Response to Fernando Reimers' Piece

In reading the Reimers piece, I was struck by the following quotation:

        

        Students have to live their human rights; their school have to provide authentic experiences

        in the practice of tolerance.  Students need to experience in schools respect for human dignity,

        equal rights, and appreciation for difference and tolerance.  In addition to helping develop knowledge

        about human rights it is necessary that students develop the intrapersonal and interpersonal

        competencies to resolve conflicts peacefully, to confront violence (Reimers, pg. 192).

I was most interested in this statement because of its focus on both the school environment in which global competency is born and enacted, as well as the nature of the experiences that are meaningful to learners.  First, I am wondering about the development of a school environment that embodies this kind of learning.  How can we create a space that meaningfully confronts issues such as human rights, dignity, and diversity?  What does that space look like?  Particularly in the lower school I think this is challenging because of the wide age range in our students. The embodiment of these practices does look quite different from early childhood to adolescence, and yet maybe that is an empowering space to inhabit.  To look to our students, in their wide range of ages, and to find a stance as a school that embodies these values in such a way that it speaks to the whole community would create a powerful connectedness amongst students and faculty.

I am also thinking about the importance of the words "authentic" and "practice."  Too often I find that, when we deal with issues such as social justice, violence, human rights etc. we tread so lightly and deal with them in such a sterile, academic manner that the children do not have the opportunity to confront these issues in meaningful ways.  I think that the process of engaging children in critical thinking and then action around these issues allows children to make meaning and to see themselves as agents of change.  It is a challenging space to explore because there is no set curriculum, and we do not know where exactly the children's responses will lead, but I think these are the "authentic" spaces in which children develop global competency.  

-Dana