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HRE USA

A network dedicated to building a culture of human rights

Category: Education

New Book: Influences of the IEA Civic & Citizenship Education Studies

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This new open access book from IEA (the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement), entitled, Influences of the IEA Civic and Citizenship
Education Studies: Practice, Policy, and Research Across Countries and Regions, identifies the multiple ways that IEA’s studies of civic and citizenship education have contributed to national and international educational discourse, research, policymaking, and practice. The IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS), first conducted in 2009, was followed by a second cycle in 2016. The project was linked to the earlier IEA Civic Education Study (CIVED 1999, 2000). IEA’s ICCS remains the only large-scale international study dedicated to formal and informal civic and citizenship education in school.  It continues to make substantial contributions to understanding the nature of the acquired civic knowledge, attitudes, and participatory skills. It also discusses in-depth how a wide range of countries prepare their young people for citizenship in changing political, social, and economic circumstances.  The next cycle of ICCS is planned for 2022.

In this book, more than 20 national representatives and international scholars from Europe, Latin America, Asia, and North America assess how the processes and findings of the 2009 and 2016 cycles of ICCS and CIVED 1999/2000 have been used to improve nations’ understanding of their students’ civic knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, current civic-related behaviors, and intentions for future participation in a comparative context.  There are also chapters summarizing the secondary analysis of those studies’ results indicating their usefulness for educational improvement and reflecting on policy issues.

The analyses and reflections in this book provide timely insight into international educational discourse, policy, practice, and research in an area of education that is becoming increasingly important for many societies.

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Children’s Rights Teaching Manual

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LEARN | RIGHT has developed a manual with tools, planning sheets, and activities for teachers to plan learning programs on children’s rights and create a learning environment that respects and promotes children’s rights in class and society.

The manual is generic allowing it to be applied to different national and cultural contexts, languages, and school systems as well as age groups.

We developed the manual to give a broad audience access to the approach and resources developed in the authors’ two previous manuals on teaching children’s rights in Greenland and Belarus, respectively, and in The Human Rights Education Toolbox. 

>> View resource

Human Rights and the Climate Crisis

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By the Human Rights Watch Student Task Force

As part of HRW Student Task Force’s (STF) advocacy to transition high schools across Southern California to 100% renewable energy, commit to energy efficiency plans, and engage in climate justice education, the STF hosted over 150 students, teachers, administrators, and community members at the “Human Rights and the Climate Crisis” Virtual Town Hall on Earth Day 2021.

“The climate crisis is the defining issue of our generation and we are at a monumental moment,” said one STF representative. “We are protecting our human rights to life, liberty, and personal security, to survival and development, and our right to health, to clean water – and a future! We are demanding public officials take action to protect our human rights and fight climate change.”

Students representing 18 high schools shared their personal climate stories, illustrating how climate change is impacting their lives. Several had experienced fire-threat evacuations and pollution-induced asthma, which further motivates them to take action. STF leaders also described using HRW’s methodology “Investigate, Expose, Change” to frame their advocacy as they engage school administrators and public officials.

Featured speaker, Christos Chrysiliou, LAUSD’s Director of Architectural and Engineering Services for the Facilities Division, discussed LAUSD’s steps to increase its energy and water efficiency, improve sustainability, and engage students in the decision-making process. “We cannot achieve all the things that we’re doing without your [students’] help… We need you in the process,” Mr. Chrysiliou said, “because that’s the only way to fight climate change.” Afterward, attendees participated in a spirited Q&A session with Mr. Chrysiliou. (Listen at 47:43 on the recording.)

Closing STF student speaker, Nathalia Wyss, quoted Greta Thunberg: “Act like your house is on fire, because it is – continue to take action against climate change and inform others, and please, keep fighting to turn our schools green.”

>> Learn more about the HRW Student Task Force
>> View the “Human Rights and the Climate Crisis” Virtual Town Hall
>> Download the Human Rights and Climate Crisis Toolkit

Toolkit on Mental Health in Schools – Demystifying the Mind

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“Demystifying the Mind,” is a toolkit from Learning for Justice that addresses new ways schools are addressing trauma and promoting mental health. Even if your school isn’t yet teaching about mental health in the curriculum, you have the opportunity to foster nurturing relationships with your students. This toolkit offers ways to 1) help young people move toward healing after experiencing trauma and 2) build resilience in your students, your colleagues, and yourself.

