Human Rights Education in School: Loreto Sealdah · Human Rights Education in School: Loreto Sealdah • 49 ary School students, i.e., 150 out of 600, move out into villages around

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Human Rights Education in School:Loreto Sealdah

SR. M. CYRIL

Loreto Day School (Loreto Sealdah) was established 1857 in Sealdah, Kolkata,India. In 1979 it started an experiment in education born of a certain uneasi-ness felt at being part of a formal school system imparting ‘quality education’

to a privileged few, while millions of their less fortunate peer group get virtuallynothing at all.

This started opening up the school more andmore to underprivileged youngsters from slumareas and pavements, to produce a healthy mixof children from all social, financial and reli-gious backgrounds. This resulted in a schoolpopulation of students almost half of whichare from the nearby slums and given totallyfree education.

Loreto Sealdah at present is a school with1,500 female students of which 721 are fromvery poor families whose every need has to betaken cared of – food, medicine, rations, shoes,books, uniforms, even money to meet the rentwhich eviction threatens. In many instances theschool has also helped families set up a small-scale business, by providing interest-free loansin order to become self supporting. Sometimesit reached out to the family as a whole, be it adrug addict father, or an errant sibling or anailing member.

60% of the poor students reside in sprawl-ing slums, inhuman conditions, mounting pilesof garbage, narrow alleyways and serpentinetunnels. In such condition, rows upon rows oftiny oneroom structures stretch separated byone brick walling or at times bamboo slatingpartitions.

These children, in their turn, along withthose who pay fees are involved in reaching

out to others even less privileged than them-selves through a broad spectrum of services,touching as many people as possible.

In this way Loreto Sealdah seeks to becomea resource center for the community creatingin the process dynamic people, with the valuesof giving, sharing and extended love – a vi-brant, living instrument for human change.

We started educating the children on hu-man rights from 1981, when we first beganour Village Program. In 1985, the childrenthemselves expanded it into the RainbowProgram for the street children. Then webegan the program for Hidden DomesticChild Labor in 2001 and Childline aroundthe same time. Each one of these programscame out of the reflection of the children onsome situation or another of injustice andwe have continued with them because thesituation still warrants our involvement. Overthe years, the children have been able to seethe change in attitude which has taken placein society here in Kolkata and other parts ofthe country because of the pioneering workwe have done, where people can see how suc-cessful this education has been in preparingagents of human change. For this reason, ithas been taken up by various schools all overthe country.

48 • HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION IN ASIAN SCHOOLS

Teaching Human Rights

The list of human rights as enunciated by theUnited Nations is basically a list of decent be-haviors which each human being is expectedto accord to another, and if all people lived bythese tenets of decency there would be univer-sal peace. Basically, human rights are nothingelse than loving one’s neighbor as oneself – amandate echoed in the scriptures of all the greatreligious traditions of which we have many inour pluralistic, secular Indian society. If thisvalue of love were lived out on a global levelwe would have no corruption, no exploitation,no ethnic cleansing, no wars, no communaltension, no caste differences, and apartheidwould never have happened.

Unfortunately, even though people areaware, human rights are still frequently ignoredeven in supposedly “civilized” countries. Self-ishness, greed, ambition, fear, all play a role inpreventing one section of humanity from be-ing allowed to enjoy their rights by anothersection who refuses to share the good thingsof which they often have more than they need.

Hence, any education on human rights inschools has to be as much or more formativethan informative. In other words, if humanrights education in schools is to be effective, ithas to be experienced in working practically forthose rights while the child is still in school andcapable of being guided in the right direction.

This is why we would like to present hereour experiment in helping children not onlyto know what their rights are but to be ac-tively involved in working to see that everyonehas these rights fulfilled especially the childrenaround them.

Hence our Values Education program is car-ried out at two levels:

a. Theoretical Lessons – Intellectual InputThis takes place inside the classroom ac-

cording to a special lesson plan format(Basic Plan, Annex A) which involves thechildren in a participative manner. Threesample lessons are the following:

Lesson 1: Rights of the Child, suitablefor 10 to 12 year olds

Lesson 2: All men are equal, but…,suitable for 13 – 15 year olds

Lesson 3: A world we ignore – Survey,suitable for 14 – 16 year olds.

b. Practical Lessons – Emotional BondingWe have selected the following areas for

practical exposure for our students:EducationChild LaborNutritionShelterLove and belonging.

