Partners in Human Rights Education is a
program designed to introduce international human rights and
responsibilities to students of all ages. The Partners Program uses
the framework of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and the Convention on the Rights of the Child to
help students to understand and appreciate common human values.
Through the involvement of volunteer teachers, community resource
people, lawyers, the program encourages students to create and
implement projects that foster respect for human rights.
1. To provide a universally accepted human rights values framework for the participants to begin questioning how to make the world a better place in which to live.
2. To create community teams which support teachers in facilitating an environment that encourages students to respect human dignity and to become human rights activists in local, national, and international communities.
3. To foster connections between learning about human rights in the classroom and practicing human responsibilities in the community through action projects.
create community teams who will support teachers in encouraging students to respect human dignity and to become human rights defenders in local, national, and international communities;
provide participants with a universally accepted human rights framework from which to begin questioning how to make the world a better place in which to live;
foster connections between learning about human rights in the classroom and practicing human responsibilities in the community through action projects.
During the 1995-96 school year, 350 volunteers reached more than
4,500 students in 100 classrooms in Minnesota with the message of the
importance of human rights and responsibilities.
The Partners Program teams develop lessons and activities both on
their own and with the help of curriculum from the National Human
Rights Education Resource Library at the Human Rights Center. Lesson
plans and action projects are shared with participants through the
Explorer newsletter, enrichment workshops, and the World
Wide Web.
A Community Action! Fund has been established to provide a unique
means of integrating classroom learning about human rights with
hand-on activities in the community. Through Community Action!
Projects, students can more deeply understand the meaning of human
rights in their own lives and the lives of others. One example of a
Community Action! Project is a collaboration between KBEM radio's
"School News" program and various classrooms. They are developing a
regular series of classroom reports focused on educating the general
public about human rights and responsibilities.
Each May the Partners Program team participants, students, and
families celebrate their many accomplishments at the Human Rights
Fair. In 1996, more than 700 Partners participated in the Fair's 13
workshops, including an interactive play and art displays and videos
presented by schools attending the fair.
The Partners Human Rights Fellowship Program was established to
provide team participants with opportunities to learn more about
human rights and obtain practical human rights training. The Program
awards 10-12 grants each summer to work with human rights
organizations. Partners Program fellows bring their experiences back
to the classrooms with a new perspective and understanding of human
rights. The fellowships are designed to foster links between the
state of Minnesota communities and human rights concerns and
activities throughout the world.
The initial focus group of teachers decided that there was a need
for resource people to teach students about human rights and
responsibilities. However, these teachers encouraged a consultative,
on-ongoing relationship be developed between the teacher, the
resource people, and the students. Thus, although we do have a
speakers' bureau available, the team approach is a unique aspect of
Partners in Human Rights Education.
The teachers in the focus group were asked "who should be
involved?" They unanimously voiced, "all interested teachers - no
matter what grade level." Therefore, wherever there is an interested
teacher, the Partners Program is happy to start a team. Although the
Partners Program began with only lawyer-teacher teams, the following
year a community representative was added to the team. Partners in
Human Rights Education teams teach students of all ages with a focus
on elementary and secondary classrooms.
The teachers in the initial focus group also encouraged the
Partners Program to not remain in only one school. Therefore, this
Program extends beyond one school district and is in numerous Twin
Cities and Greater Minnesota schools.
Team members commit to a school year of teaching. Each team member
goes into the classroom approximately one time per month or 8 times
in a school year. Team members are matched according to the time
commitment they can give, the grade level they are interested in
teaching, and the location of interest.
The focus group suggested that the Partners Program not develop
one set curriculum and, instead, provide a framework for teaching
about human rights. Therefore, teams are given a set of cognitive,
behavioral, and attitudinal goals based on the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights (UDHR) which a person educated about human rights
should follow. Teams and students develop the knowledge and skills
behind the human rights attitudes. Using the framework of the UDHR,
teams teach students about human rights and responsibilities.
Students apply what they learn in their local community through human
rights action projects. All teams are encouraged to use interactive
teaching methods to engage students.
Participants in the Partners in Human Rights Education
Program will aspire to put their learning into action by:
1. Recognizing that every human
is born with the inalienable human rights listed in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
2. Distinguishing between civil and
political rights, and economic, social and cultural rights through an
understanding of the International Bill of Human Rights.
