The dream factory
In this unit, we will know the Human Right to Work, and will know different persons, who in spite of the difficulties have managed, thanks to his effort to have a decent job.
- Setting the scene within the area
We all know that human beings are born equal and that we have the same rights, yet the world is arranged in such a way that there are huge differences and inequalities between one country and another, huge differences within the same country and also huge differences between people, depending, among other things, on whether or not you are disabled, or perhaps a migrant, or whether you are a man or a woman.
Poverty in the world wears a “woman’s face”. Over 70% of the people throughout the world who live in a state of poverty are women. The concept of the feminisation of poverty refers to this situation.
The world is home to over a billion people with some form of disability. Four out of five disabled people live in developing countries, and approximately 82% live below the poverty line.
The world has 214 million migrants, accounting for 3% of the population. In other words, 1 out of 33 people on Earth live in a different place to where they were born.
Decent, quality employment for everyone is one of the ways of breaking the circle of alienation, poverty and social exclusion, leading to a society that is fairer, more supportive and tolerant, thereby helping to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, the first of the Millennium Development Goals.
- Goals
- Understand article 23 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- Reflect upon the concept of work
- Acknowledge that everyone has the right to decent employment in order to satisfy our basic needs
- Know the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
- Content
- Poverty
- The universal right to work
- MDG 1: eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
- Unequal distribution of wealth throughout the world
- Text-based discussion
- Reading comprehension
- Observing other realities
- Interest in discovering other realities and situations
- Putting yourself in someone else’s place
- Appreciating the work done by other groups
- Becoming aware of how other people live throughout the world
- Basic competences studied
Social competence and citizenship
This unit provides an opportunity for jointly studying and learning about two Human Rights: the Human Right to Work and the Right to Equality, highlighting how important it is for everyone to a have a decent job that will also enable them to live with dignity.The activities programmed in this unit favour a reflection upon the difficulties that certain groups of people face, such as women, the disabled or migrants, as they do not have access to a decent job.
Individual testimonies are used to present people who have managed to gain recognition and a decent job through their own endeavour and personal drive.
This unit fosters the value and importance of ensuring equal opportunities for everyone, strengthening the skills required for Global Coexistence.
Processing information and honing digital skills
Pupils will be required to use digital tools, such as computers, internet browsers and word processors, to analyse and reflect upon the different testimonies presented.Learning to learn
The different testimonies featured in the teaching unit are used, together with individual and group discussion, to encourage pupils to increase their awareness of their own strengths and capabilities.Competence for personal initiative and independence
A reading and analysis of the three testimonies presents positive experiences of personal improvement that may have an impact on pupils’ self-esteem, allowing them to contemplate their future with greater chances of success.Competence in the culture of science, technology and health
The teaching unit focuses on understanding and appreciating the importance a decent job has for people and their families, and realising the impact this may have in terms of health (physical, mental, emotional, etc.) and instrumentally (studying, travelling, relating to other people, etc).The unit therefore presents different narratives in which pupils can analyse the consequences of one form of lifestyle compared to another, as well as learn about other initiatives that contribute to socio-economic sustainability, such as green jobs and the preservation of biodiversity.
Competence in language communication
Pupils will be part of a group that will analyse a testimony and present its conclusions in front of the class. To do so, the pupils will work on their skills in listening, reasoning and verbal expression.Pupils will write down their dreams about what they would like to be when they are older and what job they would like to have, and then they will read them out aloud.
Pupils may adopt a critical approach to the messages present in society regarding the difficulties more vulnerable groups have to face when looking for a decent job.
Likewise, they will learn and use the specific vocabulary of social affairs and Human Rights.
Competence in mathematics
Part of the information available in the unit is presented in mathematical terms in the form of percentages, so pupils will be required to understand them in order to include it in their knowledge.- Values studied
The aim is to use listening and an understanding of situations that are experienced in pupils’ most immediate circumstances and in other realities, coupled with the desire to improve them, to favour global coexistence and the building of a fairer and more humanitarian world.
The teaching unit also places stress on the value of self-improvement, teaching pupils the importance of personal motivation and their desire to better themselves, overcoming the obstacles that may appear: financial, personal, professional, etc., in order to achieve the goals that each one sets themself.
Linked to the value of self-improvement in the teaching unit are enthusiasm and the capacity for self-sacrifice that people have in their ongoing personal development.