The STS value dilemma sheet consists of a provocative statement (or illustration) and series of questions. The purpose of the provocative statement (or illustration) is to raise an STS issue that has value implications for students. The questions are designed to take the student through the value clarifying process (choosing, prizing, acting). The STS value dilemma sheet should be used individually with students. They should be given the chance to reflect on the dilemma, write their responses, and then perhaps participate in a small group discussion. Large group discussions do not necessarily help students clarify their values. Here is an example.
In the Spring of
1979, a reactor at the Three
Mile Island
nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania suffered a partial core
meltdown, releasing radioactive material into the
surrounding environment. Thousands of people in the vicinity
claim to suffer from cancer or thyroid damage as a result of
the accident. Thus far cleanup has cost close to $1 billion,
not including the cost of the reactor itself (about $2
billion) nor the more than $2,500 lawsuits filed by nearby
residents. On April 26, 1986,
in what was the world's largest nuclear disaster ever, a
reactor at the Chernobyl
nuclear power plant
in the former Soviet Union exploded, releasing vast
quantities of radioactive material into the atmosphere.
Clouds of fallout covered large areas of Europe,
contaminating food supplies and increasing the rate of
cancer in human beings. The ongoing clean-up has cost $14
billion so far, and over 250 people have died. Following the
Chernobyl disaster, one NRC member estimated the chance of
an accident in the U.S. as big or bigger occurring by 2005
to be as high as 45 percent. In 1989, citizens of
Sacramento, California voted to shut down the
publicily-owned Rancho Seco nuclear power plant because it
was unsafe and uneconomical. There are 560
commercial nuclear power plants in operation worldwide, 112
of which are in the United States. 2. Do you think
nuclear power plants should continue to be part of the
world's energy sources? 3. Some people
think that nuclear power plants are unsafe not because of
an accident might happen, but because the nuclear
industry has not figured out a safe method for discarding
the radioactive waste products produced by nuclear
plants. Discuss your feelings on this matter. 4. Would you buy
a house or take a job that was within a mile of a nuclear
power plant? 5. What would you
do to show your position on this issue?
1. Is there
justification for building new nuclear power
plants?