Friday 10th December is Human Rights Day. The theme is human rights defenders who act to end discrimination. Human rights defenders acting against discrimination, often in the face of great personal risk to both themselves and their families, are being recognized and acclaimed on Human Rights Day, 10 December 2010. Human rights defenders speak out against abuse and violations including discrimination, exclusion, oppression and violence. They advocate justice and seek to protect the victims of human rights violations. They demand accountability of perpetrators and transparency in government action. In so doing, they are often putting at risk their own safety, and that of their families. Check out the United Nations website for more information. These information notes have further detail.
For you mountain lovers out there Saturday 11th December is International Mountain Day. International Mountain Day is an opportunity to create awareness about the importance of mountains to life, to highlight the opportunities and constraints in mountain development and to build partnerships that will bring positive change to the world’s mountains and highlands. For more information check out the website.Professional Reading
A blog post from Bruce Hammonds' blog "Leading and Learning". The post is titled "Who am I?" and provides lots of reflective material for us about whether or not the classroom experiences that we provide for our students contribute to their development of a positive sense of self. Holiday reading perhaps? I am going to keep this idea of ensuring that students develop a positive sense of themselves as learners in mind as I begin planning for the classes that I will teach in 2011.
