Protect Our Right to Self-Directed Education
The Global Initiative is in the process of drafting and finalizing the “Human Rights Guiding Principles on States’ Obligations Regarding Private Actors in Education.” This means that everyone involved in private education – including free schools, Sudbury schools, Agile Learning Centers, resource centers, and even homeschoolers, could be affected by the decisions made and guidelines set forward in these guiding principles. Check out their FAQ if you would like to know more.
In order to add our voices to this process, and protect our rights to Self-Directed Education, we need to present a strong voice and a united front on the subject of Self-Directed Education.
We have provided resources and outlined simple steps you can take to make a difference. Given these resources, it shouldn’t take very long to participate and make an impact.
This process closes on September 30th, so if you are interested in adding your voice, please do so ASAP.
There are three things you can do:
1. The quickest and easiest way to contribute your thoughts is by following the guidelines for submitting responses that Democratic Education SA has prepared. You can find all the information you need, including suggested form responses, here.
If you have some extra time, and would like to craft your own responses, you can read the draft document, and the FAQ, and then fill out the survey.
2. Raise awareness that children must be given a say in decisions that affect us by sending an email to sylvain@globalinitiative-escr.org to ask for a link to the child-friendly materials and interfaces designed to enable students of all ages to participate in the current online consultation on the Guiding Principles. Please cc soulstoneeducation@gmail.com (this is the email address of a group of young people at Riverstone Village, who are spearheading a call to action)
3. Send a copy of the Request for Special Protection pasted into an email, with your Name, City, and Country at the bottom and send to the Secretariat of the drafting committee, at educationguidingprinciples@gmail.com
Please cc soulstoneeducation@gmail.com
To discuss the topic with other ASDE members you can check out the forum thread on this topic.
If you have questions please email bria@self-directed.org, or post your questions on the forum thread above.
Together we can make our voices heard in this important issue.
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