(1974). A Human Rights Curriculum. Profiles of Promise 30. At Northport High School, New York, the subject of human rights is dealt with in a tenth grade European Cultures Studies course. The ten week unit treats the concept of human rights as well as historical and current cases focusing on basic liberties. As students study the individual cases involving human rights, they delve into the political and social background of the country involved. Students compare similar situations in history and literature and further explore issues in small group discussions of readings. Each student is required to write a thought or reaction paper as the culminating unit activity. To add a personal experience dimension to the curriculum, extensive use is made of resource speakers including political and governmental experts, representatives from social action and religious groups, and local teachers. Student involvement takes the form of school-wide programs and displays, taped interviews and correspondence with experts in the field, participation in… [PDF]
(2008). "Preserving Intellectual Capital". Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, v25 n15 p14-15 Sep. In 2005, living in his native Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dr. Felix Kaputu was arrested and accused of participating in a separatist movement outlawed by the government–charges he denied. He and other political detainees were incarcerated for several months, enduring beatings and torture. Amnesty International and other human rights groups pressed for the release of Kaputu and other prisoners, and after four months Kaputu was set free. His experiences qualified him for support from the Scholar Rescue Fund, a project of the nonprofit Institute of International Education, perhaps best known for administering the Fulbright Student and Scholars program. This article describes how the Institute of International Education's Scholar Rescue Fund assists scholars like Kaputu and others whose academic freedoms are threatened in their home countries…. [Direct]
(2008). Boycott Beijing?. Chronicle of Higher Education, v54 n33 pB4 Apr. In the wake of China's harsh suppression of antigovernment protests in Tibet–among other human-rights abuses throughout its territory–world leaders have faced mounting pressure to boycott the opening ceremonies of the approaching Olympic Games in Beijing. The boycott has also become a hot topic on the presidential-campaign trail. John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton have both stated that if they were president, they would not travel to Beijing to partake in the festivities. Barack Obama has said he would take a wait-and-see approach, while emphasizing that he would leave the threat of a boycott "firmly on the table." This article presents a compilation of various individuals' opinions on the possible United States boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games…. [Direct]
(1999). Ten Years after Tiananmen: Some Unsung Heroes of the Struggle. American Educator, v23 n1 p42-45 Spr. Tells the life stories of some of the people who have worked for human rights and democracy in contemporary China. Five profiles show the obstacles faced by Chinese teachers in the human-rights struggle. (SLD)…
(1987). Compulsory Licensing of Journalists: Protection or Restraint? A Discussion on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights' Advisory Opinion on the Costa Rica Case. In 1985 the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that a Costa Rican statute requiring journalists to be licensed violates the American Convention on Human Rights and, by extension, all human rights conventions. Though press freedom advocates hailed it as a major triumph for freedom of expression, the court's ruling was only advisory and has not stopped Costa Rica or other Latin American countries from maintaining such licensing laws. Debate over the licensing of journalists continues, however. The Inter-American Press Association has called upon the legislatures of signatory countries of the Inter-American Convention of Human Rights to repeal their licensing laws in light of the Inter-American Court's decision. While opponents do not dispute the fact that the "colegios" (professional associations which journalists are required to join) can promote the betterment of the journalism profession, they do object to the compulsory nature of the membership. Despite the… [PDF]
(1977). Children's Books and Human Rights. Prospects: Quarterly Review of Education, 7, 2, 204-25, 77. Provides an historical perspective on the social changes precipitated by invention of the printing press and widespread availability of books. Suggests ways in which to effectively incorporate human rights teaching into modern children's books. (AV)…
(1997). School-Based Understanding of Human Rights in Four Countries: A Commonwealth Study. Education Research Paper. This project is the result of a three year study of a sample of secondary schools in Botswana, India, Northern Ireland, and Zimbabwe. The study is backed up by longer interviews with students, teachers, and administrators, an audit of the curriculum, a review of educational materials, and an examination of the teacher education available. A questionnaire was administered to 915 students aged 14 and 16 in 23 schools. The study was designated as a key Commonwealth contribution to the United Nations Decade of Human Rights Education. It looked at how the education systems are currently providing an infrastructure for human rights in these member states. The project concentrated on: (1) how national commitments to human rights instruments are reflected in the school curriculum; (2) whether young people are acquiring basic concepts in selected dimensions of human rights; (3) what the difference two years of study makes to the understanding of young people; (4) whether there are any… [PDF]
