The This is My Home e-Newsletter is designed specifically for teachers, administrators, and other school partners, working to integrate Human Rights Education into their curriculum and schools. This forum will showcase 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.
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Issue 21-October-November 2009
In this Issue:
International Human Rights Day: December 10, 2009
Tools and Resources for Building a Culture of Peace and Human Rights
Training Opportunities and Events Update
International Human Rights Day: December 10, 2009
By Natela Jordan, Education Coordinator, Human Rights Center
Human Rights Day is celebrated annually on December 10 worldwide. This date commemorates the anniversary of adoption of the United Nation Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The declaration recognizes and guarantees civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. It also promotes human dignity, and principles of universality, equality and non-discrimination.
Every year educators around the globe teach lessons and organize events to honor the Human Rights Day in their schools and communities. The events range from teaching about the Declaration, to organizing a school-wide human rights event, to implementing service-learning projects in local communities.
"How does the Declaration apply to my school?" you may wonder. Probably in more ways than you have thought of. It applies when you see a student being put down on the playground; it applies when bullying is not confronted; it applies when students' stories and backgrounds are not acknowledged by the school system; it applies when there is an achievement gap between white students and students of color. You may start thinking that it applies only when there is a problem or a human rights violation, but it is not the case. The Declaration can also be used as a tool in a preventive approach to human rights violations: to create a positive climate in our schools and communities by promoting students rights and responsibilities, creativity and compassion.
We would like encourage you to learn about the Universal Declaration, and apply its principles in your daily life. We have selected a few activities and resources below that would help you commemorate the Human Rights Day with your students. Have an eventful Human Rights Day!
Human Beings/Human Rights
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/hreduseries/hereandnow/Part-3/Activity1.htm
A Human Rights Tree
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/hreduseries/hereandnow/Part-3/Activity2.htm
Human Rights Squares
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/hreduseries/hereandnow/Part-3/Activity4.htm
Mapping Human Rights in Our Community
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/hreduseries/hereandnow/Default.htm
UDHR Poster
http://www.hrusa.org/thisismyhome/resources/UDHR_Poster.pdf
UDHR full text
http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/b1udhr.htm
Tools and Resources for Building a Culture of Peace and Human Rights
By Rebecca Janke, M.Ed
As the Executive Director of Growing Communities for Peace, one aspect of my job you know is to find the latest resources regarding peace education for Pre-K-12 educators. I am heartened to discover them in increasing numbers. It means that we are truly moving to developing a culture of peace and human rights. I hope that these materials may prove helpful in your corner of the world.
Science
Climate Change, Wildlife and Wildlands Toolkit
Seven federal agencies worked to develop the new Climate Change Wildlife and Wildlands Toolkit to aid educators in teaching how climate change is affecting our nation's wildlife and public lands, and how everyone can become a "climate steward." The free downloadable kit is designed for classroom teachers and informal educators in parks, refuges, forest lands, nature centers, zoos, aquariums, science centers, etc., and is aimed at the middle school level and includes the following:
A 12-minute video introducing climate change issues as they affect wildlife and wildlands An overview of the science of climate change
Case studies on 11 eco-regions highlighting regional impacts to habitats and wildlife, and information on what people can do to help
A glossary of climate change terms to build vocabulary
Classroom activities keyed to national science standards, developed by participants in the 2008 Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship program
Additional hands-on activities and formal and informal educator resources
Find it at http://www.globalchange.gov/climatetoolkit
Earth Charter
Little Animation released its latest animated series for early year's education - The Little Earth Charter. What do the words Life, Interconnected, Family, Past, Earth, Peace, Love and Future mean? To respect and care for life, human rights, the environment, and a sustainable future on earth are shown with loveable Planet Earth and Little Rosie.
