LSC S1:Children at work

Introduction
Children at work In this chapter, you will discuss the types of work found in different areas and settings and different work experiences. You will classify work according to its physical demands and the capability of the workers, and engage in a debate about child labour.

Exploring types of work
What are all the kinds of work you can think of? Do you think that some work is better than other work? Why?
In this section you will identify and classify types of work. You will talk about groups of people you know who work in different areas and industries. You will meet some people and learn about the various kinds of work they do and why they do it. You will also reflect on the benefits of work.

Activity 5.1 Discuss the work you do

1. Tell your partner how old you are. Explain why you are a child, not an adult.
2. Describe the work you do at home and in your neighbourhood.
   Explain what the work involves, what time you do it, who you work with, what tools you use and other facts.
3. Explain why the work you do is similar to or different from the work done by:
   a) adults in your home and neighbourhood.
   b) other children in your community.
4. Explain how the work you do meets the needs of different homes or families, the ages and abilities of adults and children, and the environment you live in.
5. Report back to the class on the similarities and differences in the work that various children and adults do in your community.

Activity 5.2 Identify and classify work done by different people
Form a group of eight learners who represent different areas of Uganda.
I. Guided by a leader, talk about the different kinds of work that people do in your area.

2. Suggest reasons why certain groups of people do the work they do.
3. Consider:
   the demands of each type of work
   the preferences and abilities of the people
   the physical environment where the different types of work are done
   and the resources available in this environment
   the market available for the products and services

• other factors surrounding the type of work.

2. Use a computer to create a table, or copy the table below to classify the different types of work you have identified. Some examples have been completed to guide you.

5. Review the notes in the table together. Discuss the general trends that you see across the columns, for example, who does the different types of work and when.
6. Write a short paragraph on what you have learnt about work in different areas of Uganda, who does it and when they do it.

Activity 5.4 Share experiences of work
1.Take turns to talk about the home you grew up in and the school you attended. Take notes while you listen to others.
2. Describe the work you did at home and at school. Explain who supervised your work.
3.Tell the group what you understood to be the benefits of the work you did, both at home and in school.
4. Describe how you felt about the work you did and how you feel about it no
5. Ask wh-questions as others describe their experiences to find out the exactly type of work, the reasons why they did it, who they worked with and sort of time it took, and other similar details.

Activity 5.5 Describe the work children do at school
I. Read about the work that a group of children do in their dormitory.
The children are aged 10 to 12 years. They go to the same school. During the week, their day starts at 6 a.m. when they get out of bed. They have to do a little work before breakfast and a little more over
the weekend. All the children have breakfast at 7.15 a.m. before they leave the dormitory to join their classes. The children come back to the dormitory after school. They all have chores to do in the dormitory
before supper.

2.Study the pictures and make notes about the work each child is doing.
Mention the time of day, the age and gender of the children and the work they are doing in each picture. Decide what the benefits of their work are to each of them, as well as to their school, families and the community. Add notes on any other details that you think may be useful for discussion.
3.Think about whether this work is acceptable or not.
4. Draw a picture to show an example of other work that children could do at school.

Work done by children in different places
Every kind of work has different demands. Some work is more suitable for
children, while other work may be too physical, advanced or unsafe for childre
What sort of work would you choose to do to earn money? How do you
decide on the amount of payment for a certain kind of work?
In this section, you will continue to discuss and describe the work done by
children. You will share your views about the benefits of work for children. You
will learn about order at home and school, and develop the ability to express
yourself about work and about your interests, likes and dislikes.
Activity 5.6 Categorise domestic work done by children
1. look up the meaning of: opinion, suitable, fair and appropriate.
2. In a group, share stories about work that you had to do on your own when you were younger. What factors influenced the decision that you should do that work? Who assigned you the work and what made it enjoyable or not enjoyable? Were you able to complete the work?
2. List the lightest and the heaviest work that was described by different members of the group.
3. Agree on four points to include in a short paragraph explaining how fair or unfair your work was. Then work alone to write the paragraph.
4. Draw a table on the computer or copy the table below in your exercise book to help you categorize different domestic work and its suitability for children.

5. Draw a table on the computer or copy the table below in your exercise book to help you categorise different domestic work and its suitability for children.

6. Look up the word outline in a dictionary. Discuss the meaning of this word with your group.
7. Work alone to write an outline of a passage on work that is suitable for children. Use the ideas and information from your table to help you.

Activity 5.7 Learn about order and responsibility

1. Look up the following words in a dictionary and make notes of their meanings: responsibility, obligation, order and acceptance.
2. Tell a partner about the children’s responsibilities you learnt about at primary school. Explain the relationship between children’s responsibilities and having order in our homes and schools.
3. Work together to write a paragraph describing what order is and why it is important in a home or school.

