Discrimination at School?

Description

This teaching tool touches on both ethics and religious culture. It lets students explore the themes of justice, tolerance and the accommodation of differences. The activities include lectures, personal reflection exercises, discussions based on two real court cases and a case study done in groups.

Students are led to compare their perceptions, reflect and examine the benchmarks that mark out the practice of reasonable accommodation in Quebec, particularly in the school environment.

Educational objectives

• To encourage students to reflect on the themes of tolerance and common good
• To increase students’ knowledge of the Charters and the notion of reasonable accommodation
• To analyse the concept of discrimination from an ethical and legal perspective

Subjects and subject-specific competencies

Culture and Citizenship in Québec - Secondary

Secondary II

Cultural realities and compulsory main concepts: Democracy and social order - Rights and responsibilities.

Compulsory specific concepts, and related topics and examples: Collective interests (collective rights), Minority and majority, Women’s rights.

Secondary IV

Cultural realities and compulsory main concepts: Justice and the law - Injustice and Legal and judicial institutions.

Compulsory specific concepts, and related topics and examples: Discrimination, Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Secondary V

Cultural realities and compulsory main concepts: Social groups and power relations - Social inequalities.

Compulsory specific concepts, and related topics and examples: Sexism and racism.

• Competency 1: Studies cultural realities:
  • Analyzes social relations:
    • Characterizes relations between individuals, groups and institutions.
    • Situates these relations in time and space.
• Competency 2: Reflects on ethical questions:
  • Discerns the ethical dimensions of a situation:
    • Describes a situation.
    • Calls on relevant information and concepts.
    • Identifies existing tensions.

English language arts

• Competency 2: Represents her/his literacy in different media

Duration

Three classes

Connections with other subjects

• History of Quebec and Canada (Societal choices in contemporary Quebec)
  • Sociodemographic change and ethnocultural identity

Broad areas of learning

• Citizenship and Community Life: Promotion of the rules of social conduct and democratic institutions

Cross-curricular competencies

• Uses information: Puts information to use
• Solves problems: Analyzes the components of a situational problem
• Exercises critical judgment: Forms, qualifies and expresses his/her opinion

Related content

• Protections Against Discrimination
• The Human Rights Tribunal
• Housing: No Discrimination Allowed
• LGBTQ+ web guide

External pedagogical tools

• Website of the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse (Québec’s human rights commission)
• Des droits pour tous et toutes: La Charte des droits et libertés de la personne (PDF) (FRENCH ONLY)
• Des droits pour tous et toutes: Les demandes d’accommodement raisonnable (PDF) (FRENCH ONLY)
• Des droits pour tous et toutes: L’obligation d’accommodement raisonnable (PDF) (FRENCH ONLY)

External resources

• Text of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Text of Quebec’s Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms