Felisa Tibbitts: A Primer for Selecting Democratic and Human Rights Education Teaching Materials
| First Steps: A
Manual for Starting Human Rights Education was developed by Amnesty
International specifically for use in Central and Eastern Europe. The manual has been
used in numerous countries in the region (including the Newly Independent States, Central
Asia, the Balkans and the Baltics). An earlier draft was circulated and revised on the
basis of feedback. The Manual is directed towards teachers with little or no experience in teaching human rights. The resource is divided into several sections, including the background for human rights education; tools for teaching human rights (including teaching methods, lesson development, evaluation and organization of training seminars); sample lessons; key human rights documents; and other resources for promoting human rights education. The model lessons contained in the manual are taken from a variety of sources, including Amnesty International specialists and other publications, and are used to illustrate various methodologies and topics for human rights education. First Steps is conceived as a learning tool for the teacher as well as a resource for organizing activities in educational settings. The main purpose of the text is to familiarize teachers with the basic principles and approaches of human rights education and to give them tools for the development of their own lessons and teaching skill. Key strengths of First Steps are its simplicity and clarity. Teachers unfamiliar with human rights education can read this text to get a general idea about its purpose and content. The text provides a total of 27 lessons for younger children (up to age 12) and 18 lessons for older children. These lessons are probably not sufficient for a full-year curriculum, but they are appropriate for infusion into existing classes in a variety of subjects. Teachers may also get ideas about how to develop additional lessons on the basis of the models provided. Three lessons are presented here. "The Imaginary Country" is a classic introductory human rights activity that can be used with a range of ages, including adult populations. This activity is ideal as an exercise in teacher trainings as well as in the classroom itself. The lesson draws on the learner's own value system, makes links with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and has many follow-up activities intended to encourage idea development and critical thinking. "Human Rights News" is an example of a project-based activity that encourages children to examine the presentation of human rights issues in various media. The connection between school and society, including the media, is an important feature of human rights education. "Conflict Webs" provides an example of the use of drawing in HRE, the specific technique of the concept web, and the treatment of conflict. In the primary school setting especially, use of the arts, music and literature in human rights education is very popular. Conflict understanding and resolution is much in demand in the region, and "Conflict Webs" is one of many approaches for addressing the nature of conflicts. The other lessons in First Steps model a range of interactive teaching methodologies, including role play, working in teams, brainstorming, whole class discussion, questioning and interviewing techniques, and visual aids. Title: First Steps: A Manual for Starting
Human Rights Education Available in full-text in HREA's Electronic Resource Center: http://erc.hrea.org/Library/First_Steps |