3. Defining key human rights terms and
applying them appropriately. Lists assume previous grades knowledge
of terms. Key human rights terms include:
Pre-K to Grade 4
Grades 5-8
Grades 9-12
Responsibility (Personal, Social, Legal, and Moral
Fairness
Discrimination
Equality
Order
Freedom
Justice
Rules
Law
Covenant
Nationality
Citizenship
State Sovereignty
Diversity
Discrimination
Genocide
Immigrant
Refugee
Asylum
Participation
Democracy
Global Community
4. Using language respectful of
others race, sex, religion, physical strength, size, features,
friendship groups, age, culture, disability, financial status,
clothing, classroom performance etc. and actively encouraging others
to do so.
5. Working cooperatively with others and
identifying and applying appropriate strategies for problem
solving.
6. Sharing resources with the
community.
7. Recognizing a diversity of
opinions and making a concerted effort to understand them.
8. Taking responsibility for own values
and actions.
9. Participating in democratic decision
making as a citizen of a local, national, and international
community.
10. Analyzing a human rights problem,
developing potential solutions, and taking action in a way which
upholds the human rights of all parties involved.
Participants in the Partners in Human Rights Education
Program will aspire not only to learn about human rights and to
practice human responsibilities, but to internalize these attitudes
as a part of their personal ethical framework. Below each grouping of
Articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a specific
corresponding value. Sample activities, which apply attitudinal
objectives, are also provided.
The individual respects self and others, regardless of
situation, race, sex, physical strength, size features, friendship
groups, age, culture, disability, financial status, clothing,
classroom performance. She or he is concerned about the equal
treatment of all and takes pride in her/his own contributions as well
as the contributions of others.
Sample Activities:
...identify and question assumptions or stereotypes about others.
...describe a period and place when discrimination has had a
significant impact on a group in society
...analyze the mitigating circumstances that contributed to a period
of legalized or socially sanctioned discrimination
...list the steps that were taken to solve a discrimination problem,
or that could be used to solve a problem of social, legal, economic,
or political discrimination
...differentiate structures of power
...compare sources of power within and across situations
...depict in words or drawings the actual of potential sources of
power that can exist in a given time or place
The individual believes that all human beings are equal and therefore
should not be subjected to any form of slavery, inhuman or degrading
treatment. She believes it has a negative impact on individuals
enslaved as well as on the societies which condone that behavior. She
values acting in a way that promotes the safety and well-being of
herself and others.
Sample Activities:
...explain the emotional and psychological implication of inhuman and
degrading treatment on an individual or community, using historical
examples or research in current psychology or sociology
...compare slavery in different time periods or in different places,
and support a few generalizations about the conditions that elicit
oppression of a particular group or individual
The individual is sensitive to the importance of all
others being treated fairly. He is concerned when another person or
group is being treated unfairly. He holds the same rules for himself
with which he expects others to comply. The individual believes that
everyone is entitled to a fair trial.
Sample Activities:
...apply the UDHR to determine the legal rights entitled to a person
or group
...interpret a historical period of legalized discrimination in terms
of violations to the human rights of the individuals involved
...create a set of rules to govern the classroom which support the
UDHR
The individual respects the right of all to personal space
and possessions. She believes that everyone should be free from
teasing, mockery or invasive behaviors. She values protection for
herself and others.
Sample Activities:
...examine two court cases in U.S. history that address the
right to privacy and compares the rationale used in each of these
cases
...hypothesize about tensions that might arise about the right to
privacy in a time of war
...defend a position on the governments right to know versus the
citizens right to privacy in a time of war
...researche U.S. governmental policies that have infringed on the
individuals right to privacy
...display a historical perspective on conceptions of privacy in
American society through a speech, essay, debate, skit etc.
...write a persuasive essay on the topic of privacy in relation to a
health or medical concern
...investigate and hypothesize about 21st century privacy issues in
connection with the Internet
The individual values her citizenship and nationality and
believes all others are entitled to the same. She respects an
individual's choice to come and go freely between countries, as well
as to change her country of citizenship. She believes in offering
protection to people who are being persecuted.
