Philosophy

Should euthanasia (assisted suicide) be permitted?

This page offers a few of the key arguments, but there are many other sites that explore this topic more fully. Students could prepare a debate on the topic. Working through the scenarios provided will raise awareness of some of the complexities of the topic. What are the present laws in your country? Students could prepare a report based on research.

This complex issue obviously lends itself to debate, or as a research topic. Follow the links to a few of the better sites on the topic. Amnesty International in particular offer some significant information for students to consider. Further stimulus material can be gleaned from films or from current criminal cases in your local media.

Class members could collect comments from a variety of sources, in order to contribute to this site or to develop a resource of their own. The exercise is really one of values clarification as students consider what they hold precious and what they most fear. How about completing a group mural? Another approach is to choose a text - a novel or film - that the class has studied. Have students decide which of the characters they would send to heaven and which ones to hell. They would, of course, then need to justify their answers.

We have not provided images of the ghostly creatures from other cultures. From the brief descriptions, have students illustrate and label them. Ghost stories are also a rich field of exploration, to read and then to write. Try a class play writing activity, then students can perform their original script.