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    • Human Educational Rights: a Nonkilling Checklist, by Francisco Gomes de Matos

    Introductory remarks:
    In the Tradition of Human Rights, Educational Rights are subsumed under SOCIAL RIGHTS. Given the increasing universal relevance of Human EDUCATIONAL Rights, they are dealt with here in a specific way, that is, in the perspective of a Nonkilling Paradigm. As in previous texts of mine posted in this section of the CGNK website (Learning Materials), the presentation will have an eminently educational goal: that of encouraging, engaging readers in their own formulation of this category or type of Human Rights, as well as in generating a discussion thereof.

    Before sharing this open-ended List ,a tribute should be paid to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, specifically for its mention of rights pertaining to Education in Article 26. The interdependence of Educational Rights and Linguistic Rights is eloquently exemplified by section II - Education -of the Universal Declaration of Linguistic Rights (Barcelona, June,1996), through its articles 23 -30,but in this case, with a focus on communities.

    For a summary of my views on Individual Linguistic-Educational Rights, google Two typologies of linguistic rights, based on a text originally published in Portuguese in 1984, now available in English on the web. Since all human beings are --could be, should be --actors of change (cultural, linguistic, educational, social, political, economic...- it is hoped that these brief texts on Human ________Rights contribute to the comprehensive and dynamic Tradition of Human Rights as applied to an emerging field of inquiry and practice : Nonkilling Studies.

    We KILL EDUCATIONALLY when we deprive a person, a group, a community of his/her/their right to

    1. become literate, that is, to learn to read and write and be able to develop an awareness of the conditions in which he/she/they live as well as of improving such conditions.

    If we adopt an extended definition or characterization of LITERACY, the above formulation of longer. Literacy, in the 1995 edition of The Literacy Dictionary, published by the International Reading Association. Note that such open-ended classification leaves out Peace Literacy, Nonviolence Literacy, and Nonkilling Literacy, concepts-terms which to me would deserve a place in the conceptual-terminological sun of an updated edition of that excellent reference work.

    2. learn to communicate peacefully, nonviolently, nonkillingly in their native or first language(s),from childhood. This might sound utopian to many, but if we are to share the Earth with full ecolinguistic-educational responsibility, such educational action would be more than a desideratum.

    For a poem of mine focused on this challenge to educational systems planetarily, see" Educating all children for nonkilling",in my little book Nurturing Nonkilling:a Poetic Plantation, published by the Center for Global Nonkilling.The full text can be downloaded, for free, pdf, on this site: http://nonkilling.org/node/18

    3. (when we deprive a blind person, in this case)of the right to learn to use Braille, a system which may be written on a computer or by hand. What percentage of blind persons in the world are being assured of such right of access to the system created by Louis Braille ?

    4. (when we deprive a deaf person, in this case) of the right to learn to use the sign language available at his/her/their community. Examples: American sign language, LIBRAS (Língua Brasileira de Sinais). Note that sign languages are not mutually intelligible.

    5 (when we deprive a person with special educational needs) of the right to be educated according to a system which take into consideration his/her/their physical or mental conditions as well as learning difficulties. When we fail to provide education to children who have special educational needs, aren’t we killing them educationally ?

    6. learn to engage in nonkilling educational principles and practices.

    Note that this experiencing of being educationally killed would constitute a priority in Programs for Educating Nonkillingly: in such spirit, educators would be prepared to imagine creative ways of educating without violating the rights of their learners. This would be a new dimension in the
    emerging ,inspiring field of Imaginative Education .

    Much more could be added. Hope that these reflections will inspired you,provoke you. Contributions to this list would be appreciated.



    Francisco Gomes de Matos is an applied peace linguist from Recife, Brazil; Co-author of the chapter "Toward a Nonkilling Linguistics" (Toward a Nonkilling Paradigm, Honolulu, 2009), basis of the Course "Nonkilling Linguistics" at Wikiversity's School of Nonkilling Studies. Professor Emeritus, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; Co-founder and currently President of the Board, Associação Brasil América. He can be reached at fcgm@hotlink.com.br