Resources and Opportunities
Resources
ABC—Teaching Human Rights: Practical Activities for Primary and Secondary Schools
A fully revised edition of ABC—Teaching Human Rights: Practical Activities for Primary and Secondary Schools is available, in English, on the website of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) at www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/abc_text.pdf. This publication is expected to be issued in hard-copy form in the six official United Nations languages by December 2003. The booklet offers practical advice and suggested learning activities for teachers and other educators to foster human rights awareness and action with primary and secondary school children.
The full list of OHCHR's publications (free of charge), the order form and, in most cases, the electronic text are available at www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/index.htm.
At Alberta Education, we work together with First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) communities, Elders, parents, teachers and other education stakeholders throughout the province to learn from each other to best meet the needs of FNMI learners.
Developed by Alberta educators, this website features in-class and online activities that teachers throughout Canada can use in helping K-3 francophone and immersion students learn about diversity issues. For people willing to share their work and experiences in building inclusive school communities, this website is also an opportunity to establish a networkc.
Canadian Association for the Study of Women in Education (CASWE) Newsletter
CASWE publishes an on-line newsletter that is available to the public. To see the latest edition, go to www.csse.ca/caswe and follow the links.
Chez-nous.net
Chez-nous is a French expression meaning "our home" or "our place." The Chez-nous.net website invites readers to contribute quotations on the topic of peace and justice.
The Everyone's Children Initiative
The purpose of this initiative is to match teachers from around the world with children in Palestine who are under occupation and curfew and, as a result, are unable to attend school regularly. Each teacher accepted into the program is assigned to support, by e-mail or regular mail, the academic and emotional needs of one Palestinian child. Teachers work with students in English and/or Arabic. More information about the initiative is available at http://home.earthlink.net/~theweproject/index.html. Teachers interested in participating in the program should contact theweproject@earthlink.net.
The Everyone’s Children Initiative is a collaborative project involving the Writing Empowerment Project, JARAS (the Palestinian Initiative for the Right to Education) and Teachers Without Borders.
Free the Children
Free the Children is a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating the exploitation of children around the world by encouraging youth to create and participate in programs and activities that relieve the plight of underprivileged children. Free the Children maintains a bureau of speakers willing to speak to schools, community organizations and youth groups.
The Make Poverty History Campaign in Canada is part of an international campaign called the Global Call to Action Against Poverty. The Canadian campaign has four major goals: (1) to urge the Government of Canada to increase the amount and quality of the aid it provides to developing countries, (2) to ensure that international trade does not undermine the economies of developing countries, (3) to cancel the multilateral and bilateral debt owed by the poorest countries and (4) to end child poverty in Canada. The symbol of the campaign is a simple white band.
Redefining Multicultural Education
In Redefining Multicultural Education (Scarborough, Ontario: Nelson Thomson Learning, 1996), author Ratna Ghosh argues that multicultural education has four basic tenets:
- It allows all students, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or class, to fully develop their potential and critical abilities.
- It validates, and implies a right to, differences in race, ethnicity, gender and class.
- It addresses students from both dominant and minority groups.
- It permeates not only the curriculum but the total school culture.
Teaching History
Should teachers be responsible for shaping their students opinions for or against war, or should they just offer their students a balanced point of view in proper historical perspective? According to former teacher and author Joe David, although today’s students have opinions about war, these opinions are often those of their parents, teachers, or friends. No real attention is given in school to providing students with an understanding of issues beyond expecting them to support such platitudes as "war is wrong" or "war is necessary." "What we end up with is brainwashed citizens with no ability to form independent thought,” David says. He maintains that the solution is for teachers (and parents) to teach history with a broad historical overview, not as fragmented events with important missing parts, but as a relevant whole with depth and intelligence that breaths life into key ideas and dramatizes these ideas with historical fact—not personal opinions. A fuller account of David’s approach to history in the classroom can be found in his article "Teaching History."
UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network
UNESCO launched the Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet) in 1953. ASPnet operates at three levels. At the national level, ASPnet encourages National Commissions for UNESCO and Ministries of Education to establish networks of schools interested in developing innovative teaching approaches, methods and materials for improving the ethical, cultural and international dimensions of education. Over the years, ASPnet has contributed to educational reform and renewal in several UNESCO countries. At the regional level, ASPnet encourages countries within a region who share bonds of language, religion or culture to undertake such activities as organizing regional seminars and workshops, arranging student and teacher exchanges and sharing information about flagship projects. At the international level, ASPnet undertakes a variety of activities—among them, organizing international flagship projects and arranging special events, campaigns and contests—to facilitate solidarity among participating institutions.
