United for Human Rights Brings Its Cutting-Edge Program and Technology to the National School Boards Association Conference 2024

What does human rights have to do with quality education? United for Human Rights believes it is the 

 purpose of education to provide youth with the principles that can lead to a better life for all

United for Human Rights brought its youth-friendly human rights program to NSBA24, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) Conference for 2024 in New Orleans April 6 to 8. The purpose of NSBA is “to ensure each student everywhere has access to excellent and equitable public education governed by high-performing school board leaders and supported by the community.” So how does human rights education relate to this endeavor? 

 

“Human rights education is essential,” says United for Human Rights Coordinator Emma Sims.

A recent article in the Washington Post found nearly 200 incidents of suicides by children bullied at school. “Parents whose bullied children end their lives are seeking to hold schools accountable. More and more are filing suit... ‘It’s a wake-up call to schools around the country that unless you protect our children, you will be in the same position’” said an attorney representing one of these families.

“There could be no more important issue than to guarantee the safety of our children at school,” says Sims. “When youth learn their rights as laid out by the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, they realize that bullying isn’t just a personal problem. It’s a violation of their rights. We know of many instances where youth who have completed this curriculum take responsibility for the safety of their classmates. Those who would earlier simply stand by and watch while their classmates are bullied take action personally or alert their teachers or school resource officers to get help with what’s going on.

“But educators or administrators are often balked by budget cuts or simply lack the time to design a compelling curriculum that will get through to kids about human rights and their importance.”

This was a key reason United for Human Rights organized a booth at NSBA24—to inform school board members that the United for Human Rights educator package is available to them free of charge. Included in the package: 

• An Educator’s Guide
• The Story of Human Rights, a powerful film that defines human rights for anyone
• 24 copies of The Story of Human Rights booklet
• Discussion questions
• Assignments that require application of theory
• Glossary of terms, references to print and online resources

“Bullying and discrimination are a brutal fact of life in our schools. When young people are educated on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, they realize these antisocial behaviors are not simply something that is an inevitable fact of life. UHR is motivated by the belief that despite myriad human rights abuses in the world today, if youth truly understood the 30 rights enshrined in this United Nations document and insisted on their own rights and the rights of others, we could create a sea change in society in a single generation,” says Sims.

United for Human Rights and Youth for Human Rights are supported by Scientology Churches and Scientologists, making it possible to provide these materials  free of charge to educators, civic and community leaders and anyone wishing to educate youth on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The program was inspired by humanitarian and Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard, who believed “Human rights must be made a fact, not an idealistic dream.”

“The best way to achieve this,” says Sims, “is through education.”

For more information, visit the website of United for Human Rights or watch The Story of Human Rights and Thirty Rights Brought to Life on the Scientology Network.