Sustainable Fashion: A Handbook for Educators

130
sustaInaBlE FashIon : a handBooK For Educators

environmental impact of the dyes. The fabric is within budget
and her timescale.

Should Maria buy the fabric or not?

The answer to this question can only be ‘buy’ or ‘not buy’.
This is the first question to start the dilemma discussion.
Every student has to find her/his own answer. Before
beginning the discussion, the participants have to decide
whether Maria should buy the fabric or not. The discussion
happens in small groups of supporters and opponents. Later
on the discussion can be supported by questions like ‘Why?’
‘What would it mean, if everyone did that?’ ‘What will other
people say?’ ‘What consequences does this have?’ etc.

This dilemma only serves as an example to encourage
educators to create their own dilemmas for their classes.
There is plenty of inspiration for moral dilemmas to be
drawn from the fashion sector.

thE dIlEMMa dIscussIon For classrooMs

As an educator you may have already established a set of

rules for group discussions. If not, it may be helpful to clarify

beforehand the importance of ‘letting people finish’ and

‘listening’. You can also choose one person in each group to

be an observer who writes down the arguments.

The dilemma discussion method consists of portraying

a hypothetical dilemma to the students that can only be

resolved by deciding on competing moral positions. In the

course of an intensive discussion the students take a critical

look at their own value systems and the argumentation and

value systems of others. The important thing here is not

‘right’ or ‘wrong’ decisions but the way in which decisions

are justified.

In the following, there is a description of a short version

of the dilemma discussion of approximately 50-60 minutes

and Lind’s long version of 90 minutes.

steps for the long version

Scheme of activity of a moral dilemma discussion:

Source: http://www.schule-bw.de/unterricht/faecher/biologie/material/

unterrichtsmaterialien/dilemma/index_html