Background -- Chapter 6, Civic Education Volume

Rules and laws affect our daily lives. They pervade our personal space at home and at work, our recreational activities as part of sports and games, and our interactions with others at the street corner, on the highway, in the market place, at school, at the bank, in restaurants, at the post office, and so forth. Most people would agree that rules and laws provide some degree of order, predictability, and security in our lives. Yet, not all rules and laws are just.

This chapter is a 50-minute lesson that will give students the opportunity to explore select aspects of rules and laws. Students will learn the vocabulary and concepts associated with the topic, practice their English language skills, and develop an understanding of the role of rules and laws in civil societies. Teachers have the option of using the lesson plan in a variety of ways: They can create a single lesson on one aspect of the topic; they can design a series of connected lessons that explore the topic in more detail; or they can develop a thematic unit that examines the topic from a variety of perspectives over a longer period of time. These lesson plans are meant to serve as a starting point for teachers interested in introducing the topic to their students.

Rules and laws are ever present in our lives. In families, rules based on customs and traditions play an important role in guiding behavior, determining relationships, and establishing order. At sports events, like soccer matches and basketball games, rules dictate the behavior of players, coaches, referees, and fans. When playing games such as chess, rules specify the ways in which the chess pieces can be moved and the ways in which players may proceed. At school, rules determine teacher-student relationships in addition to how students contribute to class discussions, when students need to turn in homework, and how students must behave in and out of the classroom. In the workplace, rules govern when employees begin their workday and when the workday ends, and rules govern proper behavior and performance expectations of workers and administrators. As becomes apparent, rules are pervasive in all aspects of our lives.

Laws, often defined as rules made, carried out, and enforced by local, regional, and national governments, are pervasive too. Laws influence our lives in many ways and play many roles in society. Consider these varying functions of the law:

Laws dictate the ways people should behave (e.g., people must respect the property of others).

Laws specify what activities are permitted and prohibited under certain conditions (e.g., drinking under age, smoking in school buildings).

Laws serve to maintain order, ensure predictability, and provide security (e.g., they require that people drive on a given side of the road; they require that people pay for services rendered).

Laws in many nations spell out which individual rights and freedoms will be protected (e.g., personal, political, and economic rights).

Laws guarantee certain benefits to citizens (e.g., schools, health services, public transportation, and garbage collection).

Laws assign responsibilities to citizens (e.g., paying taxes and serving in the military).

Laws define what duties the government will perform and, in some locales, limit the power of governmental officials.

Laws can facilitate different forms of social change (e.g., toxic waste disposal, anti-discrimination, and prohibition of sexual harassment and spousal abuse).

Laws are used to manage different forms of conflict, in turn, keeping courts, lawyers, and judges busy worldwide.

An examination of this list reveals the varying functions of laws in society. Laws serve many different purposes, though not every rule or law is a good one. Ideally, laws should be well designed to achieve a just purpose; they should be understandable so that the average citizen can interpret them. Laws that protect individual rights and that promote the common good of all citizens, regardless of class, race, religion, or ethnicity can nurture environments open to values associated with civil societies.

This introduction only briefly discusses select issues related to rules and laws. The topic is actually quite extensive. Fuller coverage of the topic would need to include discussion of the similarities and differences among international law, constitutional law, common law, religious law, civil law, criminal law, corporate law, etc. It would also need to cover issues related to equal protection and equal opportunity under law. Yet, for the purposes of this chapter, we have chosen to focus on an exploration of the purposes of rules and laws, and on issues related to fairness, usefulness, and necessity.

^¹Katherine Reilly has taught EFL and ESL in the Czech Republic, Japan, Singapore, and Puerto Rico. She graduated from the MA-TESL program at Northern Arizona University in May 1999 and is now eagerly anticipating her next overseas position.