Page - 25 - in Reflective Cosmopolitanism - Educating towards inclusive communities through Philosophical Enquiry

TINA AND AMIR (MANUAL) 25 TINA AND AMIR (MANUAL) Episode 1: The playground (told by Tina) Leading Idea 1: Children´s rights Children didn’t have any recognized rights until the time of the enlightenment. Only since the beginning of the 20th century can we speak of the development of children’s rights, which had the aim of granting children their own rights. In 1989, world leaders officially recognized the human rights of all children and young people under 18 by signing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Children often need special protection – in 54 articles the convention spells out the basic human rights for children everywhere, and sets out standards in education, health care and legal, civil and so- cial services. Some of these rights include: the right to be protected from harmful influences, violence, abuse and exploitation; the right to life, survival and development, to participate fully in family, cultural and social life; the rights to respect the views of the children. However there are many disagreements about human rights in general, and also there are disagreements about children’s rights. Even when national governments have com- mitted themselves to protecting and ensuring children’s rights, many of them have not included the articles of the convention into their constitutions. We know that children have a number of rights, which are food, shelter, education and love. But are we aware of children´s rights as such? Are they universal, natural rights and inal- ienable? What do children know about children’s rights? Can they “learn through” children’s rights? Should children be encouraged to make use of their rights in school and in class? The discussion plan and exercise for the first episode will help children to know what rights are and to understand what rights they have. You can find further resources on the concept of “rights” in the manual to Ella, episode 6, leading idea 3, discussion plans and exercises on “rights”; the manual to Christian, epi- sode 7, leading idea 1 and discussion plan on “Rights”, discussion plan and exercise on “Children´s Rights”; and the manual to Hanadi, episode 1, leading idea 1, discussion plan and exercise on “Rights and obligations”. Discussion Plan: Exploring children´s rights 1. What do you know about children´s rights? 2. Why do we need special rights for children? 3. What are children´s rights? 4. In what way can the principles of children´s rights be observed in your commu- nity/your school/your family? 5. How do you experience children´s rights in class? 6. What do children´s rights imply? 7. Do children‘s rights match with our idea of wants and needs? 8. What is the difference of understanding between wishes and needs? 9. What can we do when children´s rights are hurt and violated?