This is My Home ( www.thisismyhome.org ) is a multi-faceted, web-based Human Rights Education resource for pre-service and in-service teachers, school administrators, community educators, parents, and students. It features a comprehensive statewide pre-K-12 Human Rights Education curriculum, which integrates local education standards and international human rights standards.

The project is unique in providing a multidisciplinary approach to Human Rights Education, and offering resources in multiple educational formats. These include comprehensive curriculum units, lesson-planning tools, online student and community action tools, and training opportunities online. This is My Home toolkits are currently being distributed statewide to Minnesota schools and community members, such as Human Rights commissioners, and globally via the Internet, free of charge.

 Educators can use the Toolkit to:

Since November 2005, This is My Home has reached over 550 Minnesota schools and more than 2,580 individuals have registered on the website.  The Human Rights Center has also distributed over 1,800 This is My Home Toolkits to educators throughout Minnesota.

The Center conducted 8 training sessions for teachers and community educators during 2007, including a Multicultural Writing Academy.  In 2006-2007, Minnesota teachers participated in a pilot set of This is My Home  workshops designed for educators from 6 communities (Grand Rapids, Minneapolis, Moorhead, Rochester, St. Cloud, and St. Paul ) with a grant from the Education Minnesota Foundation. The goal was to expose educators to relevant knowledge, skills, and attitudes that could foster a positive and dynamic classroom climate, as well as to help them implement This is My Home and create connections with students and the larger community. These face-to-face exchanges were also meant to be a forum for sharing effective practices by documenting and evaluating ways in which teachers are integrating cultural competency and HRE activities into the curriculum and school. In the course of the academy, 16 educators developed 15 new Human Rights Education curriculum units, ranging in grades from kindergarten to 12 th grade, and in topics from bullying to discrimination and genocide. The new units are available online at http://www.hrusa.org/thisismyhome/processmodel2/samples.php

While working with pilot communities, the Human Rights Center was able to test various HRE teacher training and professional development models collecting and applying participants' feedback. As a result, the Center came up with a 4-day Human Rights Curriculum Writing Academy, implemented in cooperation with the Northwest Suburban Integration School District, as one of the most successful HRE training models. The academy allows teachers to first learn about human rights and human rights language, and then apply their knowledge in developing human rights curriculum units for their classrooms. The Center is now promoting this model to other communities and partners.

We have also established successful partnership with local schools to promote and test out various Human Rights Education tools. Due to a successful partnerships with a local school principal, the Human Rights Temperature questionnaire is now being used district-wide in Grand Rapids. This tool has also been further adjusted for the use in elementary school. A long-term partner, St.Paul teacher,Lynn Schultz, is field-testing the new version in her classroom at J.J.Hill Montessori School. The new version can be downloaded here: http://www.hrusa.org/thisismyhome/project/temp.shtml

This is My Home was also offered as one of the sessions at the Education Minnesota Professional conference as a part of the Minnesota Global Education Network (MNGEN) presentation. Along with resources from partner organizations, This is My Home was presented as one of successful strategies to teach respect and responsibility in Minnesota Schools. The session drew over 70 people, and, according to the feedback from participants, was very successful.

We are also working to translate some of our tools into Spanish and other languages.  Please check our News & Action section often to stay updated on This is My Home and other local and international human rights education efforts:

http://www.hrusa.org/thisismyhome/project/newsandaction.shtml

Human Rights day is approaching! It is celebrated every year the world over to commemorate the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that took place on December 10, 1948. Many state agencies and non-profit organizations hold various events to acknowledge this very important day. It is also a great opportunity for educators to teach human rights skills and history to our students. Activities can include, but are not limited to, lectures, films,  and school-wide campaigns with a human rights message.

There are a number of resources on the This is My Home website which can help you plan a very meaningful and memorable Human Rights Day for your students!

First off, to learn about what human rights are, why we need them and where they come from, go to: http://www.hrusa.org/thisismyhome/project/what_hr.shtml

The top of the page provides a short summary about human rights; if you scroll down you'll see more information arranged by specific topics, such as human rights definition, history, timelines, etc. Also, University of Nebraska has a number of human rights units, which can be found at:
http://www.unlhumanrights.org/

If you are thinking of facilitating human rights activities with your group, we have a number of free downloadable resources: http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/hreduseries/default.shtm

These human rights education series contain a number of activities appropriate for both youth and adults. Specifically, you can look at activities in part 3 of Human Rights Here and Now: http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/edumat/hreduseries/hereandnow/Default.htm

For more ideas, here's the link to other human rights education manuals and

activities: http://www.hrusa.org/thisismyhome/project/hreactivities.shtml

 

2008 National High School Essay Contest

"What can the U.S. do to help combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases around the world?"

The world has changed vastly since the days of the UN's founding. In the aftermath of World War II, the UN was created to ensure peace between nations. Today, the UN takes on a host of global issues beyond peace and security, such as human rights, health, poverty, and economic development. During the past 60 years, the UN also has been witness to significant geopolitical change throughout the world. Historic events ranging from decolonization to the fall of the iron curtain to the rise of the global economy mean that the UN is operating in a very different world than it was six decades ago.

Since 1986, the National High School Essay Contest on the United Nations has inspired students to engage global issues and the work of the UN through scholarship and critical thinking. Each year, The United Nations Association of the USA publishes a topic and question of particular importance to the international community. Students then conduct research and write a response to the question, based not only on the information they have found, but also on their own views and opinion.

As the UN tackles its most formidable challenge to date – ending poverty worldwide – it is vital to engage high school students in learning about the UN's role, especially as it becomes ever more apparent that all people must think of themselves as citizens not only of a particular town or country, but of the world as well.

This year's National High School Essay Contest on the United Nations focuses on Millennium Development Goal Six, and asks students to tackle the challenge of combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases. Students will write a letter to the President of the United States answering the following questions:

1. Why is combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases so important?
2. What should the United States do to ensure that Millennium Development Goal Six will be reached by 2015?

To participate, go to the UNA-USA Essay Contest Portal:  http://www.unausa.org/atf/cf/%7B49C555AC-20C8-4B43-8483-A2D4C1808E4E%7D/index.htm

Please note: All applications must include Parental Consent if the applicant is under the age of 18, and must be submitted by US Postal Service postmarked by midnight January 5, and received by January 10, 2008.

For general inquiries & more information, please email Liubov Grechen at Essay2008@unausa.org

 

Rwanda and the Holocaust: A Comparative Perspective Workshop on Teaching and Learning about Genocide

University of Minnesota Saturday, February 23, 2008, 9:30-4:30 Morning at the University:

Survivors' Testimonies

Teaching Materials

Genocide Parallels

Films

Anti-Genocide Advocacy Afternoon at the Science Museum:

“Deadly Medicine:  Creating the Master Race”

Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Paul

Sneak Preview of the exhibit from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum about Hitler's ‘applied biology'

This workshop is free of charge and open to the public. Lunch and

transportation - museum admission are included.
CEU credit is available for teachers. Space is limited; to register, contact chgs@umn.edu For more information, contact ekennedy@umn.edu