By:Anna Papst
The
link between universal human rights and education is confirmed by Benjamin
Franklin 1789 who said, “God grant, that not only the Love of Liberty, but a
thorough knowledge of the Rights of Man, may pervade all the Nations of the
Earth, so that a Philosopher may set his Foot anywhere on its Surface, and say,
This is my Country.”
I
wanted to start with this quote because it is the heart of what the article was
addressing. How are we going to reach our students, when many feel like they do
not belong? We need to create the environment that each student, child, boy and
girl can feel like they belong and that they can take ownership in their
school. The years that a child is in school, is definitely a process. It is
going to be carefully monitored and is going to be a struggle. Anything in life
that is worth doing will be a challenge.
There
are so many factors that go on in the school setting. These factors are, the
teachers teaching, the environment that the school possesses, and the lives of
the individual students. We need to understand that we give only a piece of
this equation to the students every day. They have so many other things that go
on, that can either increase or decrease their participation and success rate
in the schooling realm. Part of social justice, is paying attention and now
being ignorant to what is going on around you. We need to be educated about the
different circumstances and situations that are going on around us, this keeps
us honest to our kids and to our responsibility as an educator.
We
often have high ideals for our students, but then are hit smack in the face
with reality. We over plan our lessons and are determined to get to a specific spot,
and then a student speaks out about something that is affecting them in their
home life. We need to live everyday in the reality. Outside the walls of our
building is the world. We need to make everyday count for our children because
we might be the only positive influence that they come in close proximity to.
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