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What you must decide (after the role play)
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On the basis of the evidence collected by the two counsels during the investigation you must decide whether the matter should be brought to court.
Role cards
Counsel for the Defence Aged 39
While interviewing the participants of the incident — Mrs Brown, the defendant, Miss Smith, the sales assistant, Mrs Baker, the store detective, Mr Timpson, the sales manager and Miss Nora Lain, a customer — you try to prove that your client is innocent and the charge brought against her is groundless. In summing up your arguments you emphasize that a suspect is innocent until proven guilty. You have no doubt that this is an "open-and-shut" case and should never be brought to trial.
Counsel for the Prosecution Aged 45
In the course of the investigation you interview everybody concerned: Mrs Brown, the accused, Miss Smith, the sales assistant, Mrs Baker, the store detective, Mr Timpson, the sales
manager and Miss Nora Lain, a customer. You ask everybody to tell you about their part in the incident and thus you make them reveal the basic facts of the case and their respective role in it You try to verify the truthfulness of their testimony. First ask them questions about themselves: their name, occupation, the reasons for their actions in the situation with the idea of looking for things that will make Mrs Brown seem guilty. On completion of the investigation sum up your observation.
Mrs June Brown Aged 30
You are a part time school teacher with two children of your own rather difficult to manage. Thus you are always pressed for time and easily lose your temper. During the investigation you show your indignation at the false charge imposed upon you. The only person you are willing to talk the matter over is your lawyer whom you give a full and truthful account of your behaviour in the shop. When you were stopped that day by the sales manager and accused of shoplifting you felt insulted and became angry.
Miss Becky Smith Aged 20
You have been working as a sales assistant for three years. That day you were serving on the knitwear counter. You remember a woman who you now recognise as the defendant, Mrs Brown, buying a pullover for her daughter. You remember her well because the girl was eating a chocolate ice-cream and smeared it all over her face while Mrs Brown was paying for the pullover. The customer said she must clean the girl up as she was taking her to a birthday party. You showed Mrs Brown where the toilets were and she hurried away.
Mrs Mary Baker Aged 37
You are a store detective. Previously you were employed as a policewoman. In all your years of working for the police you have never made a false arrest. That day as you entered the toilets of the store you saw a woman taking the labels off a new pullover and putting it on her daughter. The woman seemed very nervous and excited. When you entered she immediately hurried out. Her behaviour made you suspect her of stealing the pullover. You followed the woman, calling the Sales Manager, Mr Timpson, to help you. When you stopped the woman
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outside the store she became very angry and refused to say anything in her defence so the police were called and she was formally charged with shoplifting.
Mr Clark Timpson Aged 32
You are a sales manager at a large department store. Your job is to supervise the sales on the ground floor of the shop. That day you noticed one of the store detectives, Mrs Baker, trying to attract your attention. You realized that she was following someone she suspected of shoplifting. You joined Mrs Baker and as the suspect left the shop you grabbed her by the arm. Mrs Baker told the woman that she was suspected of shoplifting. The woman became very angry. You took her to your officer but she continued to protest about being arrested. She insisted on having paid for the pullover but refused to show you the receipt. She refused to say anything until her lawyer arrived. You therefore called the police and the woman was charged with shoplifting.
Miss Nora Lain Aged 40
You are a secretary at an office. You don't like to go straight home after work (you are single), so very often you go window-shopping. That day as you were in a large store and entered the toilets you saw a woman hurriedly changing her daughter into a new pullover. She left the toilets in a hurry. You followed her (you are a great reader and admirer of Agatha Christie). After the woman was stopped by some people and the police arrived you addressed the police officer offering him evidence. You are enjoying it all, absolutely sure that justice must be done. You even hope that the case will get into the newspapers and the girls at the office will see your name or even a photo.
Possible follow-ups
1. Give an account of the incident as it was seen by Anne, Mrs Brown's daughter.
2. Give an account of the investigation as it was seen and heard by a newspaper reporter (mind your style).
3. Write a letter which Mr Brown, the husband of the accused, might have sent to a local newspaper, protesting about the actions of the staff of the store (mind your style).
AN INCIDENT AT SCHOOL
Situation
During the last week of the term the eighth form register goes missing from the staff room. The form tutor is worried since it's the time for.the end-of-term assessment which must
The form tutor warned the pupils that if yhey did not produce the form register and the offender's name he/she would take the matter to the Head Teacher.
Two discussions are held simultaneously — by the pupils in their classroom and by the teachers in their staff room.
The pupils are trying to find the offender and the register while the teachers are concerned with the reasons for the theft and a possible punishment to be imposed on the offender which will also act as a deterrent for the future. The room should be arranged so that each group has its own "working area" in order to prevent the participants from being distracted.
Cast list
Teacher W.
Teacher K.
Teacher R.
Teacher B.
Julia/Peter
Lucy/Eugene pupils
Nina/Alex
Helen
Dorothy Parker, a visiting teacher from Great Britain
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Donald/Daisy, an English pupil
What you must decide
What can be the outcome of the confession and the punishment inflicted on the pupil?
