Teaching about Global Hman Rights

The required course, Comparative World Studies, is offered at the Regional High School. It is modeled after the ideas of Willard Kniep who came up with five core conceptual themes and four “essential elements of study.” It is stated that the five conceptual themes are “interdependence, change, culture, scarcity and conflict. The four essential elements were the study of systems, the study of human values, the study of persistent issues and problems, and the study of global history.” It is in the persistent issues and problems that the student will get an understanding of human rights. They learn about collective vs. individual rights and security vs. liberty. The set up of this discussion is very interesting and smart. They start by peaking the student’s interest with a dramatization, and continue by explaining the evolution of human rights.
It is important for students to understand all of their rights. I have recently taken a Business Law class, in which, part of the class was devoted to human rights. We learned about different types of torts against rights such as false imprisonment and false light. I feel that it is important for all students to have a thorough understanding of their rights, because it will help you for the rest of your life.

Importance of Human Rights Education

I found the arguments (in the Branson-Purta article) insisting on the importance of teaching human rights very interesting, particularly the third point made stating that human rights represents a field of knowledge which serves as an organizing framework. A lot of the times, students and adults think that it is the developed countries' duty to help eradicate poverty, provide aid, etc... to the third world. What people fail to realize is that the right to freedom from poverty, illness, hunger, etc... is what should be driving this reaction to developing countries. I think learning about human rights expands and enriches individuals to become more aware of their own rights and those of others in more broad contexts. America has been criticized as being a country that is self-oriented and ignorant, but by teaching human rights, we will be able to combat these accusations to help increase awareness of global human rights. This will help close the social, wealth, and health disparities that are so prevalent in our world today and help increase the status of third world countries. 

Three Cups of Tea

Greg Mortensen’s story in Three Cups of Tea was truly inspirational. I impressed how someone who was a “nobody” and saw himself as a failure for not being able to climb K2 was still able to make such a difference. Although he himself was a bit intense, it took someone with his kind of passion to be able to do what he did. This was another tale of how one person can really make an impact. I liked how special attention was paid to improving education for girls, which he recognized as being particularly important. I was also floored by his determination despite all the dangers and obstacles he faced in this endeavor. Not only was Mortenson’s success story captivating, but (unlike Christina) I loved how the book itself was written and the glimpse the reader got into what the people and country of Afghanistan are really like. Most interesting to me were his descriptions of the students, people of the village,  Muslims, Taliban, etc. Personally when I think of Afghanistan and Pakistan I immediately associate them with Taliban, violence, terrorists etc. This book shed a new light on and emphasized the importance of education in these areas of the world. 

Three Cups of Tea

I really enjoyed reading this book. I have always heard of people donating money to help students in other countries but I have never heard of anything like Greg Mortenson’s story. I think that it takes a really dedicated person to put so much time and effort into a project like Mortenson took on. I can not imagine staying away from my family as long as he did for people he barely knew. It is really amazing how much he has done for all of the people he has met over the years and I think it really makes a difference in their lives. I also think he is slightly crazy, but in a good way, because he always kept his cool when talking to dangerous people like the Taliban and the people who held him hostage. I honestly do not believe I would have known what to do if I was ever put into the situations that he was put through. I think that if there were more people in the world like him we would be more accepting of different cultures and there would be fewer wars.

Three Cups of Tea

The first thing I have to say about this novel is wow this guy gets lost a lot. However this turned out to be a good thing. The story is very compelling and really touches the heart.  I admire Mr. Mortenson for going back to Korphe and keeping his promise.  He went through a lot to keep his promise and I feel that in the end it was more than worth it.  I cannot even begin to imagine the difficulties that the people building the school had to go through to accomplish their task of building a school.

My only problem with this book is that it seems to focus an awful lot on the scenery.  I understand that this is to give the reader an idea as to what these people have lived through, but it was not what I was expecting.  What I was expecting was something a bit more like a journal that described what Mr. Mortenson had gone through, not a travel brochure.

The experience reminds me very loosely of a mission trip I went on to Mexico.  We were sent there to build houses for the people living there.  When we arrived I was shocked, how could anyone live there? But as time went on and we got to know the people, and we build their houses, I realized that even though these people lived in squalor they were very bright and worked hard for what they had.  In the end it felt really good to know that we were making a difference in their lives by building these houses for them.

Three Cups of Tea

When I first read the introduction of Mortenson by the author, I was very curious about learning about someone who can be "one of the most underqualified" and yet still overachieving. The author describes him as someone amazing who has done great things in his life, but it was humbling to see that the book begins with Mortenson's failure and how this failure allowed him to become the person he is today. In chapter 1, the author describes how Mortenson is able to "wear down a congressmen...reluctant philanthropist...[and even] an Afghan warlord." I was surprised by his abilities to speak and convince other people. I thought that chapter 2 was very interesting because it describes Mortenson's story of survival and it also begins the imagery of tea that recurs throughout the book. Because Mortenson felt indebted to these people who lived in poverty, he began to help them by giving away his belongings and promising to build them a school. When I read that these childrens' desire to learn reminded him of his little sister Christa, I realized that Mortenson found a goal, something he truly wanted to achieve no matter what hardships or obstacles may come his way. When Khan tells Mortenson at the end of the book, "Every rock, every bolder... We must turn these stones into schools" Mortenson was able to see the rest of his life and what he must do in his future. This was such a powerful imagery for me because I don't know what it is like to have a true purpose in life and a true passion for something that I believe in. I admire Mortenson for being able to find his purpose, his goal, and his means of achieving both. I hope that someday I will be able to find mine and achieve them as well.

EFA ch 1,2&5

In EFA global monitoring report, many goals are listed to help young children to educate. Among many goals listed, there is a emphasis on reducing poverty through economic growth, improving child health and reducing mortality, and encouraging democracy and citizenship. In order to maintain and meet these goals by 2015, early childhood should be viewed and educated carefully by government and school system. Because child malnutrition is serious problem in still developing countries, children should be cared in terms of food, home location, and the environment. The report also listed the gaps and inequalities between income differences, rural-urban inequalities, and language-based inequalities. Achieving these goals will be difficult and seems to be impossible for all of developing countries because there are thousands of children who are in need of proper nutrition, education, care, and monetary support. However, I believe that some of goals will be achieved by 2015 if parents of children in childhood frequently provide information on appropriate, correct world conception, general manners and attitudes, and democratic ideas. Then, children will be gaining proper behaviors when interacting with teachers and peers in advance and further develop fast to fit into the social community, which would help to learn.