Activity 5.8 Read a story about work and play

1. Work alone. Read the following extract:
   In the novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, Tom lives with his Aunt Polly. She has given him the job of painting the front fence. Tom is usy with brush and paint when Ben, a boy he knows, comes by. Ben teases
   Tom about having to work, saying:
   “Hello, old chap, you got to work, hey?”
   Tom pretends he has not noticed Ben.
   “Why, it’s you, Ben! I warn’t noticing.”
   “Say—I’m going in a-swimming, I am. Don’t you wish you could? But of course you druther work—wouldn’t you? Course you would!”
   Tom contemplated the boy a bit, and said:
   “What do you call work?”
   “Why, ain’t that work?”
   Tom resumed his whitewashing, and answered carelessly:
   “Well, maybe it is, and maybe it ain’t. All I know, is, it suits Tom Sawyer.”
   “Oh come, now, you don’t mean to let on that you like it?”
   The brush continued to move.
   “Like it? Well, I don’t see why I oughtn’t to like it. Does a boy get a
   chance to whitewash a fence every day?”
   That put the thing in a new light. Ben stopped nibbling his apple.
   Tom swept his brush daintily back and forth—stepped back to note the effect—added a touch here and there—criticised the effect again—Ben watching every move and getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed. Presently he said: “Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little.”

Tom considered, was about to consent; but he altered his mind “No—no—I reckon it wouldn’t hardly do, Ben. You see, Aunt Polly’s awful particular about this fence—right here on the street, you know—but if it was the back fence I wouldn’t mind and she wouldn’t, Yes, she’s awful particular about this fence; it’s got to be done very careful; I reckon there ain’t one boy in a thousand, maybe two thousand, that can do it the way it’s got to be done.”
Ben continues to persuade Tom to let him paint, until Tom, looking reluctant but feeling jubilant, accepts the bribe of an apple and hands over his brush for Ben to use while he goes to sit in the shade close by.
As the afternoon goes on, Tom uses the same wily plot on all the boys ho come past and mock him. Each of them ends up painting the fence in
return for something precious which they trade with Tom.
By the time Ben was fagged out, Tom had traded the next chance to Billy Fisher for a kite, in good repair; and when he played out, Johnny Miller bought in for a dead rat and a string to swing it with—and so on, and so on, our after And when the middle of the afternoon came, from being a poor poverty-stricken boy in the morning, Tom was literally rolling in wealth. He had besides the things before mentioned, twelve marbles, part of a jews-harp, a piece of blue bottle-glass to look through, a spool cannon, a key that wouldn’t unlock anything, a fragment of chalk, a glass stopper of a decanter, a tin soldier, a couple of tadpoles, six fire crackers, a kitten with only one eye, a brass door-knob, a dog-collar—but no dog—the handle of a knife, four pieces of orange-peel, and a dilapidated old window sash,
He had had a nice, good, idle time all the while—plenty of company— and the fence had three coats of whitewash on it! If he hadn’t run out of whitewash he would have bankrupted every boy in the village.
Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it—namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.

2. Discuss the following questions with a partner. Then write the answers in your exercise book.
   a) Do you think it was fair for Aunt Polly to make Tom paint the fence?
   Give more than one reason for your answer.
   b) What makes Tom’s approach to work interesting?

c) The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is set in the 1 840s when it was common for children to work rather than go to school. Do you think it is still possible to make children of Tom’s age do this kind of work? Explain your answer.
d) The language and content of the extract shows you that the novel was written long ago. Find three words or phrases in the extract that support this.
e) If you were Tom, what would you have done to get the fence painted?

3. Exchange books with your partner. Compare your answers to the questions. Listen to your teacher’s guidance on the answers to review your work.

Activity 5.9 Attitudes towards work

1. Read the extract from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer again. Discuss these questions with your group:
   a) Do you think Tom preferred painting the fence to swimming?
   b) At first, how did Tom make a chore into something enjoyable?
   c) When Ben came along, what opportunity did Tom see?
   d) How did Tom persuade other boys to paint the fence for him?
   e) What lesson did Tom learn about human action?
2. Imagine it is your class’ turn to lead assembly next week. You are going to address the school on how work can be made pleasant and acceptable for children.
   Prepare notes on three main points that you will talk about.
   Correct and improve on the work.
   Write or type the notes for your group members, teacher and the
   head teacher.

3. Work on your own again. Using adverbs of time, write five sentences about work in your community.
4. Give your book to your partner to mark. Discuss any answers that you are not sure about. If neither of you has a solution, ask for your teacher’s advice.