Education

Rainbow: Half the world’s children not inschool are Indian children, deprived of theirbasic right to education. While our school can-not reach all children, it can reach those aroundthe school. Hence, our Rainbow Program forwhich all children from 10 years old onwardshave 2 periods per week on their time tablewhen they teach children coming off the streetswhom we call Rainbow children. So through-out the day we have a reservoir of 50 potentialteachers from one class or another free andready to teach whoever comes off the street.In this way an eleven year old coming in com-pletely illiterate can be prepared in one year, ifshe comes regularly, for Class V in a regularschool in her own mother tongue. Each LoretoSealdah student stays back on a rotation sys-tem to teach those who whose work preventsthem from coming until late afternoon.

Once slotted into school in a class conso-nant with their own age, these children, whilestill living on the streets, get all the home sup-port (uniform, place to bathe, wash clothes,do homework, have a meal) from school andare able to survive well.

Rural Child to Child: Every Thursday, ourschool holiday, one quarter of all our Second-

Human Rights Education in School: Loreto Sealdah • 49

ary School students, i.e., 150 out of 600, moveout into villages around Kolkata and handle3,500 rural children in government primaryschools where the ratio is one teacher to 120children. At least once a week each child getsindividual attention and the regular studentswho teach from the age of 10 are exposed tosituations of injustice and challenged to do whatthey can to set things right. At the same time,they have their regular lessons on human rightswhere they discuss their experiences and planhow to move on an advocacy level for a moreuniversal solution from the government.

Survey and Advocacy: Further still, the schoolhad conducted a survey of Kolkata with thehelp of other non-governmental organizations(NGOs) and our school students in which theysearched for and found 44,000 children not inschool. Through advocacy with the local gov-ernment, 100 schools were created to take in5,000 of those children, while we got another10,000 children into existing vacancies andtrained 1,200 more young people from theslums to cater to another 26,000 children in400 small centers of 50-80 children each. Inall of this, our students have been involved incounting, packing materials, assisting the train-ing in various ways and understanding how therights of the children have been denied. Theyhave studied the amount spent on educatingthese children and compared it with how muchis spent on them as students of a good school,and have built up presentations on rights andjustice and sent them to the government agen-cies concerned.

Child Labor

Over the past 3 years, our students have de-veloped a unique way of reaching childrenemployed as domestic slaves in people’s houses.They have identified 4,900 such children andhave got another 10 schools in the city involvedwith them, with 6 drop-in centers in 6 schools,worked by the students themselves, who scour

each neighborhood for these children. So farthey have managed to persuade 100 employ-ers to send the children to school, and haverescued several who were being abused andadmitted them into our Rainbow Program. Allour students are so well versed in human rightsthat they are able to persuade employers tochange their attitudes towards these children.

Child Line

This is another area where our students arebrought face-to-face with violations of childrights and where they go out to take meetingsin the community to share with adults theirconcerns about such violations.

Nutrition

Every child has a right to food, so we feedover 700 children daily in our school. Chil-dren help to prepare and distribute food andsome food is also sent home for younger sib-lings so they are not brain-damaged comingto school. Every child coming off the street iswelcomed by other children/students alreadyin the program and fed. Old abandoned wid-ows on the streets around the school are fedby the students also.

Shelter

Although the school is a large English me-dium institution that suggests to people of elit-ism and exclusiveness, our students havelearned practically that all people have right toshelter and therefore our school and all otherLoreto Schools have become “Home” to asmany street children as needed to be safe offthe streets and in a secure environment.

The Right to Love and to Belong

Our students imbibe this particular right byliving in an atmosphere where there are somany children off the streets, with no parents,


no one to care for them and who need thelove the regular children can give. This hasdeveloped tremendous bonds which transcendall barriers of home background, caste, creed,economic differences. Human rights in suchan atmosphere are taken for granted, love andbonding take place naturally, especially as theyare continually backed up by the constant ex-posure to and experiences with children whohave been denied their rights.

The old people who are fed daily are alsocatered to emotionally as the students who taketheir lunch out to them on the streets sit andchat with them like they would with their owngrandparents.

