; you can’t look at your
little daughter to be scared each time her father is at home, you’re angry
with yourself that you’ve been waiting so long with the decision of the
divorce, you want the divorce very much but you’re afraid of your husband,
who told you that he’d rather kill you and the children than give you a
divorce. |
|
A father |
You work very hard and that’s because
you are very tired; you still don’t understand what’s all the fuss is about
and why your wife is constantly complaining, yet you bring the money, pay the
bills and all you need is some peace; you can’t stand your wife grumbling and
murmuring all the time, and if you
can’t come to terms you’d better divorce. |
You’re an alcoholic but you deny the
fact that you have a problem. After abuse of alcohol you beat your wife and
bully your children, but when you’re sober you have remorse and promise your
wife it won’t happen again and you sincerely believe in what you say,
unfortunately you don’t keep your promises. You won’t allow your wife to
divorce you! |
|
A teenage – son |
You have enough of your parents’
constant rows, but you love them both and don’t want to take somebody’s side,
you think that your parents should do something about it but you’re not sure
whether a divorce is the best solution. |
You’re sixteen and you’re stiff scared
when you have to come back home from school, you never know if your father is
drunk or sober; you can’t stand looking at your tormented mother but what’s
more you can’t let your little sister go through the same horror you did and
still do |
|
A lawyer |
You try to help the couple to divorce
peacefully; you present possible solutions to such problems: finances,
childcare after the divorce, and everything what’s connected with law matters
concerning the divorce. |
You try to help the couple to divorce
peacefully; you present possible solutions to such problems: finances, childcare
after the divorce, and everything what’s connected with law matters
concerning the divorce. |
|
A psychologist |
You think that the couple should do
everything to save the family and the marriage, you give them advice how to
do it, how to start to recover the bond they once had; if unfortunately they
decide to divorce you will try to help their children to get through the divorce of their parents. |
You try to help the poor couple, you
think they have a serious problem, you help the mother to finally free of
this relationship in which she is a victim and the whole family suffers;
you’d like also to help the father to fight with his disease. |
|
A Catholic priest |
You try to prevent the divorce, you
think it’s against the God’s law: “till death do us apart”. |
You try to prevent the divorce, you
think it’s against the God’s law: “till death do us apart”. |
The following questions should help you
to set your thoughts in the right track:
1.
Divorce,
is it the right decision?
2. What does the Catholic Church say about
“Divorce”?
3. Do they have to divorce?
4. Is divorce the only way to resolve the
couple’s problems?
5. What will happen to the kids while their
parents are going through the divorce process?
6.
What is
going to be the financial situation after their divorce, if it is needed to
happen?
|Introduction |Task
|Process |Resources |Evaluation | Conclusion
1. The class will divide into groups consisting of six people each.
2. Each person in the group will choose a role described above.
3. Every member of the group will take notes while searching the net and
share the information with the other members so that the group has a complete
picture of the topic. Prepare pros and cons of getting a divorce from the point
of view of your role.
4. After you have collected the information, there will be a debate in the
class where you will present your points of view still playing the roles. The
people presenting the opposing points of view will sit opposite one another and
can change the side each time the arguments of the opponents persuaded them to
change their mind.
5. After the debate (at home or in the class – the teacher will decide) you
will be asked to write an argumentative essay: “Is divorce a must? – discuss”.
You may use the resources listed
underneath or you can use any search engines you want to look for some links:
Ø http://www.catscans.com/catholicsite/divorce.htm
Ø http://www.religioustolerance.org/div_rc.htm
Ø http://www.divorcenet.com/finance/index.htm
Ø http://www.divorcesoftware.com/splitgen/sp/gn/forthechildren.htm
Ø http://www.divorcesupportt.com
Ø http://www.coolnurse.com/divorce.htm
Ø http://www.berrymanshacklock.co.uk/services/family.htm
Ø http://www.divorcestopper.com
Ø http://www.shef.ac.uk/counselling/advice/relationships/
Ø http://www.counsel.ufl.edu/selfHelp/relationshipProblems.asp
Ø http://www.ivillage.co.uk/relationships/couple
|Introduction
|Task |Process |Resources |Evaluation| Conclusion
You will be marked for:
|
ü Completion of each role in the process – 10 points |
50 –46p very good mark 45 –41p good mark 40 –36p satisfactory 35 –30p poor |
|
ü Quality of your findings – 10 points |
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ü Participation in the debate – 12 points |
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ü Written essay – 18 points |
|Introduction |Task
|Process |Resources |Evaluation |Conclusion
This will be a surprise; the debate between the groups
will decide the conclusion for this class.
|Introduction
|Task |Process |Resources |Evaluation |Conclusion
homepage an example of
a web-based lesson English quizzes