To prepare for the lesson, the teacher can read the chapter “How to prevent radicalisation in schools?”

• Terror often occurs after a process in which someone has failed to win support for their views through other channels.
• To prevent young people from becoming attracted to violent ideologies, it is important that they are familiar with lawful democratic channels for bringing about change in society.
• The exercise can be done after exploring the causes of radicalisation, linking it to the question “what can prevent someone from becoming radicalised?” (see both the introduction and the teaching module on the topic).

Intro

What can we do if we are dissatisfied with something? Some people resort to violence to fight for their cause, but that can make the matter worse. In a democracy there are numerous lawful, non-violent methods for effecting change.

Main part

Present the battle for women’s suffrage as an example of how non-violent activism can succeed. Go through the table showing what they did to bring about change. Next, the students should work on their own topic in groups.

Download the worksheet here.

Then the students should work on the following exercise, also in groups:

Find an issue that you are not happy with. It can be anything from environmental policy to school rules. Draw up a specific plan for how you can create change.

Download the worksheet here.

Conclusion

The groups present their case and approach for effecting change and then give feedback to each other.

• What could the groups have done differently?
• Which other channels could they have used?