Human Rights and Education

Pipeline Seminar: Credit/No Credit

Education 401P - Winter 2011

Seminar Dates, Time, Instructor, and Location

Dates: WEDNESDAYS – January 12, 19, 26; February 2, 9, 16, 23; March 2, 2011

Time: 4:00-5:00 pm: Denny Hall, Room 310

Instructor: Dr. Fred Mednick, Founder: Teachers Without Borders

Email: fred@twb.org or uwseminar@teacherswithoutborders.org Phone:

206.356-4731

Three Steps Prior to Joining This Pipeline Class:

1.A Pipeline orientation is a pre-requisite. RSVP for a Pipeline orientation
here. Choose one date: January 3rd, 4th, or 5th
2. Print a background check form from the above page and bring it to the
orientation
3. Browse the EXPO website for tutoring site listings and select 3 sites you
are interested in. Bring the sites' names to the orientation

FOR MORE INFORMATION

The Pipeline Office at the Center for Experiential Learning
Room 120 in Mary Gates Hall
pipeline@u.washington.edu (206) 616-2302
Claire Fraczek, Graduate Student Assistant: msclaire@u.washington.edu

Seminar Description and Objectives

Education. Human Rights. Global Change. Newspapers and blogs are filled with
these “big issues,” supported by compelling docudramas narrated by “big stars”
bouncing atop jeeps on unpaved roads in developing countries. The internet and
global media have made global topics accessible. Facebook Causes encourage
those burning with a cause to take action: “Causes empowers anyone with a good

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Pipeline Seminar: EDU 401P – Human Rights and Education: Teachers Without Borders
idea or passion for change to impact the world. Using our platform, individuals
mobilize their network of friends to grow lasting social and political movements.”
But are we making a difference? Are these issues understood? With such a push
toward action, are we able to understand before being understood?

Teachers Without Borders (a non-profit, non-governmental organization founded in

Seattle in 2000) is teaching EDU-401P because we want to know what you think,
what you experience, and how you see yourself working in and understanding
today’s world by learning globally and helping locally. We want to examine “big
questions” without losing our “big heart.” Hence: EDUC 401P. This course shall
integrate three strands:
1. We will review, write, and discuss global documents and the daily paper
to reflect about justice, education, transparency, social agency, and politics

2. We will share experiences of our service placements in Seattle

3. We will collaborate on a creative project (see below) that makes a
contribution to and with our neighbors and with the world through TWB’s
website
In short, this course attempts to connect big ideas with the backyard

Why This Matters

It is becoming clearer, every day, that a quality education is correlated with

establishing and reinforcing democracy, empowering and ensuring individual
dignity, removing discriminatory and exclusionary practices, and promoting
sustainable development and peace. Teaches Without Borders maintains that
education is a fundamental human right and a crucial building block for lasting
international development.
We’ll take a look at excerpts of several documents: the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights; the Convention on the Rights of the Child; the Geneva Conventions;
the Convention against Discrimination in Education; the World Summit for Social
Development in Copenhagen; the World Conference on Women in Beijing; the
Habitat II conference in Istanbul; the World Declaration on Education for All; the
Amman Affirmation.
Some Very, Very Big Questions
Do these documents matter? Do they have any relevance for you or the people at
your placement site? Are human rights, as defined by the UN, a set of universal
principles or are they culturally relative and dependent upon context and culture?
What are the obligations and consequences of promoting one’s cause around the
world and in our own communities? How has the field of human rights been used as
political posturing or as a catalyst for change?

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What can be done to promote the right to education? How accessible is education in
our own communities? What inequalities and barriers to education exist in our own
communities and around the world? How can they be removed? What does a world
free of bias and injustice look like?
By this March, you won’t be able to call yourself an expert in international
development or the connection between human rights and education, but you’ll be
that much more informed about what drives global decision making, and you will
know the names and faces of those you’ll work with at your community-placement
site each week, many of
whom come from the developing world. Equally important, you’ll be able to trace
back today’s paper or blog post or docudrama to some of the themes and patterns
we’ve discussed. You’ll be able to point to international documents and make
distinctions between rhetoric and reality. Finally, you’ll be able to share your
insights with others, and if you do join a cause, it will be that much stronger.

Requirements and Grading Criteria

Attendance at class; short readings followed by responsive writing; online and class
discussion; community site placement; and a creative project.

