The This is My Home e-Newsletter is designed specifically for teachers, administrators, and other school partners who are working to integrate Human Rights Education into their curriculum and schools. This forum showcases Human Rights Education news from across the state of Minnesota, as well as the emerging human rights practices conducted in our classrooms, schools, and larger communities.
Please encourage your friends and colleagues to register online
- www.thisismyhome.org .
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This is My Home has reached educators and activists throughout
Minnesota, the United States, and even the world; As of
March 6, 2008, our registration total is 2,715!
In this issue:
- Testimonials
- Tolerance Minnesota and the Color Project
- Training and Events Update
- Featured Links and Resources
- Learning Peace
www.learningpeace.com - The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
www.chgs.umn.edu - Timesavers for Teachers
http://www.timesaversforteachers.com
- Learning Peace
From Human Rights Education in Our Schools and Communities: Making it Real Workshop, February, 2008
- "This workshop was a good reminder to provide more purposeful instruction surrounding cultural diversity and human rights."
-"This was a great workshop! I received materials and ideas that I can implement immediately."
- "This workshop reminded me to listen to the stories of my students and to embrace them for their differences."
Among the quality resources available to Minnesota educators on prejudice and building welcoming schools is Tolerance Minnesota(TM), a program developed in 2001 by the Jewish Community Relations. Along the way Tolerance Minnesota has won several awards for its work, including the National Spirit of Anne Frank award and the "Best Anti-Racism Initiative" award from the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits.
As a part of its varied approach to teaching respect and understanding, Tolerance Minnesota utilizes music, literature, art, sports, and other disciplines to infuse and strengthen curricula currently being used in classrooms, as well as developes new curricula for teachers' use. These are varied not only in terms of the subjects or media used, but also by the unique demands of different settings.
Tolerance Minnesota uses the following principles to guide its work and vision:
- Diversity strengthens communities and should be honored and protected;
- All people prosper when they work together as a team;
- All individuals and cultures have intrinsic worth and deserve respect;
- All children have the right to learn in a safe environment;
- Every student and teacher makes valuable contributions to their classroom and community;
- Students and teachers can learn from each other.
Tolerance Minnesota runs several programs for students and teachers, each oriented toward a different experience of diversity and understanding. Tolerance Minnesota facilitates workshops for educators and youth on leadership, immigration, and the Holocaust. The immigration workshops in particular seem to be very popular with students and include simulation and discussion of both the historical and contemporary realities of immigration in the United States. These workshops are tailored for children and youth of all ages along the K-12 spectrum.
Along with its workshops, TM provides training and materials for its "Color Project," an art-based initiative for K-6 students. The Color Project is a multi-step program that allows students to read about and discuss issues of race and racism and then mix paint colors to match each student's unique skin tone. With this, students paint self portraits on a large canvass that the class is able to keep. Classes are left with the resources for continued dialogue, with the goal of permanently changing the ways in which teachers and students think about and relate to race. This is one of the great strengths of the Color Project; it seeks to go further than simply creating a piece of art and a single memory for students by fostering deep and ongoing conversations that promote a greater understanding of and respect for diversity in school communities.
While housed under the umbrella of the Jewish Community Relations Council, Tolerance Minnesota enjoys the support of more than forty partner organizations, individual members and volunteers. For further information about the Color Project or any other Tolerance Minnesota initiative, please contact Laura Zelle at Laura@ToleranceMinnesota.org or 612-338-7816.