Museum offers teachers summer course in human-rights education

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Posted: 03/15/2014 1:00 AM | Comments:

IT'S a summer school that can make a huge difference on young minds for years to come.

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights and the faculty of education at the University of Manitoba announced on Friday the formation of a two-week class that will provide training opportunities and education basics for teachers this summer.

The class, the first partnership between the CMHR and the post-secondary education facility, is called The Fourth R: Teaching and Leadership for Human Rights Education. It's expected to give current and student teachers guidelines, knowledge and skills in the area of human rights, a subject that is becoming increasingly prominent in all school curriculum areas.

"The purpose of this summer institute is to ensure human rights take a central place in education -- not just as something we teach about, but also as something that informs how we teach," offered David Mandzuk, dean of education, in a statement Friday. "It will also help educators think deeply and critically about how they represent human-rights stories, which can be told from multiple perspectives."

The formation of the program comes on the heels of a CMHR-Canadian Teacher's Federation study last year, which found that 94 per cent of instructors were interested in acquiring more school and age-appropriate information about human rights.

"One of the best ways to educate students about human rights and responsibilities is to teach the teachers," said Stuart Murray, CMHR president and CEO. "That's why we're already beginning to address gaps in human-rights education through strong partnerships that will better equip educators at all levels."

The institute is the brainchild of education faculty members Jerome Cranston and Melanie Janzen, along with input from CMHR Learning and Programming specialists. The CMHR and Extended Education provided funding for program co-ordination.

The English-only program runs from July 16-29 and is available to all teachers and student teachers.

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Museum offers teachers summer course in human-rights education