Teachers: Why is education a human right?

In honor of the day, we asked a few of the teachers who work with our multilingual English learners to share why they believe education is a vital human right.

Jingle Gorton, English Language Development (ELD) teacher at Shaw Middle School, said education is a human right because “it allows members of underrepresented marginalized groups, like me, to break the cycle of deprivation and achieve dreams that I never imagined would be possible for me.”

“Todos merecen ser incluidos en el acceso a información, idioma y maestros de calidad,” said Kristen Parker, Joel E Ferris High School ELD and Math teacher. [“Everyone deserves to be included in access to information, language, and quality teachers.”]

“Education is a human right to empower each individual to reach his or her potential and engage in the community,” said Bemiss Elementary ELD teacher Laurie Manikowski.

Maria Esther Zamora, ELD teacher at Logan Elementary and Linwood Elementary School said the question offers an opportunity to recognize that education is key to accessing and understanding other human rights, like freedom of speech, freedom from slavery, and the right to work, among others.

“As an educator of color, first generation immigrant who works with refugees and immigrant students, my responsibility is to support education as a human right and to provide excellent education for all,” she said.

“That implies finding ways for my students to overcome the barriers of poverty and the opportunity gap while empowering them and their families to improve their lives.”

Advancing the right of education also promotes the positive change necessary to break negative cycles many immigrants have experienced from armed conflict, corruption, indifference, or inequalities, all of which “disrupted our right to dream with prosperity and the pursue of happiness.”

“We live in a diverse world with diverse perspectives,” said John R. Rogers High School ELD teacher Kailey Rice. “In order to grow in our future, we must understand those who we interact with and continue to yearn to learn. Schools are a beautiful place to practice this life skill.”

Kailey advises her school’s Amnesty International Club, made up of English Language Learners. She asked a few of her students to weigh in on the question.

Club president Nermin Omar, secretary Brijoshna Gurung, creative director Jiem Menke, Amnesty helper Abra Clanry, and treasurer Lino Keja said that while they discuss a variety of human rights issues, the right to an education is very important to them. Not only because it leads to a successful future and the ability to provide for a family, but because it allows for a greater understanding of the world around them.

“It is necessary that everyone is able to communicate with each other about many topics so that people feel equal to one another,” they wrote. “Education helps people to move forward and not repeat mistakes from the past.”