Role cards
Teacher W. Aged 35
You are a math teacher and a tutor of the 8th form. The disappearance of the form register upsets you. You intended to
hold a tutor meeting with the pupils but they insisted upon dearing up the incident themselves and you let them. You discuss it with your colleagues in the staff room informally, asking for their advice. You personally think that it was Nick, who really is a nuisance and far from being the best pupil, who has taken the register, possibly to erase some bad marks (you've noticed some signs of this in his record book a few times). If he is found out you'll summon his father to school for a talk with the Head Teacher.
Teacher K. Aged 54
You are an experienced teacher and have been a tutor for many years. You've had similar experience before and you've dealt with it quite efficiently. You are surprised that teacher W. let the pupils deal with the situation themselves accusing her of lax authority. You believe that to decide on the possible punishment of the offender teacher W. should call a special meeting of the tutors with the Head Teacher and subject teachers. Suspension from school is, you think, an appropriate punishment serving as a deterrent for possible/potential offenders.
Teacher R. Aged 23
You are a trainee teacher. You think that teacher W. is perfectly right in letting the children deal with the situation themselves as you strongly believe in pupils' self-government. You object to teacher K.'s suggestion that the offender should be suspended from school as it may inflict a deep psychological wound and the poor child may never recover from the dreadful traumatic experience. You think that a telling off is sufficient punishment.
Teacher B. Aged 30
You are a literature teacher, you've been teaching these pupils for four years and know them well. You know Nick as a kind-hearted, well-behaved, well-read boy and you doubt his being the offender. You would rather suspect Mary who is not popular with her classmates and tries to attract their attention by any possible means. She is also at the bottom of your literature class. You are more concerned with the reason for the offence than the actual punishment, believing the type of punishment would depend on the pupil involved.
Julia/Peter Aged 14
You are a class leader. You lead the discussion. Possible suspects you think are Nick and Mary. Nick is more likely since he is poor at maths and has had more than one conflict with teacher W., who is always finding fault with him and whose classes Nick finds boring. He is a real nuisance in her classes.
As class captain you've told him off more than once but it didn't work and you believe that if he is the offender he should be properly punished. To do so you need either evidence of his offence or Nick's confession.
Lucy/Eugene Aged 14
You suspect Mary who is new to your class and goes out of her way to make friends with the girls and become popular. You resent it. You don't exclude the possibility of Mary stealing the register just to attract everybody's attention.
Nina/Alex Aged 14
You are convinced that nobody in your class is capable of such an offence. So you are hurt by teacher W.'s suspicion and demand a thorough search of the staff room thinking the register is there and possibly overlooked. You refuse to discuss the possible suspects.
Helen Aged 14
You follow the discussion without any comment as you are faced with a dilemma: to confess or not, since it was you who took the register from the staff room to erase your friend Nick's poor marks. He is totally unaware of it, as of your "special" attitude to him. You've been hopelessly in love with him for two years. But you can't let him be a scapegoat so you confess and take the form register to the staff room yourself ready to face the consequences.
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Dorothy Parker Aged 35
You are a visiting teacher and you happen to be in the teacher's staff room when the teachers discuss the incident. You explain that in English school there is no book similar to our "form register" (журнал). You may also mention the possible sanctions a teacher may use to punish a child in an English school.
Donald/Daisy Aged 15
You are 16. You live with your mother, Dorothy Parker, in Moscow at the moment, and you go to one of Moscow schools. The pupils of your class let you be present and participate in all kinds of meetings and discussions they have. You are eager to learn more about their way of life. As that day the missing form register is the cause of an incident you explain that in your English school there is no register/book of the kind. The marks are entered in the subject teacher's book.
Possible follow-ups
1. Discuss the following:
a) Is one's authority as a teacher undermined by seeking the aid of senior members of the staff in dealing with discipline problems?
b) Is one ever justified in punishing a whole class for the misbehaviour of one or two unidentified offenders?
c) Discussions of discipline and control often focus on the negative question of sanctions. What possible strategies ("awards") are available for encouraging desired pupil behaviour?
2. Write up the role-play as a letter of the form teacher to her friend.
NB: topics suggested for oral discussion may serve/be used as topics for home or class
composition.
NICK'S BIRTHDAY
Situation
M.N. Semenova, an English teacher, and her colleague, N.M. Petrova, are receiving Mrs Dorothy Parker, a visiting English teacher, at M.N. Semenova's. Her elder daughter, Helen, is helping by laying and clearing the table.
The ladies are discussing many things and mainly the coming birthday of M.N. Semenova's younger son Nick who is supposed to be at school at the moment. When the tea is in full swing the bell rings and Nick's form tutor, L.G. Bobrova, ap-
pears in the doorway to inform M.N. Semenova of her son's truancy. The hostess and guests are surprised at the news, and now M. N. Semenova is in two minds whether to arrange the birthday party or cancel it.
Cast list
M.N. Semenova, mother
Helen Semenova, daughter
L.G. Bobrova, a form tutor
N.M. Petrova, an English teacher
Dorothy Parker, a visiting English teacher
What you must decide
Should M.N. Semenova arrange her son a birthday party at all? If not, when should she punish her son, before or after the party?