The Little Earth Charter was created to help teachers integrate universal environmental values into their classrooms. It is a compelling audio-visual educational program produced in consultation with the Earth Charter Initiative and Manitoba's Ministry of Education Citizenship and Youth. www.earthcharterinaction.org/content/articles/260/1/The-Little-Earth-Charter-animated-file://C:/DOCUME-1/winuser/LOCALS-1/Temp/edu5C:htmshorts/Page1/html
KidEarth, is a children's environmental movement started by Aitan Grossman, a 6th grader from California. Aitan wrote "100 Generations," a ballad he says is about "the integrity of nature we're taking for granted,' and sent it to schools on six continents in search of children like him who wanted, through the power of music, to fight local warming. Children from countries threatened by droughts, fires, rising sea levels, and melting glaciers - Botswana, France, Taiwan, Venezuela, Ethiopia, and the United States- eagerly volunteered to be part of Aitan's global music project. Aitan posted the "100 Generations" anthem on his kidEarth website and is inviting school children around the world to add their voices to its chorus. All they need to join in is music from the website, www.kidEarth.us, a digital video camera, and lyrics sung in their language about local natural landmarks they hold dear. KidEarth kids hope their message will go virtual: so that all kids, who are about to inherit an earth vastly different from their parents', will learn what they can do to turn the world's climate around. The efforts of these kids, along with the "amazing things adults are doing to un-endanger endangered species and to save the planet from the bad effects of global warming" Aitin notes, are cause for optimism. But just in case adults need some help, Aitan wants people who share his concern to "plunk" down 99 cents and buy the "100 Generations" song. He plans to give the song's profits to environmental groups that are doing their part to save the planet. Two of Aitan's favorites are the World Wildlife fund, which echoes kidEarth's international global warming message with its work in 100 countries, and the Alliance for Climate Protection, whose mission is to teach the world about climate change, started by Aitan's hero, Nobel laureate and former US Vice President Al Gore. To purchase the song search for "kidEarth" on iTunes or Amazon MP3. You can view video of children singing at http://www.youtube.com/group/kidEarth.
Language Arts
Media
www.MyPeace.TV This is a social networking site for people to unify and co-create peace through media.
Peacebuilding Storytelling Guide
The preface is written by Dr. Jane Goodall and the foreword by Ralph Summy and is suitable for children ages 7-15. It is available at www.tlpeace.org.au. Each chapter will introduce the reader to the different peace-building elements defined by the Teaching and Learning for Peace Foundation in Australia as being important to peace-building stories. It presents strategies for using peacebuilding stories in classrooms and invites children to write their own peacebuilding stories. Examples of children's stories are provided.
Poetry
The Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Awards encourage poets to explore and illuminate positive visions of peace and the human spirit. The poetry awards are offered in three categories: Adults, Youth 13-18, and Youth 12 and under. The contest is open to people worldwide. For more information, visit www.wagingpeace.org
Poetry Contest Students Grades 3-12
Cash Prizes are being offered by ACR (Association for Conflict Resolution) for the winning entries in our Poetry Contest! Students are asked to submit a poem of up to 20 lines online. Fore more information go to: http://www.creducation.org/cre/crday/poetrycontest/submit entry/
Prizes are awarded in three categories: Grades 3-5; Grades 6-8; and Grades 9-12. Each category will have a 1st place winner who will receive $100 and a 2nd place winner who will receive $75.
President Barak Obama's Speech on Race
For in-depth lesson plans and activities based on President Barak Obama's historic speech on race,
visit www.teachingtolerance.org/magazine.
Click on "Our Challenges as a People."
Service Learning
Pennies for Peace - A Service Learning Pro gram designed to help students broaden their cultural horizons and learn about their capacities as philanthropists. The program educates students about the world beyond their experience and shows them that they can make a positive impact on a global scale - one penny at a time. In Pakistan and Afghanistan a penny buys a pencil and opens the door to literacy. Lesson plans, study guides, maps, video and other resources are available at www.pennies for peace.org.
O Ambassadors - This is a joint project of Oprah's Angel Network and Free the Children that inspires young people to become active, compassionate and knowledgeable global citizens to create lasting change in the world. The program connects students in North America with people around the world to work toward the Millennium Development Goals. Educators are invited to form an O Ambassadors club at their school, either as part of classroom programming or as an extracurricular activity. To apply visit: http://oambassadors.org.
Sister Schools Program - Over 60% of the 250,000 people living in refugee damps in eastern Chad are children. The Sister Schools Program Initiative links American middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities with schools in Darfuri refugee camps. The programs goals are to improve the education of Darfuri students living in camps through the construction and rehabilitation of school buildings, teacher training and provision of sports equipment and other school supplies; and to foster cross-cultural relationships and mutual understanding between American and Darfuri refugee students through letter exchanges and video blogging. A donation of $82 will provide a Darfuri refugee student with textbooks, school supplies, teacher kits and sports equipment. You can register your group to participate at www.darfurdreamteam.org.
