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Young Quakers and Politics The youth edition of Journeys in the Spirit Quakers and the Military explores the provides a range of ideas to use with 12–18 following questions: year olds in a Quaker context. It offers What is the military? What are military activities for one-off sessions or weekends and comes out three times a year. Some values? suggestions are made about age suitability. When do we encounter (see/meet) the Timings are not stated, as this will depend military? on the group and how the activities are used. How did Quakers feel about the military Each issue explores a theme. in the past, and what did they do about it? Journeys in the Spirit is offered with the intention of providing an opportunity for How do we feel about the military now? exploring, creating and learning in an atmosphere of worship in partnership on our shared journey in the spirit. There are four This booklet, along with the extra resource directions to our spiritual journey: inwards to sheets at www.quaker.org.uk/resources- ourselves; outwards to others; upwards (or youth , provides enough material for a whole is it further inwards?) towards the deeper weekend with young people exploring mystery; downwards to the world we live in. Quakers and the military. However, by choosing specific activities, you Gathering Points Page 2 can run a session lasting 45 minutes, a few hours, a half-day, or a whole day. Starting Points Page 3 Gathering Points should come first, followed by Starting Points, and Ending Points should Reflection Points Page 4 come last; you can do the other sections in any order you like, but try to include at least one activity from each so that you cater for Listening Points Page 5 different learning styles and preferences. Some of the activities are more suitable for Viewing Points Page 5 older teenagers (15-18s), this is stated next to the activity descriptions. For some the Talking Points Page 6 whole group will be together, for some you can divide into small groups, for others into Action Points Page 7 pairs and some are for individual reflection. All of this will be indicated. Worship Points Page 6 If you have access to a projector, the short videos, images and quotes would be better displayed on this than on a small screen or Ending Points Page 7 copied onto handouts. These exercises are meant to encourage the group to be energised, focused, and to start to think about the theme. Start with the energiser The Sun Shines On.... , then Spectrum, and then do the focuser Counting Together . If you have lots of time, you can also do Two Truths One Lie, and Clapping in Unison. If later during the session you think the group needs to re-energise, return to The Sun Shines On. If the group needs to re-focus then do Counting Together, or Clapping in Unison. These activities are all set out below. The Sun Shines On... Stand in a tight circle, facing inwards. Someone starts in the middle, and says ‘The sun shines on’ followed by a description e.g. ‘anyone wearing a T-shirt’. Anyone wearing a T-shirt then has to swap places with anyone else wearing a T-shirt. You can’t swap places with the person next to you. The person in the middle tries to find a space – if they succeed, the person who didn’t find a space becomes the one in the middle, and it’s their turn to say ‘The sun shines on...’. After a few general turns (which can include ‘The sun shines on everyone’!), the facilitator can try a few relating to the theme, e.g. ‘The sun shines on anyone who has seen an army, navy, air force or royal marines advert online, on TV or at the cinema’, or ‘anyone who has played an army video game’, or ‘anyone who knows someone in the army, sea or air cadets’. Spectrum. Indicate to the group an imaginary line across the room. At one end is ‘I completely agree’, at the other end is ‘I completely disagree’ and in the middle is ‘I’m not sure’. After you read out a statement, the group have to stand on the part of the spectrum that matches how they feel. Then ask a few people if they’ll explain to others why they are standing where they are. Ideas for statements: - the main reason that the military run activities for children is to recruit them (get them to join) - these activities are mostly aimed at boys - the military should not be allowed to run activities for under 16 year olds - schools should not allow poppies to be worn around Remembrance Day (November 11) - military toys, such as soldier figures and replica guns, should not be allowed Counting Together. Stand or sit in a circle, facing inwards. The aim is to count up to ten: you can only say one number at a time and you can’t go around the circle in order. If two people say the number at the same time, the group has to start again. If you reach ten, try twenty. If it’s too easy, try it with your eyes closed. Two Truths One Lie. Stay in the circle. Each person has to think of two statements about themselves that are true and one that is false. The person next to them has to guess which one is the ‘lie’. This is an interesting exploration of how we judge each other, but could also be related to the theme, e.g. three times when you’ve seen someone in the army, navy, or air force (such as during their visit to your school, on TV or when they were selling red poppies at a train station on Remembrance Day), two of which are true and one is a lie. Clapping In Unison. Still in the inward-facing circle, the aim of this game is to clap perfectly in unison. Everyone focuses on someone opposite them. No-one should clap before anyone else: the group should feel the right moment and clap as one. 2 Ask the following questions one at a time, either to the whole group, writing down their thoughts on a flipchart/whiteboard, or in small groups (encouraging them to discuss and write down themselves). What is ‘the military’? Hints: break it down into the Armed Forces (army, navy, air force) & the Ministry of Defence (the part of the government that oversees the Armed Forces, including their weapons and other equipment). What does the military do? Hints: prepare for – and if 'necessary' go to – war, ‘security’ (e.g. at the London Olympics), emergency relief (e.g. during flooding). If the group is older, probe them about the military's primary purpose: using lethal force to defeat enemies. What are the main values in the military? Hints: discipline, teamwork, fitness and endurance, leadership, following orders/ hierarchy, organisation and orderliness. And of course being able to kill the enemy with lethal weapons. When do we encounter (see/meet) the military? Hints: when members of the armed forces visit schools; recruitment adverts on TV, on the internet (e.g. in the sidebar on facebook) and before trailers at the cinema; parades in town centres (e.g. on Armed Forces Day in June and on Remembrance Day in November). Extra questions for older teenagers: When do we encounter military values? Hints: military-style computer games such as Call of Duty (or Virtual Battlespace2, used to train British Army recruits); the army cadets, sea cadets and air cadets; British Military fitness; the Ministry of Defence’s range of Action Man-style toys. What do we mean by ‘militarism’ and ‘militarisation’? Hints: ‘Militarism’ is where military capability is prioritised (e.g. in the national budget) and military approaches and values are presented as the best or only solutions to many problems (e.g. the Challenger Troop programme for school pupils at risk of being expelled, who instead of lessons do army-style activities, in uniform). 'Militarisation' is a process (think of other '-isation' words, such as urbanisation) through which we move towards militarism. It’s the growth of the military’s influence in society, in education, in the media etc, and also the ways in which people are encouraged to view the military as normal, necessary, worthy of support (and even heroisation), and not to be questioned or criticised. This has been growing in this country since 2008. See www.quaker.org.uk/resources-youth for further background information for facilitators 3 Pass round these pictures - an army cadet doing ‘field craft’ training (right) and an Armed Forces Day event in Cardiff in 2010 (below). Ask the group to spend a minute on their own in silence, looking at the pictures and thinking about what the people in them might be feeling. Then ask if anyone wants to share their thoughts. Both pictures are from Wikimedia Commons. “Acknowledgements” My thanks to Hollywood When you showed me John Rambo Stitching up his arm with no anaesthetic And giving them “a war they won’t believe” I knew then my calling, the job for me Thanks also to the recruitment adverts For showing me soldiers whizzing around on skis Now pass round copies of the poem And for sending sergeants to our school To tell us of the laughs, the great food, the pay “Acknowledgements” by Danny Martin (right), who was a soldier in the British Army for The camaraderie seven years. I am, dear taxpayer, forever in your debt Ask someone to read it out loud.
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