The daily life of child laborers in the late 1800s, when industrialization was gaining momentum and factories needed more and more workers. Focusing on Christian, an 11-year-old tobacco boy, and his daily challenges, students explore the dilemmas of being a child in 1896. Students must help Christian navigate his difficult choices, and in doing so, they gain insight into a child’s daily life in 1896. Students can also relate their experiences with these dilemmas to their own lives and to people in other parts of the world.
Students experience:
- Topics such as gender roles, children’s rights, and the importance of children in the family and for industry are brought to the forefront through the dilemmas that students face at each of the five stops that make up the program.
- This historic market town takes on an extra dimension, as the program consists of a walking tour with five stops in Assens, where at each stop the students are presented with a dilemma that mirrors the challenges a child laborer might have faced in the late 1800s and that is relevant to that particular location in the town.
- Through the dilemma-based learning process, students gain insight into a child’s daily life and experience firsthand what it’s like to be a child in a different context.
The lesson plan includes an introduction to Christian, the mischievous boy, five dilemmas he might face in his life, and a premise/consequence framework to guide the students’ discussion. It also features a map showing the locations in the town of Assens. In addition, the lesson plan includes retellings of some of the real-life stories on which it is based.
This course can be effectively combined with the course “Industrial History Meets Art.”
Material:
Introduction to Christian Lauridsen
Contact
To register or for more information, contact skoletjeneste@museumvestfyn.dk