Seaford students talk human rights

Students as young as 11 are studying human rights at the Seaford School District — which delights Elise Damas, the director of the Pathway to Citizenship program and one of six attorneys at the Central American Refugee Center. 

“Children have to develop a sense [of] the plight of others, to get a sense of the world around them and their place in it,” she said. “… I really commend these schools for making the effort to present these issues to children … it shows a very broad-minded approach.”

Along with English for Speakers of Other Languages services coordinator Rebecca Reed, Damas hosted an assembly for fifth-graders at Manor Elementary School on Oct. 27. The two said they would visit Harbor later this year. 

The program was just one of several educational experiences that addressed human rights. Candice Kaplan, a teacher at Manor for nearly 20 years, said that the concept of basic human rights — and how they’re abused or protected — is integrated into the fifth-grade English Language Arts curriculum. Beginning in September, students analyzed selected articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — a document that indicates the 30 fundamental human rights that should be protected. The United Nations General Assembly in Paris adopted it in 1948.

To bring concepts such as cultural diffusion and how rules and laws are “developed in democratic societies … to maintain order, provide security and protect individual rights” to life, Kaplan said students read accounts about people who immigrated to the U.S. and then discussed the difficulties they endured. For instance, they examined an essay about Isau Ajeti, a resident of war-torn Kosovo in 1999. 

Kaplan explained that Seaford students also applied what they learned about human rights to a case study of a fictional character in the novel “Esperanza Rising,” by Pam Muñoz Ryan, who escapes from Mexico to America after suffering an unfortunate family situation. Kaplan said she thought that the speakers from CARECEN — which provides legal help to immigrants, free English classes and family petition assistance, as well as services to unaccompanied refugee children in Nassau and Suffolk counties through its Refugee Child Unit— would be able to emphasize that the harsh conditions Esperanza and her family endured while immigrating are real.

“We focused on the challenges and inequality of living conditions and wages Esperanza faced in her work camp, and whether or not the migrant workers should strike for higher wages,” Kaplan explained. “CARECEN services supportsthese rights by providing legal services, application process assistance … Basically, immigrants have rights and need to fight for equality in the workforce and equal opportunities.” 

Using an iPad game called Kahoot!, Damas and Reed quizzed Manor students on what they learned about “Esperanza Rising” and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the assembly. They also fielded questions from the children about their experiences working with people across the globe. Damas described the student inquiries as complex, thoughtful and well-informed. 

“We are lucky enough to be an organization with a wealth of knowledge and can meet the school and community’s needs,” she added. “Sometimes we live in communities where a person who lives in the house next door speaks the same language and sometimes we don’t. We have to make sure children growing up have opportunity to put themselves in someone else’s shoes and develop compassion and empathy towards the struggles of people with whom they don’t immediately identify.” 

Kaplan noted that there has been an influx of immigrants in Nassau County in recent years. She said that Anjana Mukerjea, the district’s English as a Second Language teacher, works with students who are adjusting to the community and the country. 

Ultimately, Kaplan said, Seaford teachers hope fifth-graders relate what they learned in the classroom and at the assembly to real-life situations, developing an understanding of the perspectives of children from different backgrounds. At Manor, students also participate in a multi-cultural program — studying their own heritage and sharing it with their peers — that’s designed to encourage diversity as well. 

“It is our job as a community to support immigrants in their pursuit of a better life for themselves and their families,” she said. “We are very proud to be part of the Seaford family that supports and welcomes all.”