Step 3: Understanding Human Rights

First ask students to reflect on the following passage from Eleanor Roosevelt’s speech “Where Do Human Rights Begin?”

. . . in small places, close to home—so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any map of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person: The neighbourhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world." ¹

You might ask them to underline three phrases that stand out to them for their reflection or have them reflect on the passage as a whole.

• 1Eleanor Roosevelt, “Where Do Human Rights Begin?,” in Courage in a Dangerous World: The Political Writings of Eleanor Roosevelt, ed. Allida M. Black (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999), 190.

Then have students share their responses with classmates, using the Think, Pair, Share, Concentric Circles, or Save the Last Word for Me teaching strategies.

Divide the class into groups and explain to them that they will be creating a School Declaration of Human Rights Infographic that, if adopted and followed, would help ensure that their school is a “place where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, and equal dignity without discrimination.”

Instruct the groups to first come to consensus on ten rights that they feel every person in the school community—students, departments, staff—are entitled to and then have them present them on a poster, which they might create on large paper or on a computer. They should think about how to use text, images, colour, and spacing to convey their ideas.

Then have groups create a proposal for how they might share this information with the school administration, staff, and students in order to seek buy in. You might also ask them to consider what the process of seeking justice might look like for a community member who feels that one or more of their rights has been violated.

Finally, each group will present their infographic and process for seeking justice. The class will either vote or seek consensus to choose one School UDHR to present to the administration.