Liberal Reforms 1906-1918

5. Plenary - Mutual debt?

Required Resources

• Student Worksheet 5

Delivery

• Ask students whether they feel that they owe their Government a debt of duty in return for the services provided to them? (If there are any non-British students in the class then the discussion may be extended to compare attitudes and values of different governments.) You might also want to point out that there are some differences in welfare provision in the UK between England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
• Explain that despite the fact that conscription is no longer used, many people still choose to join the British Armed Forces to serve their country.
• Explain that the British Army now has a codified Covenant which suggests that the British public should respect those who fight for their country in the same way which those people who join the Armed Forces show devotion to their country by signing up to undertake a dangerous job.
• Distribute a copy of Student Worksheet 5 which contains the Military Covenant to each student. Ask students to read the Covenant and then discuss the questions in pairs.

Differentiation

Lower Ability:

For a lower ability class the questions should be tackled during a class discussion. It will be important to emphasise and explain the change in relationship between the state and the public which the Liberal reforms showed.