By 2001, ASPnet had ties to more than 6,700 educational institutions, ranging from preschools to teacher training centres in 166 countries. Schools associated with the program agree to promoting the ideals of UNESCO by carrying out projects that better prepare children and young people to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex and interdependent world.
Information about the UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet) in Canada can be found at http://www.unesco.ca/english/ASP/main.htm. The site contains news from schools participating in the ASPnet Canada project, information about upcoming events and links to other youth-focused projects. In addition, the site features biographies of celebrity spokespersons for ASPnet in Canada, including two Albertans, Tom Jackson and David Morrison.
The University of Calgary Image Centre
The following resources on diversity topics are available from the Image Centre at the University of Calgary (phone: 403-220-3709; fax: 403-282-4497; email: bmurray@ucalgary.ca). Prices include GST.
A Transgendered Journey: Workplace and Lifestyle Management
Teri Jane Ursacki and Mary Valentich, Institute for Gender Research, University of Calgary
58 min., VHS, 2001, $36
In this video, Teri Jane Ursacki, an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Management at the University of Calgary, candidly discusses her transformation from the male to the female gender. Having successfully reintegrated into her work environment, she discusses how she prepared her friends and colleagues to accept a change of this magnitude and explains how organizations can develop appropriate policies to support transgendered people.
Hopes and Dreams: Stories from Young Refugees AlbertaCivil Liberties Research Centre, University of Calgary
24 min., VHS and User’s Guide, 2002, $32.50
This video features several young people who were forced to give up everything and flee their home countries. Many of them spent time in refugee camps. By talking about the barriers they faced adjusting to life in a new country, they hope to foster a greater understanding of the plight of refugees.
Freedom of Expression and All That Jazz
Alberta Civil Liberties Research Centre, University of Calgary
23 min., VHS and User's Guide, 2001; $32.50
In this video, a group of students who were deluged with on-line hate mail explore the challenging and complex topic of freedom of expression and highlight issues for further discussion.
University College of Cape Breton Children's Rights Centre
The UCCB Children's Rights Centre has developed an extensive database of resources—books, magazines, computer programs, videos and curriculum materials—for parents and teachers, which is available at http://faculty.uccb.ns.ca/~gcarre/children/index.htm.
War Child Canada is Recruiting Educator 'Community Catalysts' for 2007-2008!
War Child Canada is a registered Canadian charity that provides humanitarian assistance to children affected by war. War Child Canada generates awareness, support and action for children's rights everywhere.
War Child has started a new volunteer program for Educators called the Educator Community Catalyst (Ed. CC) program. As an Ed. CC you will deliver dynamic presentations and facilitate meaningful workshops on global issues. You will also promote War Child Canada’s global education resources to youth and educators in your community.
If you are interested in becoming an Educator Community Catalyst, please contact Paula MacKinnon at paula@warchild.ca.
Speakers
Dr Gregor Wolbring
Dr Wolbring, an adjunct assistant professor for bioethical issues in the Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary, is available to talk to educators and children about disabilities. Dr Wolbring is a Member of the Executive of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, Founder and Executive director of the International Center for Bioethics, Culture and Disability and Founder and Coordinator of the International Network on Bioethics and Disability. He can be reached by phone at 1-403-220-5448, by fax at 1-403-283-4740 and by e-mail at gwolbrin@ucalgary.ca.
Opportunities
Youth Anti-Racism Project (YAP)
The Youth Anti-Racism Project (YAP) is a small group of youth in the Edmonton area that uses participatory drama to develop strategies for dealing with racism. YAP is part of the Northern Alberta Alliance on Race Relations, a network of community organizations and individuals committed to eliminating racial discrimination! YAP is looking for volunteers to help conduct anti-racism workshops. If you are interested, contact Youth Coordinator Oliver Kamau by phone at (780) 425-4644 or by email at olivera@interbaun.com.
Creating Student Awareness about Freedom of the Press Issues
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESC0) is collaborating with Pen Canada on a project intended to make high school students more aware of issues surrounding freedom of expression and freedom of the press. Participating students will be invited to research two cases in which a writer, journalist or editor was harassed, tortured or killed because of his or her work in a foreign country. In addition to examining the circumstances surrounding the incidents themselves, students will be encouraged to explore the history, geography and socio-political environments of the countries involved. The deadline for completing projects is May 3, 2006, UNESCO World Press Freedom Day.High school teachers who are interested in involving their students in this project are invited to order a package of classroom materials from Pauline Dugré, Communication and Information Programme Officer, who can be reached by email at pauline.dugre@unesco.ca or by phone at 1-800-263-5588 (ext. 4558).
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