Activity 5.11 Write about work you would like to do for money
I. In pairs, discuss paid work that you could choose to do when you grow up.

2. Try to find out about the different options of paid work.
3. Explain your choice of paid work to your partner. Identify:

• what you admire about that work
  the demands of the work
  the pay you could expect to earn
  the conditions to expect
• advantages and disadvantages you may experience
• why you would choose that work despite the disadvantages that
  you identified.

2. Imagine that you need to explain to your parents and teachers why you would choose the work you have discussed with your partner. Plan to write two paragraphs explaining your choice.
   Paragraph I should include: your opening statement

• a description of the work you prefer
  details about why you admire this work
• a statement about the benefits you hope to enjoy.
  Paragraph 2 should include:
  your topic sentence
  disadvantages you know of
• an explanation of how you would cope with the disadvantages of your chosen work (for example, follow the example of someone you know who does that work)
• your own opinion as your concluding statement (for example,
  providing important advantages of the work).

2. Work on your own to write a draft of your paragraphs. Swap paragraphs with your partner and make suggestions for improvement.
3. Correct your paragraphs and prepare a neat copy, if possible on a computer. Present your work to the class.

Work and the rights of children

Should children be allowed to do work outside their homes? Do you know all the children’s rights? How can you make sure they are upheld? In this section, you will explore children’s work at home and away from home. You will discuss the role of adults in the lives of working children and the role of fellow children. You will debate the fairness of employing children.
You will need:
A selection of newspapers, magazines and reports.
Activity 5.12 Share opinions about children working

1. Discuss the differences between children wanting to work and children needing to work.
2. Think about children’s age and abilities, including the ability to handle money, the demands of the workplace, workloads, working hours and safety.

3. Write notes on the following:
   a) Why do you think a child might need to work?
   b) What types of work are acceptable if a child has to work?
   c) What work is definitely not acceptable for any child to do?
   d) What are the responsibilities and obligations of adults who employ children? Did you need to work as a child? Share your experiences with the group.
4. Reflect on the notes you have collected on children needing to work.
   Discuss the sentences, then copy and complete them with clauses about
   work. Remember that a clause is a part of a sentence that contains a verb.
   a) Children whose parents are both living and working should have……………………………..
   b) Orphaned children who have to take care of siblings can do some work
   as long as………………..
   c) No child should do any work
   d) To ensure their safety, children in need of work should always……………………
   e) All adults employing children have to,…………………….

Activity 5.13 Read an adult’s views on children and work

1. Look up and write the meanings of these words: nomads, kraal, graze warriors and protection.
2. Nominate two group members to read Part 1 of an interview on children who work in Karamoja. Listen carefully and make notes on whether this work is suitable for children to do.

3. Now, work on your own. Answer the questions about the interview.
a) According to Mr Lomongin, why do the children in this area need to work?
b) Why do the adults here believe that herding animals is suitable work for oung boys?
c) How do the adults make the work easier for the younger children?
d) Why can a young boy handle a herd of ten goats?
e) Do you think the younger herdsmen’s work is different from that of the older herdsmen? Explain your opinion.
f) Write three sentences to explain how you would provide better protection for the young herdsmen if you were given the responsibility.

4. Exchange books with your partner. Listen to the discussion of the answers in class. Mark your partner’s work and indicate places where they need to make corrections.

5. Write two paragraphs about the situation of the families that Mr Lomongin describes. In the first paragraph, explain what you learnt from the interview about the people’s idea of a solution to poverty. In the second paragraph, explain your own suggestion of a solution to poverty. If possible, type your answers on the computer.

Activity 5.14 Read about the life of young mine workers

1. Work in the same group. Identify two other group members to read Part 2 of the interview. Listen carefully to how heavy the work is.

2. Write the reasons why these children need to work.
3. Describe possible reasons for the low daily rates that the children are paid to work in the mines.
4. Explain how easy you think it is to keep working children at school.

5. Imagine you are part of a team planning to visit the children working in the mines. Your mission is to persuade the children and their adult relatives about the value of going to school. Prepare some notes that you will use in your conversation with them.

Activity 5.15 Debate the fairness of wages paid to working children

1. Discuss in a group how much 1,500 shillings is worth to a household. Consider what household products, food or services you can buy with this kind of money.
2. Mr Lomongin argues that the children at the mines are paid according to how much work they do. Do you agree or disagree that the amounts paid should be equivalent to the work they do?
3. Look up the word exploitation. Discuss and decide whether this word fits the situation of the child miners in this example.
4. Choose which statement you support:
   a) The children work because they need to support their households.
   b) The children work because they are a cheap source of labour for adults.
   Write down points to defend the statement you have chosen.
5. Debate the statements in Question 4.

