All the children have the right to do the following:
1. Go to the toilet when needed
2. Have drinking water available
3. Move the body when needed
4. Learn to take care of personal needs
5. Learn, and process emotions through play
6. Learn through exploration, trial, and error
7. Make mistakes and not be shamed
8. Learn at a personal pace
9. Fully understand a subject before being tested on it
10. Not to be tested involuntarily instead, tested by free choice when ready to receive feedback on learning progress
11. Not to be punished instead, accompanied with respect to become more self-disciplined
12. Not to be compared with peers instead, acknowledged as an individual student with individual talents, opinions, and characteristics
13. Not to be judged for being different
Written by Carmen Gamper
www.NewLearningCulture.com
Hallo Carmen,
ich habe diesen Eintrag gerade weitergetwittert. Eine ganz tolle Liste, ein richtiges Manifest. Danke!!
Hi Carmen, I couldn’t agree more with you. Where did you take it from? I mean, is there any official source (UNICEF, UNESCO, etc) which recognises such rights?
Thanks
Thanks for your question! I wrote this list of the rights of children myself. The UNICEF and the UNESCO’s rights of children are more basic, e.g. to protect children against child labour and violence, and secure their right for education: http://www.unesco.org/education/pdf/CHILD_E.PDF
My list of children’s rights is more refined and starts from the assumption that children are in an educational environment. I have been exploring lots of different school environments for many years, and unfortunately I have observed that the children’s basic human rights, for example to learn to take care of their bodies, are not respected. Children are shamed and punished in public schools, Waldorf schools and even Montessori schools. It is not the school model itself that protects children from abuse, it is every single teacher who needs to take responsibility for his or her own well-being and for the child’s well-being. Teachers and parents almost anywhere are stressed and pose for themselves and their children unrealistic expectations creating a lot of unnecessary suffering.
I hope this list of “The Rights Of Children At School” will raise awareness for the subtle abuse and hidden suffering that is happening in schools every day. If we allow children to feel more comfortable at school, also we adults will feel better and happier! In addition, children will have the opportunity to experience true, authentic learning with joy which leads to a life-long love of learning.
Carmen