Human Rights in the School

This week we explored human rights at the local level. Former First Lady, and influential member of the UN Commission on Human Rights Eleanor Roosevelt reminded us that human rights start with us:

"Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."

These small places she refers to are the relationships we share among our fellow students, neighbors and co-workers. And human rights begin with the kindness and respect we show these people who make up our communities. In our experiment this week, we asked that some of you ignore your classmates and treat them like they didn't existed. You all had to accomplish a task, but those being ignored found it difficult to do so when they weren't even being acknowledged.

Consider a time when you felt ignored or disrespected. Isn't it difficult to work with someone who doesn't even treat you like you're human? Every day people are excluded because of who they are -- denied their rights because of their skin color, religion, political beliefs, gender or other attributes. So if we want to begin protecting human rights around the world, we must first start by promoting rights here in our communities. Smile at the new girl in class. Stop a friend when he's laughing at someone with a learning disability. By respecting the dignity of those around us, we are in fact fighting for human rights. How can we expect the world to change, if we aren't willing to change?

With that in mind, we asked you to create a list of rules necessary for guiding classroom discussions. What do you think we should keep in mind while sharing our opinions, and listening to those of others? Here is a condensed list of the ideas from all four classes:

1. Give full attention to whoever has the floor -- no side conversations, or talking over someone. Also, do not attempt to distract the speaker or your classmates.
   
2. Speak up/Step back: If you are used to letting everyone else talk, and don't usually share -- make an effort to participate. If you often share your opinions and ideas, give someone else a chance to talk, and listen to what others have to say.
3. Appreciate Diversity: respect others' opinions, don't make fun of their statements, and do not argue to change anyone's beliefs or ideas. The purpose of sharing is to understand different perspectives, not to determine whose is right or wrong/better or worse.
4. Stay Positive: bad attitudes not only affect you, they affect those around you -- smile, and let everyone know your mind is in the moment and not elsewhere.
   
5. NO VIOLENCE! Do not hit or in any way harm your classmates during lessons -- not even if you're just playing around. Things can escalate and get out of hand.
6. Be Respectful: Of other students, of us, and of your teachers. This involves following all of the above rules, and not doing anything to show disrespect of someone else.

How well do you believe you have followed these rules? What are some challenges of committing to these guidelines? The following video encourages you to turn your words into action. In every exchange you share with someone, we challenge you to think about these rules and how well you are adhering to them.

An Introduction: Amnesty International and Human Rights

In this week's lesson, we discussed the legend of Amnesty International's founding. The organization was started in 1961, by a British lawyer named Peter Benenson (pictured on the right) after he read about two college students in Portugal who raised their glasses in celebration of liberty. Because Portugal was run by a strict dictator at the time, the students were arrested and imprisoned for this act. Peter Benenson, outraged, wrote a letter in the newspaper, urging people to write to the Portuguese government, demanding that the students be released. He felt people should not be persecuted for their beliefs or ideas. People all over the world responded by sending letters in support of the students and, soon, they were released.

Peter Benenson went on to found Amnesty International with the belief that no one should be imprisoned for expressing their beliefs. More than that, he believed that by imprisoning these students, as well as through other injustices he saw around the world, that people were being denied the ability to be human. Only in a world where people are able to live up to their full potential would peace and prosperity be possible for everyone. So with a mission to ensure that everyone could enjoy to the fullest extent the freedoms and dignity of being human, Amnesty International joined a global effort to create a better world where this ideal could be realized…



AI armed itself with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (discussed in the video) to protect our humanity and to realize this world we envisioned. Amnesty Is able to continue its work protecting those who have had their rights violated because of the numerous members that make up its international network. And our work at CPE is part of Amnesty International’s mission to also promote human rights through education and action.

You also have an important role in promoting and protecting human rights. As stated in the video, human rights are the choices we make every day as human beings, and our shared responsibilities to help, respect and protect each other. This year, with these lessons, we will encourage you to internalize your rights and to respect the rights of others. How could you change your behavior to exhibit a respect for human rights?