We have, through our ‘hands on’ experien-tial living out of those rights which fall withinthe children’s capacity to pursue, created inthe students certain basic attitudes which makeit quite impossible for them to contravene therights of others. These attitudes are:

a. A compassion and sensitivity to those de-prived of their rights and a determinationto see that they get a fair share of all thatis available.

b. A willingness and courage to stand outfor what they believe to be right, e.g., therescue and release of hidden domesticchild laborers where they have to face irateemployers, call the police and testify inpublic.

c. A sense of equality with those who havebeen marginalized so that they relate quitenaturally and accept them and make themfeel at home.

d. A selfless dedication to the cause ofmarginalized children deprived of theirrights which prepares them to sacrificetime and effort to support and help them(marginalized children).

Students Response /Reaction to the Program

Through the years, students express theirthoughts about their experience under the pro-gram. Here are some examples of such thoughts.

Past pupils

As an ex-student of Loreto Sealdah, I feelI am most fortunate to have received my edu-cation through most practical and meaning-ful educational system that aims to nurturetrue human beings! I was always a mediocrestudent in school who merely passed all theexams; but I was exposed to so much caringservices for the poor and have-nots, that itbecame a source of inspiration for me! I neverfelt the need to compete with the most aca-demically brilliant student in my class but Iwas always happy and fulfilled as a humanbeing when I reached out my hand to some-one in need. Today I am 35 and I feel I havebeen truly educated as I am not afraid to voicemy opinion and even fight, if necessary, forany one who deserves justice and respect ashuman being. My free time is not devoted tosocial gatherings but to look after elderly des-titute on the streets. That’s what Loreto edu-cation does… it builds true mind and soul!

– Ms. Sanghita Mondol

The education I received at Loreto Sealdahhas helped me to be an independent personwith a wider outlook towards Indian society.I love and understand the underpriviledgedand, as a primary school teacher, have a spe-cial care for the most marginalized children.

– Mrs. Asha Baski

I have been helped to gain self confidenceand to be able to communicate better throughmy experience here in Loreto Sealdah inreaching out to others more marginalizedthan myself. I am now working for Childline,the main objective of which is to help to giveimmediate care to the most destitute chil-dren in distress. My earlier experience inschool have helped me very much in fightingfor justice for these children.

– Ms. Mehtab Ara


Present pupils

Human rights are very essential for thegrowth of the country, of the world and infact of humanity as a whole. By safeguardinghuman rights we are making the world a bet-ter place to live in for our next generation –as children are the future of our country. Thepresent change cannot be brought aboutovernight, hence we need more people to joinour mission and help in the propagation ofthis idea.

We work with Childline, going out fromschool to build awareness so that children allover the city in distress can ring up 1098 andget help. We also run a drop-in center in ourspare time in the afternoon where child do-mestic workers can come to relax or study asthey like.

All our school from class V upwards areinvolved in some way to work for justice. Wehave been helping, we are helping and we will

continue to help “to make this world a betterplace for you and me”.

– Sharine Lazaru and Shefali Biswas

To sum up, we have found the formula ofreflection leading to action and action followedby reflection a very effective tool in educationand especially in education on human rights.But most of all it is important that, when weexpose our students to situations of injustice,we need to challenge the less motivated andgive an outlet for the frustration the compas-sionate student feels, on being confronted witha situation about which she can do nothing.

This approach which we have developed, ofintellectual input on the situation and practi-cal involvement in changing it, means that wehave a highly motivated group of young peoplecoming out each year with both the skills andthe motivation to change, at least, their littlecorner of the world.


ANNEXES

THE BASIC PLANEach lesson is normally divided into the phases given below. Each phase is designed to provide the child with an experience of

certain values and a practice of certain skills regardless of what the topic of the lesson is.

KEY-IN

SHARE-IT-AROUND

PASS-IT-ON

TALK-IT-OVER

What the child does

Work alone on thematerial set in thelesson.

Sits in a small group of amaximum of eight withhis/her classmates andshares the results of his/her personal work. Thismay lead to a discussionand/or some groupactivity such as chartmaking, role plays, etc.

The group presents tothe whole class, itsfindings either through adirect report or throughwhatever group activity ithas prepared.

The class is guided inanalyzing the materialpresented in the ‘Pass-it-on’ phase so as to seeclearly what values theirpresentations reveal andhow such valuescompared with those ofthe great religious orsocial leaders of Indiaand the world.

What you do

• Provide an atmosphere which is relaxedyet quiet, and insist that each child worksalone.

• Give reassurance that there are no right/wrong answers, and that each one’sopinion is important.