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Pledge to Teach the Truth

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Lawmakers in at least 15 states are attempting to pass legislation that would require teachers to lie to students about the role of racism, sexism, heterosexism, and oppression throughout U.S. history.

More than 1,500 teachers have signed a pledge: “We, the undersigned educators, refuse to lie to young people about U.S. history and current events — regardless of the law.” Read more pledges and add your name today.

To raise public awareness about the danger of these state bills, teachers, educators, and allies are invited to take a public stand at historic sites on Saturday, June 12, 2021.

Hosted by the Zinn Education Project and Black Lives Matter at School.

>> Join the day of action
>> Sign the pledge to teach the truth

Rethinking Schools Spring Issue

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The spring issue of Rethinking Schools has a cover story that features one union’s journey toward disability justice and has a special “Educators Speak Out” section uplifting the voices of special education teachers, students, and parents.

The issue’s editorial focuses on the centennial of the Tulsa Massacre, and argues for reparations.

Rethinking Schools editor Jesse Hagopian also has an obituary of the late Karen Lewis, and editor Linda Christensen has an important article about teaching the “unbound” essay.

The labor writer Sarah Jaffe writes about how some social justice teachers have reinvented the pandemic classroom and Jessica Lovaas and Adam Sanchez describe how they teach a people’s history of the March on Washington.

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Book – Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race

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Reviewed by Makai Kellogg

Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race is the book we’ve been waiting for! The team (Megan Madison, Jessica Ralli, and Isabel Roxas) did an incredible thing: they explained race and racism to young children. Not only did they do it in a few pages of a board book, but they also provided guidance to the adults who will read it to children. As soon as you open the book, the reader is greeted with colorful representations of the authors and illustrator, as well as a note on the purpose and function of the book. 

The last few pages provide developmental insight by using direct language to explain the “why and how” of having conversations about race, race-related observations, family diversity, identity terms, stereotypes, as well as prejudice, race, racism, empowerment, and activism.

>> Read full book review
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Human Rights Education Review – International Conference on Education and Democratic Citizenship

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The latest edition of HRER highlights new efforts to develop a sustainable community of global human rights education research. Human rights education (HRE) developed in many forms as a field of practice in the second half of the twentieth century, promoted by non-governmental organizations, various UN initiatives, and other intergovernmental organizations, such as the Council of Europe. The first purpose of HRE was to promote human rights as a ‘common language of humanity’, as expressed by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan (UN, 1998). The UN Secretary-General’s address made nearly 50 years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN, 1948), celebrated the lives of human rights leaders Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jnr., for whom a guiding principle of struggle was non-violence.

>> Read journal

Lesson Plan Book: Planning to Change the World

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This is a plan book for school-based, home-based, and community-based educators who believe that young people can, will, and already do change the world. It is designed to help educators translate their vision of a just education into concrete activities.

This year’s calendar features all-new historical anniversaries and birthdays. The newest edition has all the things you would expect in a lesson plan book, plus:

  • Weekly planning pages packed with important social justice birthdays and historical events 
  • References to online activities, resources, and lesson plans related to those dates
  • Tips from social justice educators across the country
  • Inspirational quotes to share with young people
  • Thought-provoking essential questions to spark discussion on critical issues
  • Reproducible social justice awards 
  • and much more

Planning to Change the World is created by the Education for Liberation Network with the support of Rethinking Schools. All proceeds from the sale of the plan book support the work of these two organizations.

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We are grateful for the generous support of our members, individual donors, and The Puffin Foundation Ltd
The core values of HRE USA and its partner organizations include transparency and critical thinking skills. We believe that human rights--and human rights education--belong to everyone, and that the full realization of human rights means that access to human rights education materials must never be conditioned upon the subscription to any particular religious faith, ideology, political affiliation, or membership in any particular organization and that any organizational connections should be openly acknowledged.