Topic: Rospuda divided Poland

Author: Anna Rabiega

Addressee:

8th‑grade primary school student.

Core curriculum:

I. The social nature of man.

The student:

6) justifies that the conflict in a group may result from various reasons (conflicting interests, different goals); presents ways to solve conflicts and analyzes their advantages and disadvantages.

The general aim of education:

The student finds information and explains the basic principles of social life.

Learning outcomes:

The student:

• names and explains different methods of conflict resolution.

• explains the Rospuda Valley conflict in Poland and describes its results.

• explains the reasons why conflicts cannot be avoided, and where they originate from.

Key competences:

• communicating in a foreign language,

• digital competence,

• learning to learn,

• social and civic competences,

• sense of initiative and entrepreneurship.

Teaching methods:

• discussion,

• mind map,

• drama,

• teaching conversation using a movie, interactive board and exercises.

Forms of work:

• self‑learning,

• group work,

• whole‑class activity.

Material & equipment needed:

• computers with loudspeakers/headphones and internet access,

• multimedia resources from the e‑textbook,

• interactive whiteboard/blackboard, felt‑tip pen/a piece of chalk.

Lesson plan overview (Process):

Introduction:

1. The teacher presents the goal of the lesson: You will learn about the most important conflict resolution methods.

2. The teacher presents the students with a gallery of photos from the abstract „Rospuda divided Poland” depicting the Rospuda Valley and asks if they have heard about the conflict that concerns this area. Then he shows the students a short video about the conflict from the e‑textbook (Rospuda podzieliła Polskę, screen 3). The teacher tells the students that during the display they should pay attention to the arguments of the inhabitants, the representatives of the authorities and the environmentalists.

Implementation:

1. The students get acquainted with four methods of conflict resolution described in the abstract: negotiations, mediations, arbitration and court. He sets the time to complete the task. On the interactive board, the teacher displays an infographic showing the names of these methods. Using the abstract text, the students suggest the most important characteristics to be written down under each of the conflict resolution methods. They write their suggestions on the interactive board (mind map). If necessary, the teacher supplements the information.

2. The teacher asks the students to indicate the similarities and differences between these methods. Willing/selected students present their observations. The rest of the students and the teacher may supplement them.

3. The teacher asks the students to split into four groups. Each group will try out one of the methods of conflict resolution. The teacher informs the students, that they will work using the drama method and explains it if necessary. Members of the group share the roles within the group: opponents and supporters of the construction of the motorway crossing the Rospuda Valley and (depending on the chosen method) mediator, arbitrator, judge, and observer. They prepare the arguments, which they will present during the presentation.

4. After the time is up, the groups present their chosen conflict resolution method using drama scenes. The rest of the class evaluate the work of their colleagues.

Summary:

1. The teacher informs the students that in order to summarize the knowledge and practice the skills they will do Exercise 1 – they generate a crossword using the interactive widget. Its main password is the word COMPROMISE, and the definitions of the other passwords should be related to the methods of conflict resolution.

2. At the end of the class, the teacher asks the students questions:

• What did you find important and interesting in class?

• What was easy and what was difficult?

• How can you use the knowledge and skills you have gained today?

Willing/selected students summarize the lesson.

3. Homework proposal:

a. Indicate three most common social conflicts in your opinion. Could these conflicts be avoided? Justify your answer.

b. Listen to the abstract recording to review the material and new vocabulary. Then do the vocabulary exercise at the end of the chapter.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Rospuda divided Poland

Read about the situation in the Rospuda Valley and watch a short movie about the conflict. Do you think there were ways to avoid it? Do you think there were other ways to solve the problem? Discuss it with other students in your class. You can run a debate on the subject. Choose the opposing sides and arbiters for your debate. Before you run the debate you should all study various methods of conflict resolution.

The construction of the Augustów bypass was planned already in 1992, and several years later the first projects were created. A lot of effort was made to make sure that the road runs as little as possible through forests, and avoids as many farms as possible. A half‑kilometre overpass supported by ten pillars was planned to cross the Rospuda Valley.

The ring roads were demanded not only by the drivers but also, and perhaps most of all, by the inhabitants of Augustów, who were tired of living with the trucks passing through their city – every year more and more, approximately 1,5 million a year, which is almost 5 thousand a day. The residents of this health resort lived among noise, exhaust fumes, in constant danger of traffic accidents. However, environmentalists and experts were not pleased with the planned route of the road. The priceless peat bogs in the Rospuda River created exceptional conditions for several dozen protected species of plants and birds: white‑tailed eagles, black storks and white‑backed woodpeckers nested there, and large mammals such as wolves and deer, passed through the valley when they migrated from the Augustów Primeval Forest to the neighbouring forests. For all these reasons the Rospuda Valley has been included in the European network of protected areas Natura 2000.

Despite all the reservations and controversy, the construction began in 2007. Immediately protests began – environmentalists set up temporary tents in the valley and did not leave them even in the winter to make sure no heavy equipment could enter the area. Protests were organised in a number of cities across Poland, too. The residents of Augustów were blocking the existing road, demanding faster works on the road construction. “Is a life of a frog more important than a life of a human being?” – they asked.

The dispute was soon joined by the European Commission alarmed by the environmentalists, and the case went to the European Court of Justice. Pressured by the European Union institutions and public opinion, the government decided to change the route of the road. On November 7, 2014, the bypass was finally put into service.

Social conflicts are an inseparable part of social life and can play an important role in strengthening social values and norms if people are able to find solutions to those disputes. History has taught us, that conflicts have caused permanent changes in the social structure, and thanks to protests, strikes, and demonstrations, new value systems have been created, introducing equality among genders, races and nations for example.

There might be various sources of these antagonisms: the differences in the standard of living, disproportions in access to goods and services, cultural goods, different approaches to existing social norms and traditional values. The disputes between nations or states may concern territories, the access to natural resources, religion or ideology. Conflicts have always accompanied humanity, and it is only up to the participants of the dispute whether they will be devastating or whether they will become a factor of change and development for the society. The history of mankind is a history of conflicts. They cannot be eliminated, but we can learn to solve them.

Study the diagram presenting the four most effective conflict resolution methods and read their descriptions.

The most effective methods to solve conflicts are:

Negotiations: a dialogue between two or more people, in which antagonists, recognising the necessity of cooperation, attempt to overcome the differences between them and find a mutually satisfying solution.

Mediation: an interactive process, where a neutral third party (the mediator) assists in reaching an agreement acceptable to both parties. The process may be voluntary, confidential and informal, but may also be an element of official contacts. The mediator should be a person trusted by both sides – it can either be a complete stranger, or somebody close to them (like a brother, or a friend). The goal of mediation is to create conditions for the parties to reach a voluntary agreement, not to impose a solution onto them. Mediations conducted in accordance with these rules should bring a lasting and mutually satisfying resolution to the conflict.

Arbitrage: also requires the participation of a third party (at the international level – another state or several states), in which both sides put great trust or which is imposed by an international organisation. Contrary to mediations, in the case of arbitrage, the parties to the conflict consider the solution imposed by the third party to be final. However, this type of conflict resolution can often only lead to the concealment of a problem that will later be reborn with an even greater force. Imagine an argument between siblings, which their mother interrupts, making the children shake hands. The authority of the parent may lead to apparent consent, but only an attempt to learn and eliminate the source of the conflict will eventually solve it.

Court: this method uses the civil justice system (or special international tribunals) to resolve legal controversies. In this case, both parties are compelled to abide by a decision handed down by a judge.