Sample Activities:
...analyze governmental policies as they relate to
immigrants, refugees and/or individuals seeking asylum
...investigate the social services provided for recent immigrants to
the local community
...develop a proposal for improving the services available to new
immigrants
...list some of the reasons people may leave a country and the
struggles they face when they arrive in a new country
...create a timeline tracking the movement of a particular
refugee group to America
...compare and contrast, using examples from the present and the
past, the difference between being a refugee and being an
immigrant
...explain the rights and responsibilities connected with their own
citizenship
...contrast the rights and responsibilities associated with
citizenship in their time and country to citizens of a different
country or time
...analyze the rights of an individual accused of war crimes in
seeking asylum
...analyze the rights of a draft dodger in seeking asylum
Individuals respect the right of all people to enter into
relationships of their own choosing, and also the nature of the
relationships chosen for marriage, family, and friendship. They
believe that males and females enter into relationships as equals,
and remain so regardless of the status of their relationship.
Sample Activities:
...researche the history of family, economics of family life, the
history of gay rights
...list the factors contributing to an ongoing domestic violence
situation and the steps that a person should take if they are trying
to get out of a dangerous domestic situation
...interview a social worker about a particular issue in families
today and present their findings to the class in the forum of a panel
discussion
The individual respects the right of alternative and
opposing points of view to exist. He values other points of view and
the freedom of all to choose their own beliefs, religion, opinions,
information and associations.
Sample Activities:
...write and perform a play that voices several perspectives on an
issue, and that establishes a structure for solving a problem
together
...engage in a structured controversy on a pre-determined
topic, alternately debating opposite sides of the issue
The individual believes in the importance of democratic
decision making and in acting as a citizen of a local, national, and
international community.
Sample Activities:
...conduct a debate on a local community issue after researching the
various perspectives on it, derive a class consensus and solicit a
local governing body to enact their solution
...research an issue and inform their local, state, or
national representative about their findings and the action that they
would like taken
...participate in student government
The individual desires to improve the welfare of all
members of her local, state, and global community. She believes that
all people can and should live in dignity, and therefore values
efforts to meet individual needs as they arise.
Sample Activities:
...sponsor a dance to raise money for a local foodshelf- students
create a budget for the event, delegate responsibilities fairly among
themselves, develop a marketing strategy, and run the event
...volunteer for a local social service provider- keep a daily log of
skills utilized, knowledge acquired, and the impact of the work on
the local community
The individual values basic economic rights that each
individual has, including the right to vacation, limited work hours
and equal pay.
Sample Activities:
...graph changes in the standard of living across a period of history
for various cultural or racial groups
...research the child labor laws of this country and the way in which
these impact the actions of U.S. multinational companies
abroad
The individual aspires to actively support others in their
learning and regards his learning and his own resposnibility. He
believes that education is fundamental to the functioning of society
and supports equal access for all to education in his society.
Sample Activities:
...use cooperative learning for any task -- assign roles, have
students evaluate their collective as well as individual work
...complete individual learning projects over the course of a
semester, and then have students teach others, in their own class, or
by visiting another school
The individual appreciates the cultural life of the
community. She highly regards the involvement and inclusion of all
people in the cultural life of the community.
Sample Activities:
...create a map of all the arts organizations available to the public
in deifferent regions -- hypothesize where residents may have
difficulty in accessing the arts and devise a plan for how this
problem might be addressed, propose the plan to the appropriate
venues
...study the portrayal of different groups in popular culture over
time, how has the portrayal of different groups contributed to their
ability to participate in the cultural life of the community
...design a mural for a blighted area of the community, raise funds
to cover the expense of creating the mural and put the mural into
place
...choose an area with a unique cultural heritage and investigate the
influences of that heritage on life in the community
The individual believes that everyone should receive all of the above rights regardless of their individual values.
Kristi Rudelius-Palmer
Director, Partners in Human Rights Education
Johanna Allayne Ronnei
Program Coordinator, Partners in Human Rights Education
Maria Baldini
Student Coordinator, Partners in Human Rights Education
Jen Orr
Student Coordinator, Partners in Human Rights Education
Blessing Rugara
Student Coordinator, Partners in Human Rights Education
Phyllis Tousey Frederick
Neighborhood Justice Center
Brien Getten
Minnetonka Middle School
Sid Lewis
Education Compliance Officer
Yolanda Maya
Crazy Horse Defense Project
Connie Overhue
West Central Academy
Kristi Rudelius-Palmer
Director, Partners in Human Rights Education
David Weissbrodt
University of Minnesota Law School & Human Rights Center
Barb Frey
Advocates for Human Rights
Brad Lehrman
Portage Capital, Inc.