This is a Credit/No Credit seminar. For Credit, all of the following expectations must
be met:
Showing up. Attendance is mandatory and punctuality is an act of respect. Please
let Dr. Mednick know before class if you plan to be absent. We cannot give credit
for more than two missed classes. Missed in-class work cannot be made up
outside the class.
Since this class will be run as a discussion-based seminar, every student’s careful
preparation and active participation is essential for its success. Participation is also
a key course requirement. Depending upon the size of the class, students may be
asked to lead discussions. No surprises at the last second; we’ll determine this
each week.
Reading and writing. The readings (one per week) are short and focused on
international documents. The two-page writing reflections address the connection
between those global documents and your local experience. Written reflections
are due Monday evenings by 8:00 pm in order to allow time for comments.
REMINDER: Written comments are to be sent to:
uwseminar@teacherswithoutborders.org
More on the 2-page writing part: Please do not summarize the assigned document,
but rather dig into a particular issue, question, or concern it raises. Identify specifics
in the document and show any research you did to explore this further. For
example, you may have read that x-country signed the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, but abuses rights. You might want to show how that country has
been exposed or what structures are out there to ensure transparency. There is no
need to footnote. The writing prompts offered should serve only as prompts. Use
them if you want or if they stimulate your thinking, but don’t consider them as
questions to answer.

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Students have taken these two-page papers seriously. You may be asked to explain
your point of view or lead the class discussion, so please consider this something
about which you can be proud. Be clear and be strong.
Finally, (with your permission) we will also publish them in an issue of a TWB
journal: The Voice of Teachers, viewed worldwide. It’s worth putting on your
résumé!
Serving the Seattle community. You will be able to choose from amongst a few
sites already set up to orient yourself and get started. Complete contracted
volunteer hours and keep a log signed by your local contact and turned in on
March 2nd in class
o 1-2 credits: 2.5 hours volunteering/week (20 hours
volunteering/quarter)
o 3 credits: 5 hours volunteering/week (40 hours volunteering/quarter)
o 4 credits: 7.5 hours volunteering/week (60 hours volunteering/quarter)
o 5 credits: 10 hours volunteering/week (80 hours volunteering/quarter)

Culminating Project: Project suggestions are listed below. You can work
individually or collaboratively. We’ll talk about each idea and brainstorm more.
Don’t wait until the last minute. Complete and submit your community resource
project by March 2nd, 2011
Completing the post-seminar survey (link will be emailed to you by March 2nd)

Special Needs

f you have a disability and need special accommodations, please let me know
and/or contact Disabled Student Services, 448 Schmitz, Box 355839, (206) 543-
8924, uwdss@u.washington.edu

>> Please Note: students are highly encouraged to contact the Pipeline office or
Dr. Mednick early in the quarter about any issues that might affect their
participation and achievement in this seminar: fred@twb.org; 206-356-4731

Class Schedule, Assignments, Deadlines

JANUARY 12 , 2011
TH

 Orientation to the course: goals, outline, expectations

 Housekeeping about orientation and community placements
 Introduction to Teachers Without Borders

JANUARY 19 , 2011
TH

 Placements: checking in, problem-solving

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  United Nations Declaration of Human Rights
 Writing prompt: Were you aware of this document? How does this affect
you? What are the blessings and curses?

JANUARY 26 , 2011
TH

 UNESCO: Learning – The Treasure Within, Jacques Delors:

(http://bit.ly/gi6i3L), pgs. 12-14 beginning with “Tensions to be overcome,”
followed by pgs 32-40; also Convention Against Discrimination in Education
 Writing prompt: Delors claims that learning should rest on four pillars:
Learning To Be, Learning To Do, Learning To Know, and Learning To Live
Together. How could we design schools around these notions? How do
indigenous traditions coexist or contrast with contemporary social networks?
How does implementation of these ideals prevent or enable examples of
discrimination? What’s the monitoring process? The Convention sets
standards for discrimination. How could this be interpreted or used locally?

FEBRUARY 2 , 2011
ND

 1960 Convention on the Rights of the Child

 Writing prompt: What one paragraph stands out, for you, above all the
rest? What is emphasized or missing? How can children be protected?

