Jill Smith explains how she used the UDHR in her English class at Balboa High School.
Recipe for Room 300
Take 30 Articles.
Add 29 students from five countries.
Stir gently.
Fold in equal parts reading, writing, listening, and speaking, and courage.
While continuing to stir, add 1 cup each singing, movement, music, and art.
Season with 1 tablespoon each gratitude, reflection, empathy, and action.
Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer gently from September to May until flavors intensify and deepen.
Serve warm to a hungry world.
At our recent Institute at Balboa High School in San Francisco, Balboa teacher Jill Smith offered a presentation on how she developed her full-year 10th grade English class with the UDHR as the guiding content. We wanted to share this success story (and great resource) with you.
“Our year followed the flow of WHAT (learning about the UDHR), SO WHAT (going in depth and discovering what mattered to us) and NOW WHAT (action research poster project to educate others),” she explained. “My overall goal was to create a balanced classroom environment that was uplifting and empowering while creating community exploring heavy, challenging (and potentially depressing) issues.”