Linda Loverude
A World of Difference/Anti-Defamation League of B'Nai B'Rith
Traecy McJilton
Expo Elementary
Rama Pandey
University of Minnesota School of Social Work
Natalie Detert
Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights
Elsa Battica
Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights
Pat Bellanger
Legal Aid
Betty Berger
Franciscan Sisters
Jennifer Bloom
Minnesota Center for Community Legal Education
Margo Bonneville
US WEST
Natalie Detert
Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights
Michael Dugar
Adolescent Development Program
RoAnne Elliot
Minnesota Department of Education
Arvonne Fraser
Senior Fellow Emeritus, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
The Honorable Hubert H. Humphrey, III
Minnesota Attorney General
Susan Mackay
Mackay and Associates
Andrea Northwood
Minnesota Center for Victims of Torture
Wende O'Brien
Attorney at Law
Dwight Oglesby
Attorney at Law
Bill Rudelius
Carlson School of Management
Ken Simon
Olson Middle School
Meredith Sommers
Resource Center of the Americas
Mary Swenson
Resource Center of the Americas
David Weissbrodt
University of Minnesota Human Rights Center
Gwen Willems
University of Minnesota Department of Education
Teacher
Provides the classroom setting, instructs the students in human rights principles, and assists the team in developing the classroom instructional model.
Lawyer
Assists the team and students in connecting human rights issues and social action activities to the applicable legal foundations.
Community Resource Person
Assists the team and students with a social action component, facilitating the application of human rights principles into the real life situations of the students.
All participants are encouraged to
attend an additional Sharing & Enrichment Workshop later in the
school year. At the Enrichment Workshops, participants share ideas
and successes then break off to attend in depth sessions on relevant
human rights topics. Two Enrichment Workshops in the Twin Cities and
one Enrichment Workshop in each of the Greater Minnesota and North
Dakota cities is held.
The Explorer .
The Explorer provides a human rights calendar gathered
from 30+ human rights organizations, book and curricula resource
suggestions for Partners Program participants, lesson plans,
Community Action! Projects, and fellowship experience reports. The
Partners Program mails each participant 6 editions of The
Explorer newsletter each school year. Each issue takes
approximately 30 hours to contact human rights organizations for
calendar events, solicit lesson plans and Community Action! Projects
from approximately 10 participants, and prepare the edition for
publication.
Human Rights Education: The
Fourth R . Two issues of The Fourth R are
completed each year and edited by team participants. The Partners
Program attempts to integrate Enrichment Workshops with the topics
selected for this publication when possible.
The Observer . The
Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights publishes 6 editions of
The Observer each year. The Partners Program has
stories in at least four of these issues each year. Partners Program
team members receive all issues and are able to learn about the other
human rights projects of the Minnesota Advocates for Human
Rights.
The Partners Program would
like to increase the number of individuals serviced each year by the
National Human Rights Education Resource Library and the Greater
Minnesota Support Libraries. The National Human Rights Education
Resource Library, the largest of its kind, serves Partners Program
participants by providing the individuals with lesson and action
ideas. The Resource Library currently contains over 1,000 curriculum
and related resources on more than 60 topics, including children's
rights, persons with disabilities, the environment, indigenous
rights, and refugees. These resources assist Partners Program
participants and others in designing lesson plans and human rights
activities for children in their classrooms. In addition to the main
Resource Library in the Twin Cities, the Partners Program also
continues to maintain human rights curriculum libraries in Bemidji,
Grand Rapids, Remer, St. Cloud, and Worthington, Minnesota, as well
as in Milwaukee and Riverfalls, Wisconsin. The team members in those
communities identified the best location for these human rights
education curriculum and videos, including public libraries, school
libraries, a resource media center, and community centers. These
libraries contain materials for teaching all grade levels.
The Partners Program has
worked out a special arrangement with the St. Martin's Table
Bookstore to sell Human Rights Education Curriculum Resources and
Books. The Bookstore offers Partners Program team members a 5%
discount and donates 5% of the revenue on all human rights education
materials to the Partners Program.
The Human Rights Center currently
administers the largest human rights World Wide Web site in the
world. This site has more than 1000 core human rights documents in
various languages and continues to expand its library. The site has
been visited more than 250,000 times in a six-month period. This
collection is available 24-hours per day, seven days per week,
without charge on the INTERNET through the World Wide Web. The
material can be read, downloaded, and printed. The Partners Program
is working to develop its personal page and expand the Human Rights
Education curriculum resources on the web site. The Partners Program
would like the HRE web site to support teachers, students, and other
team participants throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota.