Role cards
M.N. Semenova Aged 45
You are very much annoyed at the news. You love your son who is the apple of your eye and you've been looking foreward to the birthday party. Under the circumstances you have to punish your son and cancel or at least postpone the party. You are aware that you must say something but words fail you.
Helen Semenova Aged 20
You are a student of the English faculty, a future teacher and full of your own ideas on upbringing. You are very critical and think it only fair to punish your brother by cancelling the party. You think it will serve him right, as he has always been mother's pet.
L. G. Bobrova Aged 24
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You are a young and inexperienced teacher. You have no patience with Nick who is a bright boy but a nuisance. You are a little bit embarrassed. You don't want to ruin his birthday party either. You also feel shy in the presence of the efficient teachers and mature women.
N.M. Petrova Aged 30
You are M.N.'s friend and a teacher who is very popular with the pupils, but you have no children of your own and do not want to interfere in the heated discussion. Now and then you ask Dorothy about the English holidays, system of education, their way of life, entertainments, fashion.
Dorothy Parker Aged 25
You are an English teacher on an exchange visit to Moscow. You are very excited but reserved because it is your first social experience in Russia. You like the people and the dishes. You describe how you celebrate birthdays and other holidays in Great Britain. As for Nick's truancy you tell them what punishments teachers can use at school.
Possible follow-ups
1. Do you believe in the effect of punishing children?
2. Discuss different sanctions for misbehaviour used in Russian and British schools.
3. Argue the following talking point: "Parents are too permissive with their children nowadays".
STUDENTS' WEDDING
Situation
A fourth-year student Nick Petrov and a second-year student Ann Semenova are going to get married. They both study at the English faculty and live away from home in the Halls of Residence. Their wedding is scheduled for Sunday and their parents are arriving in Moscow on Saturday. Meanwhile Nick and Ann are trying to decide how to celebrate the occasion. Ann wants it to be a "wedding to remember" and is determined to spend a lot of money on clothes, flowers, guests. Nick tries to keep her from making such a fuss and urges her to go to St. Petersburg all the more so as Ann has never been there. Ann's roommate Helen who is also present takes Ann's side as she enjoys parties too. Suddenly the door opens and two people emerge. One of them is Irene Nosova, a friend of
theirs, who is a member of the English speaking club. She has brought along with her Tom/Dorothy Walter, who is an English student on an exchange visit to Moscow. He/she wants to interview Nick and Ann and later write an article on Russian students'marriage.
Soon everybody is absorbed in the conversation, and the students do not only answer Tom’s/Dorothy's numerous questions but also help Nick and Ann to decide how to arrange a wedding reception.
Cast list
Nick Petrov, a student
Ann Semenova, a student
Irene Nosova, a student, a member of the ESC
Tom/Dorothy Walter, an English student
Helen Bobrova, a student, Ann's roommate
What you must decide
Should Nick and Ann have a lavish wedding reception or make it a more modest affair and spend the money otherwise?
Role cards
Nick Petrov Aged 22
You are an out-of-door type of young man and think that the only thing worth spending money on is travelling. You find Ann very fussy about clothes, restaurant, guests. You love Ann very much but you want to be firm and persuade her to go to St. Petersburg. It's your birthplace and you can show her a lot in this beautiful city, or can just as well get a package tour.
Ann Semenova Aged 20
You love Nick very much and think you are lucky to have such a husband. But you are the sort of girl who likes to keep up with the Joneses1. Your mother promised to foot the bill, that's why you think nothing of spending a lot of money.
You are so excited that you can hardly listen to what Nick is suggesting. But finally the idea of spending a month in St. Petersburg together with Nick seems romantic to you.
__________
1стараться жить не хуже других
Tom/Dorothy Walter Aged 22
You are an English student and it's your first year in Russia. You are enjoying your stay in Moscow and are interested in learning more about the Russian people and their way of life. You can hardly wait to see the wedding and the reception as you have heard a lot about Russian parties. You ask all sorts of questions concerning the conditions of life of newly-wed couples. (How they budget, where they live, how they manage their studies.)
Irene Nosova Aged 22
You are a student and have been married for 2 years already. You remember your wedding very well. You and your husband were very short of money and there was no money coming from home at that time. All the students gathered in the dining-room to congratulate you and when the party was coming to its close they gave you two tickets to Tallinn as a present. How einjoyable your trip was! What you don't understand is why Ann is going to invite so many people she and Nick hardly know at all.
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Helen Bobrova Aged 18
You are Ann's roommate and a friend of hers but you are a poor mixer and have no boy-friend. You look forward to the wedding reception no matter where it is going to be held, as you are sure there will be lots of young boys there and who knows... As for the money problems you suggest a simple way out — a party in the Halls of Residence.
Possible follow-ups
1. What is your attitude towards a lavish wedding reception?
2. Write a letter which Ann might have sent to her friend Mary.
3. Should household chores be shared and to what extent?
4. Prepare a talk: "The pros and cons of living together with parents".
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