Dans le cadre d’un projet pédagogique en cours d’anglais, les élèves de Seconde 1 ont travaillé sur le problème des tueries dans les établissements scolaires aux Etats-Unis, et plus particulièrement sur l’importance des armes à feu dans ce pays. Après avoir visionné quelques documents audiovisuels d’actualité, comme la récente tuerie commise le 14 février 2018 à Parkland en Floride puis les réactions contrastées qui ont suivi dans le pays (les réactions du Président Trump, d’élèves et de parents), les élèves de la classe ont été répartis en groupes pour analyser des documents leur permettant de comprendre ce fait de société. Après mutualisation, ils ont élaboré un questionnaire destiné à des élèves de leur âge d’un lycée américain afin de connaître leur avis sur le sujet. Après avoir pris connaissance des réponses, les élèves se sont répartis en groupes pour les lire, les analyser puis rédiger une synthèse. Vous trouverez dans cet article les réponses obtenues ainsi qu’un commentaire élaboré par un des groupes de la classe. Il est important de signaler que cet écrit peut encore comporter des erreurs, le niveau attendu en fin de seconde étant le niveau B1 du CECRL (Cadre Européen Commun de Référence pour les Langues).

Les réponses des élèves américains

Réponses

Réponses ouvertes

Production des élèves

We have studied the problem of guns in the USA. We watched videos and we sent an e-mail to a class of American teenagers from Sacramento, California to know what they think.
First, there is a majority of boys in this class. We asked them : do you think weapons are useful in the American society ? A lot of them answered yes (70%) but 30% said no. Thanks to this, we can see, for them weapons are useful in America.
Secondly, we asked them if teachers should be allowed to have guns at schools to protect students. The majority said no but some students said yes. Students who agree think that if teachers have guns, they can protect their students if there is an attack. On the contrary, students who disagree say this is not the role of teachers. They think they are not qualified. Others think that if there are weapons at school, some students can have an easier access to them.
The third question we asked was : How many guns are there in your house ? A lot of them have no guns but 33% have more than two guns. This shows that guns are very important in the American society.
Then we asked them if there are enough background checks and 75% answered there aren’t.
55% think that the problem is not guns but people who use them.
American teenagers have different opinions about the power of the National Rifle Association in the USA. Some of them think it’s a good organization as they protect the second amendment and the right to bear arms. Others say that NRA members don’t commit mass shootings. However, some students don’t support the NRA. Some think it’s a corrupt organization, NRA members are close-minded and have a negative impact on society and they buy Congressmen and women.
We asked them to give us the main reason why some students commit school shootings. Half of the class thinks students who commit those shootings are mentally ill or have mental problems. Ten of them think that some teenage shooters are bullied or oppressed at school or have problems at home. It’s incredible to see that only five students think guns and easy access to guns are responsible for school shootings in the country.
What should the American government do to stop school shootings in the USA ? Most students think that assault rifles should be banned and others think that background checks should be increased. Only two students would like guns to be banned in the USA. One of them would like guards to be placed in front of schools to prevent school shootings.
The last question was : Are you sometimes afraid of school shootings ? Most students said they aren’t.
To conclude, many students think guns are necessary and useful to reduce violence. We think it is not logical because we can’t stop guns with guns. However, guns have been present in the country for many generations and since the second amendment in the constitution guarantees the right to have guns, things are difficult to change.