Although this page is still being updated, the web should support
individuals to generate new ideas, share lessons and community action
activities, and provide additional resources. In addition, the
Partners Program has been working with Mighty Media to provide
opportunities for educators and students to discuss common concerns
and dreams about human rights issues worldwide.
The Human Rights Center has
the largest collection of books, pamphlets, and documents on human
rights in the United States. The collection grows at the rate of
about 10 shelf feet and five file cabinets per year. The Library and
Documentation Center are available to human rights advocates, refugee
advocates, environmental advocates, asylum-seekers, students,
teachers, scholars, and others.
Community Action! Projects.
An essential component of the Partners Program is involving
the students in Community Action! Projects. Students are given the
opportunities to apply what they are learning in the classroom
through human rights education lessons and activities out into the
community. Community is referred to as any individuals outside of the
classroom. The term community may refer to another classroom in the
school or an organization in the local, national, or international
area. In collaboration with the Partners Program, KBEM plans to
include a regular series of classroom reports focused on human rights
in the classroom, providing Partners Program teams with an
opportunity to share their activities with the public.
Community Action! Manual.
By completing and distributing the Community Action! Project Manual,
the Partners Program hopes to foster connections between learning
about human rights in the classroom and practicing human
responsibilities in the community through action projects. The ideas
in the manual are presented with the understanding that students need
to be empowered through the creation of their own ideas for Community
Action! Projects. Each summer the Manual is updated with community
action projects completed in the previous year.
Community Action! Fund.
The purpose of the Community Action! Fund is to provide Partners in
Human Rights Education Program teams and their students with the
financial resources necessary to create effective Community Action!
Projects. Community Action! Projects provide a unique means of
integrating classroom learning about human rights with hands-on
activities in the community. Through Community Action! Projects,
students can more deeply understand the meaning of human rights in
their own lives and in the lives of others in their community.
The Partners Program works to establish
connections with other community organizations to foster additional
support and activities for the Partners Program team members and
students. Throughout the past years, the Partners Program has worked
on many collaborative initiatives including Radio AAHS Programs, a
St. Paul Pioneer Press Supplement, a Creative Theater Unlimited and
Star Tribune play, and the Blackmun Education Project.
Partners Program consultants and staff
are available to help teams get off the ground, implement and
generate curriculum and action ideas, and handle other support
problems or successes. A site visit can revitalize a troubled team or
improve relations with the school or community at large. The Partners
Program also offers its office for in-house consultation with
Partners Program participants.
Consider asking the Partners Program
Fellows to share their experiences in your classroom! The 1996
Fellows have returned from actively working with human rights
organizations here in Minnesota and around the world. In addition,
previous Fellows and other volunteers are available to speak about
their experiences and human rights in specific regions through the
Partners Program Speakers' Bureau. To find out more about available
speakers as supplemental resources, call the Partners Program.
The Partners Program holds its
Human Rights Fair each May to recognize the numerous volunteer team
and student participants. This year the Human Rights Fair will be
held on Friday, May 16, 1996. The Partners Program encourages teams
to bring their entire classes as an exciting fieldtrip opportunity.
Between ten and fifteen workshops are offered, including an
interactive play, and art displays and videos presented by schools
attending the fair. The workshops are as diverse as learning to make
dream catchers to creating poems with human rights themes to face
painting. The main program has involved elementary and secondary
students.
The Partners Program awards 8 to 10
participants with grants each March to work with human rights
organizations throughout the world for approximately ten weeks in the
summer or during the following school year. The fellowship grants
underwrite travel and living expenses for the duration of the
fellowship. Partners Program fellows bring their experiences back to
the classrooms with a new perspective and understanding of human
rights. Applications for the 1997 Fellowship Program will be
available on November 15, 1996 and must be received in the Partners
Program office by 4:00 p.m. on March 3, 1997. Listen to the
experiences of the 1996 Fellows on October 14, 1996.
Please fill in the following information and attach additional
pages as needed.
Background Information
Name(s), Address(es) and Phone Number(s) of Person(s) sending in this
lesson:
Was this lesson taken from a curriculum source or created by a team
member?
