Human Rights Education

Human Rights Education
On Friday and Saturday I attended a Human Rights seminar/workshop hosted by the university I attend. It was two full days of eye opening, jaw dropping education that I will probably never forget. Various representatives from such organizations as the American Red Cross and Human Rights Educational Resources Associates participated. As an American, I live a pretty good life: I have a nice house, a car, food, clean water, and freedom. I am free to do or be whatever it is I want- in my case a teacher. Sometimes that bubble I live in is very comfortable and I don't look outside it as often as I should. This workshop helped me learn not just about myself, but how I will teach my future students.

When I was growing up, I don't recall getting much of a human rights education. We touched on the holocaust in social studies and discussed civil rights in English. Today with the help of technology we have access to all kinds of resources to educate our kids. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to matter. Here in the states we can't even cover the basics properly let alone human rights education. Regardless, I promised myself to work hard to incorporate this important subject into my curriculum. Learning to be a decent human being is just as (if not more)important as learning read and write effectively.

A New Beginning

For as long as I can remember I have wanted to teach. When I graduated high school in 1985 I took a year off to work to save for school. That one year turned into two. Two turned into three and so on. At 21 I landed an entry level job in corporate America and just kept working my way on through. My company had a gracious tuition assistance plan which I took full advantage of. It took me almost 10 years to finish my bachelor's in English. As soon as I was done with that I continued on graduate school completing my MBA.

Now 21 plus years into my career in telecommunications, I am ready to pursue my dream of becoming a teacher. Last spring I began a master's program for English education (7-12). No tuition assistance for this degree. I have ventured into the wondrous existence of student loans. After reading several blogs about teaching I thought it would be cool to document my experience and hopefully continue to learn from others. I am still working full time in my current job (thankfully) but I have become a master of juggling work and school so I don't anticipate any problems until I need to student teach. I have a way to go before that. The new semester starts this week. I will be taking two classes: "Managing Inclusive Environments" and "The Adolescent Experience." These classes will require me to observe experienced teachers in their own classrooms which I am really looking forward to.