Activity 5.16 Review and summarise what you have learnt
Work with a partner. Then, work on your own.

1. Review the work done in this chapter. Identify the most important lessons
   you have learnt about children having to work. Write a summary of these
   lessons. Refer to the types of work children do, the reasons they work, the
   opinion of adults regarding these children working, and any other details
   you think are important.
2. Swap your work with your partner and provide suggestions that you think
   will improve the writing. Make changes to your own work.
3. List at least four reasons why it is important for you to know about working
   children in Uganda. Refer to personal as well as public interests.
4. Write down the best way to find out how children feel about having to work.
5. Interview a classmate to get their opinion on:
   •0 why children should do some work
   0 why some children need to get paid for the work they do
   0 at what age a child should be allowed to do paid work
   0 what work children should do for payment and what they should not do
   0 how heavy the workload of children should be
   0 who should determine the wages of working children.

6. Bring together all the notes and the summary you wrote in this lesson. With your partner, plan how to use the information in a short essay about working children. Choose one of these topics:
   The life of a working child
   I am lucky to be at school.
7. Now, work on your own to write your draft essay.
8. Swap drafts and correct your partner’s work. Check spelling, punctuation, development of paragraphs and flow. Improve your own draft, then write it out neatly, or type it out on a computer.

Activity 5.17 Compare situations and draft an article

1. In a group, share your findings from the interview you did to find out how a classmate feels about having to work. Take notes about what others say.
2. Discuss the most important things you have learnt about your classmates’ views on work. Compare your own life with that of the young herdsmen and miners described by Mr Lomongin. Consider, for instance, where you grew up, what care you enjoyed and who provided it, the material provisions you enjoyed and those you missed. Think also about who provided for you or who you provided for. What were the reasons for ever missing school? Discuss and compare your situations.
3. Imagine that the theme of the next issue of your school newspaper will be “Speak out and be heard”. Write an article for this issue. Use your discussion and the essay you wrote to plan a short article.
4. Write a draft of your magazine article. Your teacher will guide you on how to revise the text as you prepare it for publication. Review one another’s work.

Bringing change to working children

Do you think that it is possible to have a world that is free from abuse
of children’s rights?
You will debate the rights of children and the role of adults in the life of working children. You will also talk about how you can play the role of an ambassador and support and promote the rights of children, especially of working children.
You will need:
A dictionary and computer (if possible).

Activity 5.18 Investigate organisations working for children

1. Look up the meanings of these words: intention, lobby, ambassador and reform
2. Identify four organisations that work to improve the welfare of Uganda’s children.
3. Share information about the work of these organisations. Talk about and make some notes on:

• what they believe and promote
  their activities
  their partners
• who they lobby for support
  the results they have achieved
• what sort of information they share.

1. Work in groups to research the work of children’s development workers in Karamoja. Conduct your research by reading books, newspapers, published reports and magazine articles. You will need the Internet to access current information. You will need to:
   • nominate group members to read about specific aspects of development work
   decide the topics you will need to find information on
   agree how the researchers should write the notes
   agree when everyone should report back with their notes
   nominate two people in the group to put the notes together into a
   report for the class.

Activity 5.19 Take a stand on working children
I. Read Part 2 of the interview with Mr Lomongin on pages 80 and 81 again.
He says that children’s rights activists cannot do anything about the
problem of working children in Karamoja. Do you agree? Say why.

2. Imagine you are part of a group working to protect children’s rights. You have an opportunity to meet the leaders in the community described by Mr Lomongin and to persuade them to talk to the people about the value of sending children to school. Prepare your speech. Remember that there is widespread poverty and the adults believe some children need to work to support their families. At
   the same time, their rights must be upheld and they should not be exploited. You need to:
   find out the views of your peers and teachers
   find information on the Internet and in newspapers, magazines and reports share your opinion on these working children and their education

defend the herdsboys and mine workers’ right to education find out what can be done to help herdsboys and miners to go to school

• use persuasive language to make your points.
• find out what can be done to help herdsboys and miners to go to school

• use persuasive language to make your points.

Activity 5.20 Participate in a community discussion
I. Review the speech you prepared in Activity 5.19. Prepare to present the
speech to the class.

2. Listen to the other speeches. Ask questions and make notes about the following issues:
   the immediate benefits of schooling

• when school-going children will learn practical skills, such as herding cattle
  how schools should demonstrate the value of the curriculum
• who will replace the working children in households.

2. Use your notes to design a poster to convince the communities described by Mr Lomongin how they will benefit by sending their children to school.