If taken from a curriculum source, name
and publisher of source:
If created by a team member or members,
name of person(s):
Team Members:
Teacher:
Lawyer:
Community Representative:
School where lesson was implemented:
Grade level of students:
Date of lesson:
Primary HRE Knowledge and Behavioral Objective(s):
Primary HRE Attitudinal Objective(s):
Lesson
Title of lesson:
Appropriateness for special needs students:
Preparation:
Time needed by team:
Materials and Resources needed:
Additional materials and resources
(optional):
Time Period needed for lesson:
Suggestions to shorten or lengthen the
lesson:
Description of lesson (introduction, body, and conclusion):
Evaluation of students, their responses, and lesson:
Accompanying or follow-up questions, ideas, activities:
Tips for implementing the lesson:
_________________________, whose address is
________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
("Licensor") is the owner of the copyrights in all of the written
materials, documents, photographs, pictures, poems, designs and other
copyrightable works (the "Works") Licensor has prepared and delivered
to the Partners in Human Rights Education Project sponsored by the
University of Minnesota Human Rights Center and Minnesota Advocates
for Human Rights ("Licensees"). Licensor hereby grants to Licensees a
perpetual, fully paid, nonexclusive license to use, modify,
distribute, reproduce, display in any form or manner the Works,
including (a) the right to use the Works in materials published by
Licensees and (b) to make any necessary copies of the Works. Licensor
warrants that it has the right to grant these rights. The parties
agree that Licensees have no duty to account to Licensor for any
revenues Licensees received relating to the Works.
________________________
Licensor
By: ______________________
Title: ______________________
Date: ______________________
Please fill in the following information and attach additional
pages as needed.
Background Information
Name(s), Address(es) and Phone Number(s) of Person(s) sending in this
Community Action! Project:
Team Members:
Teacher:
Lawyer:
Community Representative:
School:
Grade level of students:
Date(s) of the Project:
Primary HRE Knowledge and Behavioral Objective(s):
Primary HRE Attitudinal Objective(s):
Place(s) where the Project was implemented:
Other individuals or groups involved with the Project (i.e. a
community center, speaker, etc):
Community Action! Project
How did the idea for the Project evolve? Which resources, if
any, were used to discover the idea?
What steps did the students take to develop and implement the
Project?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What was the role of each team member?
Teacher:
Lawyer:
Community Representative:
What were the results of the Project? Please include skills gained by
students and changes in attitudes as well as changes within the
community (local, state, national, or international).
Suggestions for other classes interested in doing this Project:
Future plans, if any:
_________________________, whose address is
________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
("Licensor") is the owner of the copyrights in all of the written
materials, documents, photographs, pictures, poems, designs and other
copyrightable works (the "Works") Licensor has prepared and delivered
to the Partners in Human Rights Education Project sponsored by the
University of Minnesota Human Rights Center and Minnesota Advocates
for Human Rights ("Licensees"). Licensor hereby grants to Licensees a
perpetual, fully paid, nonexclusive license to use, modify,
distribute, reproduce, display in any form or manner the Works,
including (a) the right to use the Works in materials published by
Licensees and (b) to make any necessary copies of the Works. Licensor
warrants that it has the right to grant these rights. The parties
agree that Licensees have no duty to account to Licensor for any
revenues Licensees received relating to the Works.
__________________________
Licensor
By: ______________________
Title: ______________________
Date: ______________________
Do you long to gain practical, hands-on experience in human
rights?
Do you have an idea brewing in your mind -- a desire to get away or
to serve your community in a new way?
Can you dedicate six to twelve weeks in the next year living out this
dream?
The 1997 Fellowship Program hopes to sponsor eight to ten Partners Project volunteers in 1997. Applications for the 1997 Fellowship Program will be available on November 15, 1996 and must be received in the Partners Program office by 4:00 p.m. on March 3, 1997. Listen to the experiences of the 1996 Fellows on October 14, 1996 in Room 381, University of Minnesota Law School, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. For more information, contact the Partners Program at (612) 626-0041.
