Sports dilemma – P4C stimulus

A child in soccer kit about to kick the ball on a practice pitch

Image by bottomlayercz0 from Pixabay

Present this stimulus scenario to your pupils and see what it makes them ask or wonder:

You’re playing a game, and you notice that your team’s winning score wasn’t fair because someone on your team accidentally broke the rules.

Concepts include: fairness, winning/losing, teamwork, competition, ‘sportsmanship’, responsibility, rules, mistakes, confessions

Possible questions:

  • Should you speak up, even if it means your team might not win?

  • What does fair play mean in sports?

  • What responsibilities do we have to our teammates, opponents, and the game itself?

  • Can breaking the rules ever be justified?