Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

15 minutes

Tune In: Defining dignified and undignified behaviour

15 minutes

Find Out: Responding with dignity

25 minutes

Take Action: Dignity starts at home

5 minutes

Reflection

Tune In: Defining dignified and undignified behaviour

Step 1

Ask students to think of words or examples (such as people) that come to mind when they hear the word ‘dignity’. You might want to create a word cloud or vision board (using an app like Canva).

Step 2

Invite students to write their own definition of ‘dignity’ on the Student Worksheet.

Step 3

Read (and display) this definition for students (Cambridge Dictionary):

Dignity is “the importance and value that a person has, that makes other people respect them or makes them respect themselves.”

Lead a class discussion on the topic of dignity using the following prompts:

What is the difference between dignity and respect?
Does everyone have dignity?
What does it mean to treat others with dignity?
Does everyone deserve to be treated with dignity?
What does it mean to behave in a way that is ‘dignified’?
Do you think dignity is an Australian value?
Do you think dignity should be an Australian value?

Step 4

Have students write a definition for ‘undignified’ on the Student Worksheet.

Facilitate a discussion with the class about their definitions – use the following questions as prompts:

What does it mean to behave in a way that is ‘undignified’?
When can it be a challenge to behave with dignity?
When can it be a challenge to treat others with dignity?
What can be the consequences of undignified behaviour?
Can anything good come from behaving in a way that is undignified?
Have your thoughts changed on whether dignity should be an Australian value?

Find Out: Responding with dignity

Step 1

Direct students to the scenarios below (also on the Student Worksheet). Individually or in groups, invite students to write what dignified and undignified responses might be to each scenario.

Your parents decide to take your phone away from you because you haven’t done your chores. You respond to this by….
Someone sends a Snapchat to the rest of the group that humiliates you. You respond to this by…
Your best friend is becoming close with your boyfriend/girlfriend but keeps telling you nothing is happening between them. You respond to this by…
Someone falls over and, by doing so, embarrasses themselves in public. You respond to this by…
(You’re an adult) As people are leaving your house for the night, someone refuses to shake your hand. You respond to this by…

Learning support: You might like to assign pairs or groups to only one scenario to work on and share their responses with the class.

Step 2

At this point, students should be able to find patterns in ‘dignified’ responses and ‘undignified’ responses.

Ensure students understand that acting with dignity doesn’t have to make you look weak or become ‘a doormat’ for other people to walk all over. You can still stand up for yourself by using your words in a calm tone of voice. Being dignified doesn’t mean condoning other people’s bad behaviour, but equally, it does mean making sure you don’t make yourself look equally as bad (or worse) by your response to it.

Step 3

Prepare the class to watch a clip about a coward punch. They will listen to Jon Walker talk about what triggered the coward punch that ended his son’s life. Please warn students that it shows violence and may be distressing for some.

Play this video:

JAIDEN'S DAD (https://vimeo.com/669710752) Password: CowardCool

Ask students what they think and feel about Jon’s story.

Step 4

A core aspect of being a well-rounded, functional and positively contributing member of civilised society is treating others with civility, dignity, empathy and compassion. Ask students:

Did the person who attacked his son show these traits? Why or why not?
What about Jon (Jaiden’s father)? Did he act with dignity in response to what happened to his son?
What was different about how these two men behaved?

Step 5

Following this, students should have a healthy understanding that violent actions are undignified. In pairs, ask students to consider what sort of life might be in store for someone where violence is a response to challenges in their life. After giving students some time to discuss, ask them to share their thoughts with the class.

Take Action: Dignity starts at home

Step 1

Invite students to discuss in small groups:

What does it take to treat others with dignity even when they are not behaving in a dignified way themselves?
How can we create a culture in our class where dignity is prioritised?

Step 2

Explain to students that they are to work in groups to come up with a class dignity agreement that outlines expectations for how the class members should behave. It should include guidelines for acting in a dignified manner as well as treating others in a dignified manner.

They may want to include ideas for how to resolve disputes in a dignified manner, such as through mediation.

Note: This document should not be a list of rules, or what ‘not to dos’. The challenge is for students to create a document that inspires them to choose dignity always, especially over violence.

Extension opportunity: If you would like students to take their learning beyond the classroom, you could have them work on a school dignity policy or create a community awareness campaign instead.

Step 3

Allow students time to work and share their agreements with the class. Have the students vote on the agreement they would most like to adopt for the whole class.

Hot tip: If there is no clear winner, you could spend time as a class, editing one of the agreements or merging some together to create a document that everyone is happy with. You should keep the agreement somewhere visible and refer back to it throughout the year. You might also like students to sign the agreement.

Reflection

Invite students to write personal responses to these questions:

In what situations do I struggle to behave with dignity?
In what situations do I struggle to treat others with dignity?
How could I respond differently?

Differentiated Learning

Extension

In Part B, students could create their own scenarios.
In Part C, students could work as a whole class to create the document together, practising dignified actions and responses throughout the process.
If you would like students to take their learning beyond the classroom, you could have them work on a school dignity policy or create a community awareness campaign instead.

Provisions for Learning Support

What is Dignity? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhr2_id2hpU).

Coward Punch - Staying Dignified

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