Human Rights Centre
Sydney, Australia
Committee on the Administration of Justice
Belfast, Ireland
Pat Fucane Center
Derry, Ireland
The Adam Institute for Democracy & Peace
Jerusalem, Israel
World Friendship Center
Nagasaki, Japan
Commission of Solidarity and Defense of Human Rights
Chihuahua, Mexico
Center for Human Rights--Tepeyac
Oaxaca, Mexico
Fundacion Para La Autonomia y Desarrollo de la Costa Atlantica de
Nicaragua
Bluefields, Nicaragua
Human Rights Organisation of Nepal
Kathmandu, Nepal
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization
Hague, Netherlands
Romanian Independent Society of Human Rights
Bucharest, Romania
National Institute for Community Education & the Law
Johannesburg, South Africa
International Service for Human Rights
Geneva, Switzerland
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Geneva, Switzerland
Mor Cati/Purple Roof Women's Shelter
Istanbul, Turkey
Borderlinks
Tucson, Arizona
California Appellate Project
San Francisco, California
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
San Francisco, California
International Institute of Boston
Boston, Massachusetts
Centro Legal
St. Paul, Minnesota
International Women's Rights Action Watch
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Partners in Human Rights Education
University of Minnesota Human Rights Center
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Washington, DC
Partners in Human Rights Education
works to implement a stronger evaluation process of its program each
year. The Partners Program learns about important issues during the
evaluation process and uses the information to make the Program
responsive to the needs of its team and student participants. For the
1996-97 school year, the Partners Program will use the following
evaluation steps:
1. In September and October, team
members select a member who will act as the Team
Communication Link . Even though one member is the
Communication Link, all team participants should
contact the Partners Program staff and consultants for additional
advice, assistance, and support or to notify the Program staff of
potential problems and exciting successes.
2. In November, the
Communication Links are contacted via
phone by the Partners Program staff for tracking and
follow-up purposes as well as to discuss new Program
developments.
3. In November, all team
participants receive postcards to evaluate
how the Partners Program is meeting team members' expectations and to
verify successful matches. It is essential that all participants send
back this postcard immediately.
4. From September through June, the
Partners Program works with the Search Institute to evaluate how
teaching about human rights and responsibilities influences the
behaviors and attitudes of students. The Partners Program and
the Search Institute are working with 5th and 6th
grade students at West Central Academy in
Minneapolis to pilot different evaluation tools.
5. The Partners Program has developed a
set of cognitive, behavioral, and attitudinal objectives which a
person educated in human rights should follow. The objectives were
formulated from the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. In September and October, sample activities are given to
teams in addition to the target objectives. Teams work to develop
students' knowledge and skills behind the human rights attitudes and
then to provide feedback on their accomplishments in this area to the
Partners Program. By March, the Communication Link
should provide: (1) a lesson plan , with specific
student objectives drawn both from the Partners Program target goals
and oriented toward the specific task that students are asked to
perform; (2) examples of student work and action projects;
and (3) the teams' evaluation of student
achievement .
6. In May, an end-of-the-year
survey is mailed to all team participants
. All team participants are required to complete and mail back these
surveys within two weeks of receipt. The surveys provide important
feedback for staff and the Executive Committee to plan for the
1997-98 school year as well as notification/communication to the
staff of your plans for continuing in the next school year. The
Executive Committee analyzes feedback during its strategic planning
process. In addition, the Training Sub-Committee reviews the
evaluations in order to implement changes to the recruitment and
training processes for the following year. The results identify both
successes and limitations of the Partners Program.
The Partners Program has developed a
set of cognitive, behavioral, and attitudinal objectives which a
person educated in human rights should follow. The objectives were
formulated from the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. In September and October, sample activities are given to
teams in addition to the target objectives. Teams work to develop
students' knowledge and skills behind the human rights attitudes and
then to provide feedback on their accomplishments in this area to the
Partners Program. One challenge in evaluating the Partners Program's
success is that the goals are complex and multifaceted; using
standard survey forms is an inadequate way of measuring the programs
accomplishments. By utilizing a performance-based model of
assessment, the Partners Program will gain a clearer vision of its
strengths and weaknesses. As stated in Assessing Student
Outcomes:
"...performance assessment refers to a variety of tasks and situations in which students are given opportunities to demonstrate their understanding and to thoughtfully apply knowledge, skills, and habits of mind in a variety of contexts. These assessments often occur over time and result in a tangible product or observable performance. They encourage self-evaluation and revision, reveal degrees of proficiency based on established criteria, and make public the scoring criteria."1
The goals of the Partners Program
have been stated in the broad category of "...to think
critically and creatively about human rights and to
develop behaviors consistent with securing these rights
for all" (Partners pamphlet). This year, the Partners Program
developed sample lesson activities for teams in addition to the
target goals. Teams develop students' knowledge and skills behind the
human rights attitudes and then provide feedback on their
accomplishments in this area to the Partners Program. This evaluation
procedure is still evolving.
_____________________
1 Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, Jay McTighe, Assessing Student Outcomes: Performance Assessment Using the Dimensions of Learning Model (ASCD: Alexandria, Virginia) p.13.
