Step 1: Introduce the Activity
Let students know the questions or issues that they are going to examine and how it links to what they are already studying.

Step 2: Learning about Indonesia – A Quick Research Activity (5-7 min.)
Prior to starting the core of the lesson, students need to know some basic information about Indonesia:

Location & capital

Population size

Major religion

Form of government

The history of the Suharto administration and the Purge

If the classroom does not have Internet access, this should be assigned as homework prior to the activity. If Internet is available, have students do a quick search to find the answers. See who finds credible answers most quickly, sharing sources so that everyone can learn where to go or which search terms are best to use. You might use this as an opportunity to introduce a search engine like DuckDuckGo rather than Google.

Step 3: Viewing Clips from Grit (30 min.)
Tell students they are about to watch clips from a documentary called “Grit.” The documentary follows an Indonesian mother (Hawarti) and her teenage daughter (Dian) who are victims of a 2006 industrial accident that buried their home and all the villages around it in mud. The impact of the disaster lasts for years and leads to Dian becoming an activist.

Show all six clips, pausing between each to ensure that students absorb key information (included in the description of the clips).

Step 4: Perspectives (20 min.)
Divide students into four groups:

Victims of the mudflow

Indonesian citizens who weren’t direct victims

Representatives of Lapindo

Representatives of the Indonesian government

Give each group time to generate two lists:

1. What are members of your group afraid of?
2. What do members of your group hope for?

Have students post their lists (either online or physically in the classroom) so that they can all see every group’s answers.

Step 5: Finding Solutions Through Analysis & Role Play (30 min.)
Guide students in a review of the lists. Help them notice commonalities and differences.

Then invite students to engage in a series of role play dyad conversations:

victim – Lapindo

citizen – Lapindo

government – Lapindo

government – victim

government – citizen

citizen – victim

The purpose of the conversation is to come to an ethical (not just legal) and equitable resolution that makes whole those who suffered loss. Encourage students to think about what various parties lost aside from property.

Students who are not directly involved in the role play also have a job. They will track whether proposed solutions adequately address the hopes and fears previously listed. And they will make a yes/no determination about whether proposals are ethical and equitable. So after each dyad, they will discuss the role play they have just seen.

Wrap up the role plays by inviting students to consider which, if any, of their solutions was adopted by the Indonesians dealing with the Lapindo drilling disaster.

Step 6: Reflection (5 min.)
Remind students that in the final film clip they learned that the government was allowing Lapindo to resume drilling.

As homework (and as an assessment tool), assign students to imagine that they are part of the Indonesian government and have to vote on whether to allow Lapindo to resume drilling. Reflecting on what they learned from their discussions and role play, they should write an essay, or use art or a multimedia form to explain how they would vote and why their position is ethical.

Optional: To connect with your curriculum, you might also assign students to incorporate additional research into their reflections (e.g., information on the potential dangers or benefits of fracking).

[Optional] Step 7: Sharing Reflections
As time allows, invite students to share their reflections with one another.