Page 16 - BRIDGES - ISSUE 7

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dealing with human rights issues, for brief statements. made a mistake?
where thereare often many different • Allowstudents tospeak quietly in • Do you allowstudents to make
points of view on an issue, rather turn and give physical reassurance to important decisions? For example,
than one ’correct’answer. upset students. about what to do next, what books to
"You can’t teach human rights in a • Ask the students for suggestions read, where to eat lunch ?
way that is against human rights." for resolving the conflict and be • Do you encourage good listening
Czech teacher prepared to contribute one or two habits? For example, do you sound a
ideas. musical note to get silence,or doyou
Exploring the human rights • Discuss the alternatives on the find yourself shouting?
environment in the school basis of searching for a fair solution. • Doyou smile in the classroom?
• Agree on a course of action and • Do you reward the whole group for
Understanding of human rights is follow it. If it is not working after a something well done together? Do
best achieved by experiencing them trial period, consult the students and you praise cooperation, caring, and
in action. Everydayschool life can try another solution. peacefulness,or just good academic
provide this experience, and can • Follow up the incident with a work?
reinforce the formal study of discussion, a story, role play or • Do you use line-ups when they are
abstract conceptssuch asfreedom, artwork. Ask students to compare it not necessary, or do you allow the
.tolerance,fairness and truth. with similar incidents. students to move in groups?
However,schools often discourage, • Do you label students as bad or
rather than encourage human rights. Rules good?
Assumptions and prejudicesoften If students find some rules unneces- • Are you afraid of confusion and
exist which deny the human rights of sary, unfair or without reason why noise, even when it is caused by
some people in the school. For not allow them to suggest changes? students working hard?
example, if studentsare allowed to Rules in school are necessary if we
call otherstudentsfrom minority want to avoid confusion and chaos, How can human rights be part
religious or ethnicgroups offensive but each rule can be examined tosee of the curriculum?
names, and no action is taken by the if it isfair or still valid. Teachers Ideally, human rights should be a
teachers, thissends a message to should be prepared tocompromise part of all school subjects, and
students that intolerance is accept- with the needs of the students if a should permeate the students’whole
able. It is important to change these change to the rules is suggested learning experience.However,
sort of messages if teachingfor which would contribute to the becausecircumstancesare different
human rights is tosucceed. effective running of the school. in each country and region, teachers
Students should then feel a respon- have used many different tactics for
What can be done to improve sibility to respect the rules. fitting human rights into their school
the human rights environment curriculum.These tacticscan be
in the school? Things to think about placed in two broad categories:
Below are somespecificsuggestions Many teachers have found that * Starting to teach human rights at a
which may help improve the human monitoring, then changing their own "grassroots" level in whicheverway
rights environment.They are based behaviour was an important step in you can, with the permission of the
on the idea that if students are given creating a human rights environment Principal or local-level officials.
the responsibility to be involved in in their classroom.To helpyou to do * Persuading the local or national
making rules, and in deciding what to this, you can ask yourself the educational authorities tochange the
do when rules are broken, then they following questions,or discuss them system from the top to make funding
will be more likely to respect these with colleagues. It might be useful to and time available for human rights
rules. look at these questions for a week or teaching.
so, during which you monitor your Often, teachers have combined these
Violence, conflicts and preju- own behaviour in the classroom and tactics by beginning with their
dices among students think about ways in which it might be "grassroots" teaching then using
Teachers and students can work improved. theirsuccesses asevidence to
• Do you treat allstudents as persuade the educational authorities
together todevelopaspecific policy
to deal with these situations. For individuals? Doyou address them tochange the system.
example, this isa suggested course of by their personal names? If so, do
you take care to say the name
action for dealing with violent correctly? Primary curricula
conflicts: • In primary schools, because there is
• Stop physical or verbal aggression. Do you use eye contact and touch less exam pressure on children and
• Find out the real problem by asking to reassure students of your atten- staff, and because teachers usually
those involved and those witnessing tion and concern? »»
• Do you apologise when you have
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