Also at the site you find links and further information on additional ways to get involved and make a difference.
Social Studies
Educators for Social Responsibility (ESR)- ESR has an online teacher center. After registering, you can view lessons and activities by grade level and theme. www.esrnational.org
Global Education Motivators (GEM) is a non-profit education Non-Governmental Organization in close association with the United Nations Department of Public information. Gem was founded in 1981 to help schools meet the complex challenges of our changing world. Emphasizing human rights, GEM is educating a second generation to global awareness and responsibility in an interdependent world.
Check their website www.gem-ngo.org for information on programs and interactive videoconferences availability
Starting Small Teaching Tolerance in Preschool and the Early Grades - This free professional development resource from Teaching Tolerance has been released on DVD.
Teaching Tolerance is a wealth of resources for all grade levels - visit their website and become a subscriber to Teaching Tolerance Magazine (free). www.teachingtolerance.org.
And last, but not least visit www.mapm.org for the latest news and opportunities regarding peace education. As the president of Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers I have posted the September/October Issue of the Global Education Newsletter under President's Memo found on the right side of the home page.
Continued good work in connecting students to the culture of peace and human rights.
For ongoing access and purchase opportunities and state-of-the-art resources visit www.humanrightsandpeacestore.org
Training Opportunities and Events Update
Human Rights Film Series Pray the Devil Back to Hell
In Celebration of International Human Rights Day
The Advocates for Human Rights and the University of Minnesota Human Rights Center present Pray the Devil Back to Hell A film by Gini Reticker and Abigail E. Disney
Wednesday, December 9, 2009 7:00 p.m.
Mondale Hall, University of MN Law School, Room 25, 229 19th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55455
The Film will be followed by a panel discussion about the film and combating violence against women.
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Save the Dates! June 14 and 15, 2010
Close the Gap: Teaching for Action to Eliminate Race, Class and Place Disparities
Concerned about race, class, or place disparities in your schools or communities?
Interested to know more?
Need resources to start or continue a dialogue with your students, colleagues or community members?
On June 14 and 15, 2010 Tolerance Minnesota and the University of Minnesota Human Rights Center will partner to present a two-day workshop on Close the Gap documentary series and curriculum resources to foster dialogue on ways to recognize and eliminate race, class, and place disparities in our schools and communities. Twin Cities Public Television Producer, Daniel Bergin, will offer his insights on the stories in the Close the Gap series, and provide additional resources for educators.
For more information about the workshop please contact Natela Jordan at 612-625-2857 or home@umn.edu or Laura Zelle at Laura@toleranceminnesota.org
Cultural Jambalaya
www.culturaljam.org
Cultural Jambalaya has completed production of its first educational DVD for teachers. "Windows & Mirrors" includes global images and narratives highlighting fascinating people and intriguing cultures. Supported by an online study guide, the DVD is a resource for Middle School teachers to engage students in a variety of subjects, including social studies, geography, history, diversity and language.
Cultural Jambalaya works with multicultural businesses and organizations that use international images or stock photography for their marketing initiatives or employee programs, and with community organizations to help them raise money for nonprofits. Proceeds from the sales of photography and photo-based products and educational materials benefit nonprofit organizations and schools.
Portal for Human Rights Schools
http://www.hrea.org/index.php?base_id=27&language_id=1
The Portal for Human Rights Schools offers resources for schools, policy makers, educators, students, and individuals interested in the implementation of a human rights-based approach (HRBA) to schooling. A human rights-based approach to schooling is concerned with the organization of learning so that it is reflective of human rights principles and promotes understanding and cherishing of the human rights framework.
Human Rights Education
www.humanrightseducation.info
To celebrate 2009 as the Year of Learning Human Rights, UN Regional Information Center has built a campaign aimed at teachers, educators, and students of human rights. This new website provides easy access to human rights teaching materials for teachers and students and a library of teaching and learning experiences. The Center will continue collecting materials from teachers and NGOs to add to this online database of resources. If you would like to share your practices and experiences, please share through questionnaires below.
For teachers:
http://www.humanrightseducation.info/images/stories/pdf/Questionnaire%20for%20teachers.pdf
For students:
http://www.humanrightseducation.info/images/stories/pdf/Questionnaire%20for%20students.pdf