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[|“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere . . . Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”]
 * [|Martin Luther King Jr.] **

media type="custom" key="700959" "//Why is human rights education so important? Because, as it says in the constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ([|UNESCO]), '//Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed//'. The more people know their own rights, and the more they respect those of others, the better the chance that they will live together in peace. Only when people are educated about human rights can we hope to prevent human rights [|violations], and thus prevent conflict as well//." [|Kofi Annan], Dec. 10, 2000 [|The Advocates for Human Rights]

toc =Our Enduring Understandings=
 * **Systems can create inequities**
 * **Change is continual**
 * **Democracy is a process**


 * Essential Questions**
 * 1) What are basic rights?
 * 2) What is the purpose of a government (Case Study: The American Revolution)
 * 3) What systems of government have been created over time?
 * 4) How have different governments treated the issue of human rights? (See 'Investigations')
 * 5) What is your role as a global citizen?

=Overview=

In our final unit, we will read Anne Frank, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Giver. Through the use of literature circles, you will explore definitions of human rights and the significance of this topic for us here in the 21st century. Activities on the texts will require you to reflect on the themes, issues, and concepts. Think about how your own lives and the experiences of the characters in the novels connect. Using this knowledge as a background, you will explore the role of government further through an investigation of the causes of the American Revolution and the concept of democracy. We will then compare and contrast the roles of governments in the 21st century in countries around the globe so that we can examine connections with our world today.

Open up the [|Human Rights Anticipation Guide.doc] and let's start thinking about the meaning of human rights.

=Connections through Listening=

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**Oliver Messiaen **
[|Messiaen] wrote his Quartet for the End of Time (**Quatour pour la Fin du Temps**) while in a prisoner of war camp, [|Stalag 8A], Gorlitz, Poland. He had been captured by the Nazis and interned in 1940. The work was actually played in the camp on January 15th 1941 for his fellow prisoners. Messiaen described his music as "//not 'nice' - it is certain. I am convinced that joy exists, convinced that the invisible exists more than the visible, joy is beyond sorrow, beauty is beyond horro//r".

[|Quartet for the End of Time] From the 3rd movement - //Abyss of the Birds// - to the 7th movement - //A mingling of rainbows for the Angel who announces the end of time//.

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Martin Luther King
media type="youtube" key="PbUtL_0vAJk&hl=en" height="355" width="425" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbUtL_0vAJk
 * Listen to [|Martin Luther King] give his speech 'I have a dream'**

//**“Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land**//**!” (An excerpt from King's final speech on April 3, 1968. He was [|assassinated] in Memphis, Tennessee, the next day. Click [|here]for the story of that terrible day.**)
 * Jan. 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968**