How To Make Every Day Human Rights Day in Your Classroom

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
Nelson Mandela, South African civil rights activist

December 10 is Human Rights Day, which commemorates the day that the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). In 1948, a committee led by Eleanor Roosevelt presented 30 universal rights that all humans—regardless of status, nationality, race, or gender—may realize. Be honest, how many of you know about the UDHR? Now, how many of you teach the UDHR? Yes, we teachers have a lot on our plates, and incorporating the UDHR is another task, but isn’t the point of education to help students grow to be independent-thinking members of society? As Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote, “We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only power of concentration, but worthy objectives upon which to concentrate” (“The Purpose of Education” 1947)—and what objective is more worthy than human rights? All is not lost! Here are some quick ideas you can use in your classroom to connect students to the UDHR. These lessons are more appropriate for secondary classrooms but could be adapted to fit younger levels.

UDHR History (Social Studies, ELA)

Several resources exist that give an overview of the history of the UDHR. Make Facing History and Ourselves (reviewed here)—specifically their lesson Making Rights Universal—your first stop. This lesson provides an excellent overview of why the UN created the UDHR and the intent behind it and would serve as a great transition from World War II and Holocaust history and literature. This resource would also fit any lesson on the Great Depression, Jim Crow, or the seeds of the Civil Rights Movement, as these issues guided Elanor Roosevelt as she led the creation of the UDHR.

Right Investigations (Social Studies, ELA)

Challenge your students to translate some of the more complicated rights into accessible language. Article 24 of the UDHR, for example, is wordy and has four main components, but it can be summarized simply: everyone has the right to work, be treated fairly at work, get paid appropriately for that job, and join a union. Students may need help understanding what the articles say before the class discusses these topics. For an extension exercise, students can watch the Youth for Human Rights video explanations of each right, then create their own Human Rights public service announcement.

UDHR Labeling (ELA, Social Studies)

Using the UDHR as a literary lens is a great way to get students to recognize the rights and violations of those rights. For example, while reading William Golding’s Lord of the Flies (reviewed here), have students identify where, when, and how Piggy loses his right to speak and how that impacts him and the larger community. You could do the same with any novel. For example, coupling our Reading Trek of John Lewis’ March, Book One with UDHR recognition makes the reading even more tangible for students. Do a similar thing with Social Studies: when looking at a historical event, identify a right given, denied, or taken away that significantly impacted the event.

Measuring Human Rights (Math, Science)

Oh yes, you can use the UDHR in a math class! A simple, quick method is to find and analyze data on various human rights concerns. A great lesson from OER Commons (reviewed here), Measuring Human Rights: High School Mathematics Unit, has students collect data and make projections on the future of human rights. You can extend this lesson into a science and health lesson, as it also works with calculating Body Mass Index, malnutrition, and population dynamics. See, human rights really are universal!

Human Rights through Music (ELA, Music, Art, Social Studies)

When discussing human rights, don’t miss TeachRock—it’s great for all curricular areas, but focusing on the UDHR leads us to TeachRock’s work with civil rights. Using music as the main focus of a lesson has an equalizing revitalization that we all need. With TeachRock, you can choose a specific right and use a lesson from the suggested topics list. For example, if you wanted to teach about Article 24 (worker’s rights), the TeachRock lesson “The United Farm Workers Movement Through Music and Poetry” pairs nicely with this concept.

There are so many resources and tools at our disposal that can help bring the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to our classrooms. If education aims to create informed, independent, critical thinkers with character, then we need to help students connect to the world around them. If teachers in all curricular areas could commit to teaching even a tiny lesson on the UDHR, we will help the next generation of citizens have more empathy and less apathy. Start with this list of great resources and learning opportunities that will help you learn more about human rights so you can integrate them into your lessons.

Teacher Development Resources:

What are you doing for Human Rights Day? Share your plans in the comments below so we can teach, learn, and grow together!

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