Kevin (and others!), An integration of human rights themes into a school would encompass some of the core values of democracy and peace education, but would be unique in adding a core moral compass to the work of the school. The UDHR provides an ethical framework, agreed upon by international bodies, for how to ensure human dignity. The work of human rights educators and their students is to understand these values and to apply them in our daily lives. Here is a link to a curricular matrix for how HRE can be used with youth which shows, I think, the "added value" of human rights: http://www.hrea.org/erc/Library/display.php?doc_id=209 You will also recognize other content and skill-building areas claimed by citizenship ed, peace ed and even conflict resolution. Aside from the values component of human rights education, there is one of accountability that comes from the legal side of the human rights movement. In terms of documents, human rights is embodied in the "International Bill of Rights" and numerous other treaties pertaining to vulnerable groups and human rights areas. Students can learn about how governments have tried to ensure respect for human rights through these treaties. They can also learn about the role of watchdog agencies. This complicates student thinking about states. The accountability lens that students get will also help them to develop critical human rights skills - for example, applying the human rights framework to their classroom and school; looking for causes of human rights problems rather than just recognizing the symptoms; examining the moral culpability of perpetrators, bystanders and upstanders. It will be important for students to find people in their community who have promoted human rights - even if this is not language that has been used in association with these individuals before. I think that it's a marvelous opportunity for all of us convinced that human rights education has a place in schools to see how this affects relationships, perspectives, and learning in the school environment. Please let me know how things develop and don't hesitate to call or write anytime! Cheers, Felisa ------------------------------------- Felisa Tibbitts, Director Human Rights Education Associates (HREA) - USA office PO Box 382396, Cambridge, MA 02238 Visiting address: 97 Lowell Road, Concord, MA 01742 (tel) +1 978 341 0200 (fax) +1 978 341 0201 (e-mail) ftibbitts@hrea.org (Web) http://www.hrea.org ======== North American Human Rights Education listserv ======== Send mail intended for the list to <hr-education-na@hrea.org>. Archives of the list can be found at: http://www.hrea.org/lists/hr-education-na/markup/maillist.php If you have problems (un)subscribing, contact <owner-hr-education-na@hrea.org>. **You are welcome to reprint, copy, archive, quote or re-post this item, but please retain the original and listserv source.
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