• Give guidance, if needed, so that the childknows what to do. Do not give answers.

• Get the children into groups.• Circulate from group to group.• Do not interfere unless the group is

obviously out of hand and needs to besettled.

• Give as much freedom as possible.• Provide guidance only if requested, never

solutions or answers.

Listen carefully to what is said, for points/ideas which can be discussed later, writethese briefly on the blackboard, especiallynote statements or generalisations whichreveal values that you feel need to bechallenged. (This is mainly at the adolescentstage, but younger children will also giveexpression to negative values which cancause concern.)

Prompt the class through meaningfulquestioning and help them see the differencebetween what they know is the ideal andwhat they actually practise.Encourage them to interact with each otherand insist on parliamentary procedure–listening to the others before responding.Do not allow splinter groups to startdiscussing things among themselves.

What values andqualities the child getsthe opportunity to develop

Freedom, self-awareness, responsibil-ity, openness, thecourage to form andexpress an opinion ofhis/her own.

Love and concern forothers, listening withcompassion andsympathy, trust, loyalty,openness, honesty,mutual respect,tolerance, acceptance,cooperation, communica-tiveness, initiative,leadership.

Self-confidence, thecourage of his/herconvictions, the ability towork as part of a team,learning to be useful.

Love for truth, honesty,humility, the ability tolisten and to respond, thecourage to uphold one’sconvictions, or to changeif one honesty sees thatone is wrong.

What intellectual andsocial skills the child hasthe opportunity to master

The ability…–to concentrate–to read understand andevaluate

–to work independently–to articulate ideas

The ability to:–present ideas coherently,–express herself/himselfclearly,

–listen with understanding,–respond to new ideas,–plan,–be creative,–make decisions,–choose material,–present material.

The ability to:–communicate,–think logically,–speak clearly,–present materialcoherently,

–synthesise material,–make connections.

Develops…–logical thinking,–comprehension,–communication skills.–The ability to:interpret, summarize,and analyze, be creative,make decisions, judgeideas and attitudes.


THINK-IT-THROUGH

TAKE-IT-IN

CARRY-IT-THROUGH

What the child does

Sits along to evaluatewhat he/she has learnedfrom the lesson, andpossibly notes downinsights or importantpoints that struck him/her.

Continues to sit quietly.The idea is to develophabits of silence andcontemplation. Startingfrom the experience ofjust being quiet for awhile, this will progres-sively become a morespiritual experience inwhich children pray,make decisions, thinkabout their lives andexamine their own andother’s attitudes.

Carries out whateveraction she/he haddecided on during thelesson.

What you do

Provide a quiet, relaxed atmosphere(perhaps by playing appropriate music on atape-recorder). Ensure that the children donot disturb each other. Let them reflectquietly on the insights provided to them bythe lesson. After some time (depending onthe maturity of the children–five minutes foryoung children, up to 30 minutes for the olderones) elicit these from the class and writedown the important points on the blackboard.(Do not continue the silence for too long ifthe children are very restless.)

Lead the session quietly from the decisionmaking of the ‘Think-it-through’ stage to thespiritual experience of silence which is whatthis phase is all about. Actually these twophases flow together as one. A bhajansuitable to the theme, or soft devotionalmusic can be played here.

Do not interfere especially where adoles-cents are concerned. It is important to beliberal here and to allow the children to act asthey have decided. If they share theirthoughts with you, it must be on their ownvolition. If they don’t it does not matter.Either way, over a period of a year or so,exprience will show you that most childrenrespond to this system if it is used withcompetence and understanding.

What values andqualities the child getsthe opportunity to develop

Personal responsibility,personal honesty,humility, self-awareness.

An awareness of thespiritual dimension inoneself.

Personal responsibility,personal freedom,determination,perseverance.

What intellectual andsocial skills the child hasthe opportunity to master

Intellectual honesty, clarityof thoughts, accuracy.

Learn to be...–practical,–self-analytical.

The Basic Plan (continuation)...

Sometimes, especially in junior classes, one or other of the earlier phases may be dropped. However, since the overall aim of eachlesson is to lead the child to self-awareness and growth, the ‘Think-it-through’ and ‘Take-it-in’ phases should never be omitted.







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Human Rights Education in School: Loreto Sealdah · Human Rights Education in School: Loreto Sealdah • 49 ary School students, i.e., 150 out of 600, move out into villages around