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Lesson P
page 1 of 4
Juliet’s Heartache - A Mystery to Solve
Why was Juliet unable to become a teacher?
Ages: 11+
This is a ‘thinking skills’ activity which involves the pupils in using a set of clues to solve a
mystery. The activity can be made simpler by the judicious removal of a few of the clues.
It works best with pupils working in pairs or groups of three.
Explain to the pupils they are going to learn about Juliet’s story. For now it is enough to
say that Juliet has always wanted to be a teacher, but it now looks as though that will not
be possible. Their task is to solve the mystery: ‘Why was Juliet unable to become a teacher?’
Tell them that they will be given a set of clues, all of which contain important information
for fully solving the mystery. You will need to give pupils a clear structure for feeding back
their answers. A very useful structure for teasing out the underlying factors is the WhyWhy-Why chain. For differentiation purposes you could provide the partially completed
why-why-why chain overleaf - explain that they should fill in the top box first (to give the
main reason), and then fill in the boxes below (to explain what caused the main reason),
and so on down the page.
It is important to emphasise to pupils that they should go for the most immediate cause in
each case (i.e. the most immediate reason for Juliet not being able to become a teacher
was the fact that she was unable to complete her schooling rather than the fall in coffee
prices). See next page for the clues and the following page for the partially completed
why-why-why-chain. Once you have solved the mystery, consider what we can learn from
Juliet’s story about some of the deeper reasons why children miss out on an education.
You could set the class the task of grouping these reasons into local, national and global
factors.
Extension work could include further research into the issue of international debt, the
International Monetary Fund and progress in debt cancellation.
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Lesson P
page 2 of 4
Juliet’s Heartache - Important Note
Please share this good news with your pupils!
The story of Juliet is set just a few years ago, but even since then things have changed for
the better in Uganda. Since Juliet had to leave school, Uganda has benefited from a considerable debt reduction programme, which has released more money for education and
health care. As a consequence, primary schooling is free for all children in Uganda, and
the government is widely respected for having done much to limit the spread of HIV/AIDS.
This story demonstrates the difference that debt reduction can make. However, many
other countries are still weighed down by heavy debt burdens and world coffee prices have
continued to fall in recent years.
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Lesson P
page 3 of 4
Juliet’s Heartache - Mystery Clues
Until recently, schools in Uganda had to charge fees, because the government did not
have enough money to cover the costs of free education.
Juliet’s parents died of an AIDS-related illness when she was a child, leaving Juliet to
bring up 6 younger brothers and sisters by herself.
Juliet’s main source of cash lies in growing coffee, which is sold in other countries.
The price of coffee has fallen dramatically in recent years, therefore coffee growers make
less profit when they sell their coffee.
Health care in Uganda is not free, and many people cannot afford it.
Juliet was unable to continue her schooling.
When Juliet’s parents became ill with HIV-related illnesses, they were unable to work.
This plunged the family deeper into poverty.
If the Ugandan government had more money it could provide education, health care and
drug treatments free-of-charge to the poorest people.
Juliet lives in Nakateete, in south-west Uganda.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Uganda borrowed money from governments and banks in
rich countries, and organisations such as the World Bank. As well as paying back the
original amount of money it borrowed, Uganda had to pay interest (the fee for borrowing
money).
There was a sharp rise in interest rates in the late 1970s and 1980s, so Uganda was left
with more debt than it started with (even once it had repaid the amount of money originally borrowed!).
The Ugandan government had to spend lots of money on paying off its debts, instead of
spending money on providing free healthcare and education.
The Ugandan government, and most Ugandan people, cannot afford drug treatments for
HIV. This is because drugs are not sold at cost-price (i.e. as cheaply as they could be).
Juliet could not afford to pay her school fees.
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Lesson P
page 4 of 4
Why was Juliet unable to become a teacher?
Use the clues provided to help you get to the bottom of the mystery
The main reason is that Juliet was unable to continue her _____________________
WHY?
WHY?
WHY?
Juliet’s parents died
of ______________
___, so she had to
______ ____________
______
The Ugandan government did not have
enough money to provide free _________
Juliet could not afford
to pay her _________
______
WHY?
Juliet’s parents could
not afford to pay for
_________________
WHY?
The Ugandan government has had to
spend lots of money
on _______________
instead of spending
money on providing
free _____________
and ____________
WHY?
Juliet’s main source
of cash is ________
_____ . The price of
coffee has
_______ in recent
years
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