Human Rights Education

HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION SERVICE CORPS (HRESC)

Human Rights Education Service Corps (HRESC) is an Amnesty International, USA program to further AIUSA and Human Rights issue awareness through classroom education. The program began in 1997 as a way for Amnesty to work with urban high school students to discuss and analyze human rights issues on the local, national and international levels. HRESC currently operates in Washington, DC. The next phase of expansion will occur in Chicago and San Francisco. The HRESC team, comprised of staff, interns and volunteers, trains undergraduate and graduate student facilitators to engage high school students on human rights issues through partnerships with DC public and charter schools, teachers, and after school programs. Our volunteers receive intensive training then work with teachers to integrate our 8-10 weeks human rights curriculum into their unique classrooms. HRESC can also provide one-time lessons for classes that are interested in a particular human rights topic.

HRESC volunteers create an interactive environment in which students enrich their critical thinking skills as they explore human rights issues in their own communities and across the globe. The program works to impart knowledge of and passion about human rights; focusing both on the positive framework for justice that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights lays out and the impact of violations on individuals, communities, nations, and the international community.

Educational Benefits

After learning about the death penalty, HRESC students in Washington, DC held a school wide event to raise awareness about the issue and to make holiday cards for prisoners and human rights defenders to let them know that they are not forgotten.

The HRESC curriculum content can be adapted to fit most academic disciplines: Social Studies, International Perspectives, English, and foreign languages are just a few of the classes that have already integrated HRESC lessons. Beyond the human rights content, students are asked to engage in critical thinking, become informed about current events, and explore the real-life implications of many of the concepts or policies they are learning about in their classes. Each semester, students brainstorm and design their own human rights action in support of an issue they care about. Some topics for student engagement include:

• The history of Human Rights
• The UN system
• Poverty
• Cultural relativism
• Guantanamo Bay
• Women's human rights
• The death penalty
• Conflict
• The crisis in Darfur

Why Teachers Open Their Classrooms To HRESC
HRESC provides teachers with the opportunity to expose their students to an in-depth human rights curriculum written by experts in the field without having to develop their own lesson plans. Students learn about current events and have the opportunity to engage in complex discussion about these issues in a safe, creative environment. Our teachers explain:

"HRESC enhances the current English curriculum by providing highly qualified, well-trained, sensitive and compassionate individuals who share the Human Rights curriculum prepared by HRESC. What an eye-opening revealing experience for students who are often clearly unaware of the disregard for humanity that exists in many other locations in our world. My students resonated with the pain, the agony, the need and the demand for literate, sensible, rational, and compassionate citizens who can address globally the urgent call for peace, harmony and human justice all over this world."
-Carol Ann North, High School English Teacher, Washington, DC

If you are a teacher in the Washington, DC area who would like to open your classroom to HRESC facilitators, please complete the Teacher Sign Up form and contact us at HRESC@aiusa.org or call 202-509-8179

Volunteer Facilitators
If you are a university student in the DC area looking for a challenging and rewarding volunteer experience and the chance to do human rights work, contact us now! HRESC trains graduate and undergraduate students to facilitate an 8-12 week human rights course in a DC public high school. Facilitators must be able to devote 3-4 hours per week to the program, although teaching schedules are flexible. Facilitators will receive educational training and curriculum, attend support meetings, and gain a unique teaching and volunteer experience. This opportunity is ideal for students or community members with an interest in human rights and education.We really encourage applicants to be members of Amnesty International. If you are not, contact us and we can give you more information. Please note that special preference will be given to those who are members of Amnesty International.

Contact:
If you would like to be a part of our program or are interested in participating in other ways (curriculum development, program development, training, etc.) please email us at HRESC@aiusa.org or call 202-509-8179.

HRESC facilitators with their students in Washington, DC.