Year 6 discuss their rights as citizens

22nd January 2015

As part of our recent PSHE topic of “our rights as citizens”, Year 6 have been considering the notion of freedom and the right to freedom of expression.

Leading on from this and as part of our P4C (Philosophy for Children) lessons, which have recently been introduced to the curriculum, we felt it was important to talk to the boys about the significant events in Paris this month.

In preparation for the possibility of being asked about current affairs at their 11+ entrance interviews, we decided to investigate the topic with sensitivity. We touched on the subject of satire and discussed the following questions:

- What is satire?
- How might the journalists at Charlie Hebdo be feeling now?
- Should these types of cartoons be published?
- Should people be more aware that this type of satire could provoke reaction or cause offence?

We also talked about how, in this case, it is not tolerable to use extreme violence.

The boys enjoyed participating in these discussions and giving their own views.

Madame Hargreaves