A Minnesota Human Rights Education Experience

Human Rights Commission Steps for Supporting This is My Home

 

    1. Complete registration for This is My Home today! Otherwise, go to www.thisismyhome.org and register yourself and your Human Rights Commission as a This is My Home Community Partner. Community Partners support our Minnesota schools to promote and protect human rights.

    2. Meet with interested school administrators and teachers. During this meeting, give a presentation on This Is My Home to staff or students.

    3. Introduce This is My Home: A Minnesota Human Rights Education Experience to local classrooms using the following steps:

 

Step 1:  An Initial Dialogue: What are Human Rights?

Have an initial discussion that defines human rights.  Discuss the core principles of human rights – equality, human dignity, justice, inalienability, interdependence, indivisibility, non-discrimination, responsibility, and universality.  You can distribute the initial Human Rights Poster Set and Universal Declaration of Human Rights Passports.  These items can be obtained from the University of Minnesota Human Rights Resource Center by calling 612-626-0041 or sending an email to humanrts@umn.edu.

 

Step 2:  This is My Home DVD: Minnesota Students Share Their Stories

Show the This is My Home DVD: Minnesota Students Share Their Stories, produced by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights and Twin Cities Public Television. Use the DVD Teaching Guide to foster your discussion with school staff or students.

 

Step 3:  Taking the Human Rights Temperature of Your School Survey

Take the Human Rights Temperature of Your School by helping school teachers or staff to compile the data and facilitate a follow-up discussion.

 

Step 4:  6th, 7th, and 8th Grade Annual Human Rights Essay Contest

Share information with the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade teachers in your community about the Human Rights Essay Contest, sponsored by local Minnesota Human Rights Commissions and the League of Minnesota Human Rights Commissions.  The current Human Rights Essay Contest question for 2009 and the Human Rights Classroom Information Packet are now available at www.hrusa.org/league.

 

Step 5:  Human Rights and Peace Libraries for Your Schools

Try to secure funding to support your local schools with new Human Rights and Peace Libraries.  Make sure to ask school teachers in your area if they would like your Human Rights Commission to help raise funds to build a local human rights resource library.  Check out the starter curriculum sets or have your teachers decide which resources would be most useful.  You can find a large selection of human rights and peace education resources from the Human Rights and Peace Store at www.humanrightsandpeacestore.org. 

 

Step 6:  Human Rights Community Resource Database

Be a resource to others by participating in our Human Rights Community Resource Database for Schools.  Contact the University of Minnesota Human Rights Resource Center for more details (612-626-0041 or home@umn.edu)

 

Step 7:  Seven Ways Human Rights Commissions Can Collaborate with Schools

Review these ideas on “Seven Ways Human Rights Commissions Can Collaborate with Schools” at www.hrusa.org/league - or make up your own.  Please share what works with us on the This is My Home website (www.thisismyhome.org) by contacting us at 612-626-0041 or home@umn.edu.

 

Contacting the Human Rights Resource Center:

Phone: 612-626-0041

Fax: 612-626-7592

Email: humanrts@umn.edu (for resources and general inquiries);
home@umn.edu (for This Is My Home related inquiries and registration)

 

Good Luck!  Thanks for your commitment to schools and students!

 

 

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