I have taught human rights several times for my social studies classes, and now I will present something to my ESL students. I will pick and choose from my past lessons and apply them to what writing lessons we had learned from our completed textbook Great Writing 1.
My past lessons:
This is a nice introduction to the story of human rights, with an example of China's crackdown on human rights lawyers in 2014, a well as Taiwan's treatment of SE Asian migrant workers. (September 2015)
This lesson is about Identity and Otherness and its relation to human rights using readings about acid attacks on women and the first Muslim mayor of London Sadiq Khan. (July 2016). I'll never forget this lesson because I had them draw identity maps and I was honored with the privilege that in almost every class, 1-2 students disclosed their sexual orientation to me, some even before me telling their parents.
This lesson is a little bit more difficult, having the students discuss with a partner Needs vs Wants. There is a list of the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights here with some Mandarin translation. (August 2015)
Introduction: I'll introduce the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights with some of my previous material and corresponding booklets. (Class Handout) Activities:
1.
We Are All Born Free & Equal. We
are all born free. We all have our own thoughts and ideas. We should all be
treated in the same way. 2.
Don’t Discriminate 歧視；區別對待. These
rights belong to everybody, whatever our differences.
3.
The Right to Life. We
all have the right to life, and to live in freedom and safety.
4.
No Slavery 奴隸制，蓄奴；奴隸身份. Nobody has any
right to make us a slave.
We cannot make anyone our slave.
5.
No Torture 拷打；拷問；折磨；虐待. Nobody has any
right to hurt us or to torture us.
6.
You Have Rights No Matter Where You Go. I am a person just like you!
7.
We’re All Equal Before the Law. The
law is the same for everyone. It must treat us all fairly.
8.
Your Human Rights Are Protected by Law. We can all ask for the law to help us when we are not
treated fairly.
9.
No Unfair Detainment使留下；拘留，扣押. Nobody
has the right to put us in prison without good reason and keep us there, or to
send us away from our country.
10.
The Right to Trial 審判，審理. If
we are put on trial this should be in public. The people who try us should not
let anyone tell them what to do.
11.
We’re Always Innocent 無罪的 Till Proven Guilty. Nobody should be blamed for doing something until it
is proven. When people say we did a bad thing we have the right to show it is
not true.
12.
The Right to Privacy 隱私權. Nobody
should try to harm our good name. Nobody has the right to come into our home,
open our letters, or bother us or our family without a good reason.
13.
Freedom to Move. We
all have the right to go where we want in our own country and to travel as we
wish.
14.
The Right to Seek a Safe Place to Live. If we are frightened of being badly treated in our own
country, we all have the right to run away to another country to be safe.
15.
Right to a Nationality國籍. We
all have the right to belong to a country.
16. Marriage and Family.Every grown-up has the right to marry and have a
family if they want to. Men and women have the same rights when they are
married, and when they are separated.
17. The Right to Your Own Things.Everyone has the right to own things or share
them. Nobody should take our things from us without a good reason.
18. Freedom of Thought.We all have the right to believe in what we want
to believe, to have a religion, or to change it if we want.
19. Freedom of Expression表示.We all have the right to make up our own minds,
to think what we like, to say what we think, and to share our ideas with other
people.
20. The Right to Public Assembly集合，聚集.We all have the right to meet our friends and to
work together in peace to defend our rights. Nobody can make us join a group if
we don’t want to.
21. The Right to Democracy民主.We all have the right to take part in the
government of our country. Every grown-up should be allowed to choose their own
leaders.
22. Social Security社會保險 制度.We all have the right to affordable housing,
medicine, education, and childcare, enough money to live on and medical help if
we are ill or old.
23. Workers’ Rights (Labor).Every grown-up has the right to do a job, to a
fair wage for their work, and to join a trade union.
24. The Right to Play.We all have the right to rest from work and to
relax.
25. Food and Shelter掩蔽（處） for All.We all have the right to a good life. Mothers
and children, people who are old, unemployed or disabled, and all people have
the right to be cared for.
26. The Right to Education.Education is a right. Primary school should be
free. We should learn about the United Nations and how to get on with others. Our
parents can choose what we learn.
27. Copyright版權，著作權.Copyright is a special law that
protects one’s own artistic creations and writings; others cannot make copies
without permission. We all have the right to our own way of life and to enjoy
the good things that art, science and learning bring.
28. A Fair and Free World.There must be proper order so we can all enjoy
rights and freedoms in our own country and all over the world.
29. Responsibility職責；責任.We have a duty to other people, and
we should protect their rights and freedoms.
30. No One Can Take Away Your Human Rights.
Questions:
1. What were some of the central ideas or
themes?
2. Which rights gave you the strongest reaction?
Which emotion did you feel?
3. How do these rights apply to you personally?
Partner Work:
1. Make a list of people and places that do not
enjoy the same rights as you:
2. Make a list of rights others have that you do
not.
3. How might being denied these rights affect
people’s lives?
Taiwan’s principal human rights problems are labor exploitation of migrant workers by fishing companies,
exploitation of domestic workers
by brokerage agencies and official
corruption, a new report from the US Department of State says.
While Taiwan gets generally high marks in the report, it
notes that authorities indicted
687 officials, including 69 high-ranking officials, on corruption charges
last year.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014 was
issued on Thursday — four months after a deadline set by the US Congress.
In stark contrast to Taiwan’s mostly clean bill of health,
the report said that China was guilty of repression,
coercion, corruption and persecution.
The report accused China of using forced disappearance and strict house arrest, including house arrest of family members, to
prevent public expression of independent opinions.
It portrayed China’s political system as ruthlessly
repressive and one that regularly deployed extralegal measures to keep dissent in check. Turning to Taiwan, the report said that the judicial
system suffered from some corruption, although efforts were being made to
diminish political influence in the judiciary. The impartiality
of judges and prosecutors involved in high-profile and politically sensitive
cases had been publicly questioned, the report said.
It also said that local media had reported incidents of police obstruction and violence
directed at journalists who were covering protests against administration
policies.
“Local academics and media activists alleged that self-censorship continued, as some media
chose to present news stories in favor of the People’s Republic of China
(PRC) due to political considerations and the influence of local businesses
with close ties to the PRC,” the report said.
“Some legal scholars and politicians alleged that the
Ministry of Justice was not sufficiently independent, claiming that ministry
authorities conducted politically motivated investigations of politicians,”
it said.
According to the report, female employees in Taiwan
continued to be promoted less frequently, occupied fewer management positions
and worked for lower pay than their male counterparts. The report also said foreign-born spouses were targets of discrimination both inside and
outside the home.
“There was reported discrimination, including employment
discrimination, against people with HIV/AIDS and 60 percent of HIV carriers
left their jobs due to coercion from their supervisors or workplace bullying,”
the report said.
It said there was evidence of forced or compulsory labor amongst domestic service workers, farm
workers, fishermen and in manufacturing and construction.
“NGOs reported that some labor brokers and employers
regularly collected high fees or loan payments from foreign workers, using
debts incurred in the source country as a tool for involuntary servitude,”
the report said.
On a separate
piece of paper write your answers to the following questions:
1. What are Taiwan’s main human rights abuses?
2. Which ones were you most surprised to hear?
Why?
3. Who faces discrimination in Taiwan?
4. Why must judges and the media be impartial (公正的，無偏見的))?
5. Why do you think foreign workers are easily
exploited?
6. What is another name for “involuntary
servitude” or “forced labor”?
