John+Hume+and+David+Trimble

Background Content:

Northern Ireland is an island situated just west of Great Britain surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the St. George's channel in the east. It's national capital lies in London, but its capital on the island is Belfast. Though Ireland has had its problems, like any other country, the real trouble started in 1920 when England gave independence to 26 of the 32 counties of Ireland, separating the two groups and imposing a British identity on those living in the North. From there, the people of North Ireland began discriminating against the Irish minority and refusing their civil rights. While seen at many times as a religious conflict, that of protestant versus catholic, this was simply the way the governing majority inflamed the conflict further, pitting one side against the other for their own personal gain. On Good Friday in 1998, the people of Ireland accepted and signed a peace agreement, which included a cease-fire and power-sharing government agreement. John Hume was one of the prominent political figures in Northern Ireland at the time and stood proudly on all of the principles the peace agreement stood for. David Trimble was the head of the government in Northern Ireland at the time of the treaty and led to many of the solutions written into the peace processes.

Instructional Content: I would have a bit of direct instruction, giving a brief history of the geography of the land as well as the political history and problems that Ireland had in the past. For that portion, I would have maps, political, topographical, and in relation to other nations, specifically Great Britain for students to see how each of those maps and their content can affect how a nation works. For students to understand the conflict of the opposing views, I think it would be interesting for students to have their own peace agreement meetings/debate. I would randomly select students for either the Northern Ireland/British or the Irish side, and they would be given time to work with their groups to figure out what their side would need to be happy in the agreement, as well as understanding the other side and its needs. From there, it would work similarly to a debate, with a back and forth dialog, but with that, students would also work towards compromises and a harmony where both sides are heard and understood. My assessment would be the participation of each student within their group as well as the class's work in their debate toward peace.

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