(2010). Discriminatory Rationalization: The Equity/Excellence Debate in Canada. Forum on Public Policy Online, v2010 n2. Virginia Woolf wrote that "the history of men's opposition to women's emancipation is more interesting perhaps than the story of that emancipation itself." Analyzing men's resistance remains relevant to understanding gendered hierarchies, including those in academia. Recently, when women academics brought a human rights complaint against the Canadian government over the discriminatory distribution of prestigious Canada Research Chairs, officials defended the gender gap by pitting "excellence" against "equity." Later, ignoring the complaint's settlement agreement, they established a Canada Excellence Research Chairs Program, appointing no women at all. This illustrates Canadian sociologist Dorothy Smith's observation that, because men have power, they have the power to keep it. Their strategies, which serve to reduce or eliminate competition, include defining differences as deficiencies, exclusionary gate-keeping that uses insider networks and discredits… [PDF] [Direct]
(1984). A Unit on 1984 and International Human Rights. Social Education, v48 n3 p211-13 Mar. Learning activities are suggested to give secondary students an understanding of totalitarian concepts found in such literature as \1984\ and of violations of international human rights. (RM)…
(2010). Inclusive Approaches to Parent Engagement for Young English Language Learners and Their Families. Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, v109 n2 p474-504. Scholars have argued for collaborative parent involvement programs for minority students and English language learners' (ELLs) families to improve their academic success. Despite the trend toward collaboration, students' home languages and culture continue to be seen as a liability in the learning process; this sentiment has created a backlash position that claims children have a linguistic (human) right to retain their language, even when learning in school. Schecter and Cummins (2003) used the term \inclusive\ as an alternative to these arguments, since \it highlights the interests of the entire society rather than those of a particular minority group and, in so doing, transcends the \us\ versus \them\ mentality that characterizes much of the debate\ on ELLs in public schools. In the introduction of \Inclusive Pedagogy,\ Verplaetse and Migliacci (2008) listed the tenets of inclusive pedagogy as cited in Chow and Cummins (2003): (1) students' language and culture are valued as… [Direct]
(2009). Language, Parents' Involvement, and Social Justice: The Fight for Maintaining Minority Home Language: A Chinese-Language Case Study. Multicultural Education, v16 n4 p13-18 Sum. English-only policies and the expiration of the \Bilingual Education Act,\ which is now replaced by \No Child Left Behind,\ make it clear that English is the official language of schools in the United States with the emphasis moved from the goal of maintaining students' home languages while learning English to a focus of ignoring minority students' home languages. The bottom line is that the dominant group determines what language or languages will be learned in school. In order to maintain their home language, culture, and identity, minority groups have had to fight for their home languages and for broader issues of social justice. Speaking and maintaining a home language has been asserted to be a basic human right of minority students and their families. This article investigates the efforts of Chinese American students and their parents and community members in seeking the right to learn Chinese as a foreign language. This article also examines the assimilative and oppressive… [PDF] [Direct]
(1985). Torture by Governments, A Seven Part Educational Guide for High Schools. This interdisciplinary unit includes seven lessons that can be adapted to fit individual classrooms and curricular needs. The focus of the lessons is on human rights and human rights abuses. The lessons include: (1) \Who Are the Victims?\; (2) \Coping\; (3) \Torturers\; (4) \A Case for Torture?\; (5) \The Map of Torture\; (6) \The Words To Say It\; and (7) \The Fight against Torture.\ The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights is included, as are several newspaper articles, photographs, and maps. (EH)… [PDF]
(1984). The African University and the Duty to Co-Operate. Higher Education in Europe, v9 n2 p40-44 Apr-Jun. Because of their history rooted in human rights, African universities can now practically and politically undertake international and interinstitutional cooperative projects for human rights and intercultural understanding, especially through such alliances as the Association of African Universities. (MSE)…
(2002). Understanding the Potential Content and Structure of an International Convention on the Human Rights of People with Disabilities: Sample Treaty Provisions Drawn from Existing International Instruments. A Reference Tool. This document is designed to prepare advocates in the international disability community for productive participation in the development of international conventions on the human rights of people with disabilities. Knowledge of the standard categories of international law provisions will help participants address issues related to the structure of a draft treaty. Familiarity with how specific human rights principles have been addressed in other treaty contexts is necessary for articulating applications of such principles in the context of the rights of people with disabilities. This reference tool outlines five general categories of provisions in a human rights treaty and examines the specific types of provisions that are often contained in each particular category and how they have been approached in other texts. To achieve this, sample provisions have been chosen from existing human rights treaties and other relevant documents and included under the appropriate categories, which… [PDF]
(2008). A Question of Rights: Poverty and the Child Care Crisis. New Educator, v4 n1 p26-42 Jan. Children's rights to early care and education raise a fundamental issue to be grappled with in the free market fundamentalism that shapes a 21st century American childhood. The discourse about child care for children in poverty is largely instrumentalist, and focused on a cost-benefit analysis of outcomes, not on children's existential well-being. Children's rights and mothers' rights to high quality child care are not part of the discourse. In this article I argue that child care should be universally accessible and viewed within a broader framework of human rights. The voices of low-income mothers, who have struggled to access high quality care for their children, are presented in order to illuminate the care deficit and make visible how failed public policies and lived realities take shape on the ground. (Contains 1 footnote.)… [Direct]