FEBRUARY 9 , 2011
TH

 Millennium Development Goals (Review the site and read each of the 8 goals
(the red boxes to the right)
 Writing prompt: What have you explored regarding MDG public
engagement, monitoring, enforcement, and transparency? Do MDGs matter
in Seattle?
 Demonstration of Crowdmap (http://crowdmap.com/) and the use of mobile
data to educate, inform, and mobilize

FEBRUARY 16 , 2011
TH

 Amman Affirmation: Educating for All – Achieving the Goals

 Writing prompt: What stands out in this document? How can transparency
and the international rule of law play a role here? Should there be an
international criminal court for abuses against education? What are the
global forces changing education today? What are the benefits? What are
the liabilities?
 Openness and Transparency: Creative Commons (“A Shared Culture”); Open
Education, and the pluses and minuses of openness

FEBRUARY 23 , 2011
RD

 Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity

 Writing prompt: By now, you’ve had a good look at diverse populations in
Seattle community centers. Does this document have any value for you as

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 you go about your work there? Could it be of value there? What is your
personal definition of culture? How would you defend it?
 Preparations for the March 2nd presentations
 Analysis of Google’s public data: http://bit.ly/cvyrfU

EXTRA SESSION (TO BE SCHEDULED)

We create a podcast either at the TWB office or at UW, focusing on what we learned
in the class, what we’re focusing on in our projects, and why this matters

MARCH 2 , 2011 (EXTENDED CLASS)

ND

Project Presentations

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Pipeline Seminar: EDU 401P – Human Rights and Education: Teachers Without Borders
Your Project: Human Rights – Creative Examples
The goal: In short, create something that outlasts this course. You will be making a
valuable contribution to your local and global community by creating something
worth sharing locally and globally. We’re not trying to be cutesy, but engaging.
Some examples include:

1. Create a human rights card game, either using a classic 52-card deck,
or adapt another type of card game, focused on 7th graders, to learn about
an issue of particular interest to you (bullying, example)
2. Create or adapt a board game that serves as an ESL lesson for non-
English speakers regarding an issue of human rights and education, based
upon an expressed need at your placement. For example, create a game
that involves taking the driver’s license exam or filling out a job application
and preparing for an interview
3. Create, or discover and contribute to, a YouTube Channel on
education and human rights, with a focus on the benefits of supporting
community centers
4. Create a Facebook Cause or support one with tangible activities that can
be shared by other Facebook Cause groups
5. Highlight useful lessons or resources created by teachers and/or social
workers at your placement site (granted you have obtained permission) into
a set of open, Creative Commons materials that TWB can make available for
remixing and reusing around the world. If there is a particular resource that
cries out to be fulfilled and will really help leaders at your placement site,
go for it
6. Design and create the wire-frame basics for a social-justice app.
For instance, like http://www.crowdmap.org, you can identify and poll people
about issues in one’s local community and allow the user to use its GPS
function to indentify places where that issue is real, along with an
opportunity to add media or a story
7. Create the framework for a website that includes information about
social justice in Seattle, along with resources, by zip code. Technology
expertise is not required to carry out this option, though it may be useful
8. Spokespeople: With your particular placement site in mind, design a
digital storytelling program that allows young people to grapple with the
question: “What does justice look like?”
9. Arrange a videoconference with another group (attending a similar
program) from another part of Seattle, the U.S., or the world. Technology
assistance may be available through TWB; inquire about your ideas with Dr.
Mednick
10. Adapt human-rights education lessons from various tried-and-true
organizations, such as Roots & Shoots (Jane Goodall Institute) and create a

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Pipeline Seminar: EDU 401P – Human Rights and Education: Teachers Without Borders
 documentary about how it went. Use interviews with agency staff as
support

11. Create a flipbook or graphic novelette that describes a human rights

issue, such as bullying, that is acceptable in the context of the culture of
the community you are serving. You can write one paragraph at the
beginning of the flipbook or novelette describing what you are trying to do,
and one paragraph at the end of the flip book, explaining how it is culturally
appropriate
12. Design (only) a “history strip” or “represent strip” to cover one wall
at your community site. A “history strip” or “represent strip” is a timeline of
proud moments in the life of the center, as illustrated by local events and
local faces, or even national or global representation of the nationalities and
events seen at the center
13. Create podcasts of interviews of the willing at your placement site who
speak in their native tongue about an issue of social justice. Find a
translator and sub-title that film into English. Technology assistance may
be available through TWB for this option. Similar to NPR’s “All Things
Considered,” weave in your commentary and your views
14. Back of the napkin organization: Outline and design an organization
from scratch connecting local human rights and education; gather local
resources. Create a name, charter, mock-website, news feeds, and a Human
Rights Educator award. No technology experience required for this option
15. Direct and produce a four-minute promotional film or a photo
montage (both with written permission from the community supervisor and
participants) that highlights the achievements and contributions of your
service agency
16. Develop a curriculum for a Human Rights Day at your community-
service placement site. You don’t have to implement this plan, but rather a
structure for what the event would look like and how/why it would be
embraced by the local community

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Pipeline Seminar: EDU 401P – Human Rights and Education: Teachers Without Borders