Truths, Lies and Freedom

In International Studies, we started our lesson with a game. I got the idea from the UK TV Show "Would I Lie to You?" It's all about contestants trying to guess whether others are telling truths or lies. One contestant will read out a statement and the opposing team must question them about it. This of course gave way to many funny moments with our class (one student had to lie about how they would NEVER go to sleep before midnight, for example).

These games are always a good way to get the class talking and bonding. It did, however, also encourage the students to think about the terms "truths" and "lies". We noted that in our society, we are relatively free to pursue truths and to question what is happening around us.

Continuing with our North Korea topic, we realised that this is not the case there. In order for the students to learn more about the country in terms of its relation to human rights, I set up a fact-finding treasure hunt. I hid twelve facts about North Korea around lukio, Merenojan and even by the library. The students had to follow the trail of clues to collect all of the facts. With the class split into two teams, things certainly got competitive. Here we have one team hiding from the other...

Once all of the students had returned, I asked them to read through these facts carefully. They then had to sort them into categories in terms of whether they related to: the government, the media, world relations, and/or crime and punishment.  This was when the real thoughtfulness began. As we explored these issues more deeply, watching a YouTube video of North Koreans who had experienced the regime, the students began to realise just how many human rights are being broken across the world right now.

One student said, "We've been talking about these issues but can we DO something?"

This was such an important moment and I'm so pleased that the students are asking what it is they can do to help with the plight of others. We will certainly be exploring this question further on in the course...