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Introduction...

Stephen Lawrence was 18 years old when he was killed because of his skin colour. It took over 18 years for his racist murderers to be sentenced.

How can you teach under-18s about justice and the legal system in this climate?

So, what happened in April 1993?

Find out how much your pupils already know about the murder of Stephen Lawrence. Ask them to question their sources. How do they know it? How can they trust what they have heard?

Remember that they were not born yet when the murder happened, but even if they had been, how could they trust what they saw online or read in the papers?

The news reports about the case on BBC Newsround are useful. See for example BBC Newsround Stephen Lawrence

Another excellent source is the BBC Panorama programme about the case. This lasts an hour, so you could to set it for homework or show clips in class.

Class task

For homework ask half the class to prove a hypothesis using the internet and/or newspapers. Ask the other half of the class to prove the opposite using the same tools.

In your next lesson share the findings and discuss how you can trust sources of information. How do you gather truthful information and how do you know it's the truth.

Consider the role of a jury and a judge in a courtroom. Why do we have twelve people on a jury and only one judge?

Racism

What has changed since 1993?

Do problems of racism persist in society? Do your pupils think that things have changed during their lifetimes? What evidence do pupils have to support what they are saying?

Stephen Lawrence's father says the sentencing of two men for his son's murder is 'only one step in a long, long journey'. What does he mean?

Why are people racist? Why are people bigoted against others (racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, urban/rural, postcodes etc)?

What is racism?

Rule of law

What is it good for?

Why do societies need law?

Who decides on what should be legal and illegal? Who decides on law enforcement and punishments?

Laws are national, but there are also international laws and there are local or bye laws. For example, everyone in the school community has to abide by school rules - or do your rules differentiate between teachers and pupils?!

What rules do teachers have to follow that are the same as or different to pupils? Is this fair?

Have you already looked at Human Rights? These are examples of rules that are international.

How does rule of law protect us? Why is it illegal to kill people? Do you think that there should be exceptions to this rule?

Why do we have laws in this country? What is the role of law? What can you do if you disagree with the law?

Racism and bullying

Compare racism and bullying. What types of bullying can pupils name?

What can be done about bullying? Look at which ways the school deals with bullying and also how individuals or whole classes can deal with it.

Law: What do your school rules say? Who has made these rules? Do your pupils agree with the rules as they are? Why or why not?

Is knife crime a problem in your school or local community? Talk to pupils about it! What can your community or school do about it?

What can you do?

Taking action for a more cohesive community

Citizenship education isn't just about learning and questioning facts! It's about taking action.

This is an opportunity for your pupils to engage in school life as "citizens" of the school, your local community, nationally or internationally.

Class task

Write a letter to the headteacher telling them why they disagree with a school rule, how they want it changed and why. Headteachers (just like MPs) should be willing to enter into dialogue with the pupils in their school!

Class task

Create a school-wide campaign for an issue that concerns pupils - this could be anti-bullying or another aspect of school life that they want to raise awareness of and possibly change.

Who could they engage in their campaign? Other pupils? Teachers? Headteacher? Governors? Parents? Community partners (e.g. police, council, local charity)?

Class task

Write a letter to your MP explaining why Citizenship is such an important lesson to have in school and how it prepares pupils for the real world!

GCSE - Camapaigning

If you're doing the Citizenship GCSE then we've got lots of advice and guidance for supporting pupils in developing their campaign (60% of the GCSE grade) in our secondary resources section which is accessible to ACT members.

Alex Rose, 19

Check out this anti gun & knife crime campaign

Recommended Teaching Resources

Recommended by ACT

Here are seven excellent teaching resources related to this topic. They cover teaching about racism, campaigning, school councils and the law.

This page has been written by Millicent Scott

Contact the author