Social Indicators

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Social Indicators
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Human Rights

• Imagine a school with 30 classrooms.
• In each classroom is 30 children
• At the head of each classroom is a teacher
• The school has been opened for 50 years
• Teachers have come and gone
• Students have graduated and left. Others have
  taken their place

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• Even though the population in each classroom has
  changed completely over the 50 years, strangely
  enough the way people are dealt with has stayed
  the virtually the same. The culture of the
  classroom remains unchanged.
• Of the 30 classrooms, only 2 have had a culture
  where the teacher shows the students respect and
  ensures all students are treated equally.

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• In these 2 classrooms, the culture is such that
  the students have the right to keep the teacher
  accountable if he steps out of line, the group
  can order him out and replace him with a kinder
  teacher who suits the culture of the classroom.

5

• The students in these classrooms are looked
  after, do not properly appreciate the meaning of
  abuse because they have never really
  experienced it.

6

• Those who graduate and begin to earn a wage in
  the world outside give a little money back to the
  classroom that nurtured them in their formative
  years.
• To say thanks.

7

• Throughout the years, teachers and students have
  used this money to make their classroom fresh and
  new.

8

• The kids in the 2 classrooms used to get together
  in the mornings. The boys would kick the
  football, the girls would talk about the boys and
  the 2 teachers would affirm each other, saying
  how fortunate they were to have such nice
  classrooms.

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• And how lucky they were not to end up in one of
  the other 28 classrooms.

10

• The 28 other classrooms are dark and rotten.
  Theyre humid during summer and cold during
  winter. The fans stopped working during the third
  summer and havent been fixed since.

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• What happened in those classrooms, no one really
  knew.

12

• Few people from the 2 clean classrooms have seen
  the outside of the 28 others, for they were built
  at the other end of the campus.
• Even fewer have seen what the conditions are like
  inside.

13

• From time to time, students from the clean
  classrooms had seen students from dirty ones
  walking up towards their end of the school. One
  tried to talk to one of the clean students once,
  but they were quickly ushered away by the 2
  teachers and told in no uncertain terms to go
  back where they came from.

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• The 2 clean teachers told the clean students that
  they did what they did to protect the clean
  students from dirty ones, and to preserve the
  culture of the clean classroom.
• The clean students were grateful, and were proud
  to belong to their classes.

15

• The following week, the same dirty student came
  again.
• As the clean teachers walked over to again usher
  the girl away, she said in an exhausted voice,
  Let me speak.

16

• It was the first time the clean students had
  heard a dirty student speak.
• As she spoke the clean students stood at a
  distance behind the protection of their teachers
  and studied her face.

17

• Her skin was bruised and beaten and weathered as
  if it belonged to an old womans face. It was
  dirty and framed by matted hair. Her eyes had
  seen hatred and her body had experienced abuse.
  She looked old and tired.

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• I come from the other end of the school and I am
  not meant to be here., she said.
• Im 14 years old. Ive been here for 9 years.
  Weve had three teachers since Ive been here. I
  have been verbally, physically and sexually
  abused by all of them. My parents both went to
  the same classroom when they were young. Now its
  my turn and I dont want my children to go
  through all of this. You have a nice classroom.
  Can I stay with you?

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• The 2 clean teachers grabbed the girl by her arm
  and took her personally to her classroom at the
  far end of the school. They handed her straight
  to her teacher who grabbed her arm with equal
  force, bowed slightly to them and apologised for
  the nuisance.

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• The students from the clean classroom never saw
  the girl again.

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• But they were so touched by the small girl that
  they walked up to the headmaster and asked
• Why does she have to be abused like this? She
  has done nothing wrong. Why do we have clean
  classrooms and kind teachers, and she doesnt?
  After all, were all part of the same school,
  arent we?

22

• The headmaster answered
• My dear children. I understand your concern, but
  this is just the way it is. The school has always
  been like this. What would you like me to do? The
  school does not have the funds to make all
  classrooms like your classrooms and those who
  have graduated from your class do not wish to
  donate their money to any other classroom but
  yours. Can you see that I have little choice?

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• Then write up a list of rules that all
  classrooms at this school should abide by., said
  the students. A list of rules that makes sure
  that all students at this school are treated the
  same.

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• We can try, said the headmaster but it will be
  difficult to enforce, because each teacher makes
  the final decision in their class. Shall we
  instead call it a List of Expectations?

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• Its a good start, said one of the clean
  students. Should we ask one of the abused kids
  for some help? After all, theyre the ones who
  would best know what to stop.
• That sounds like a good idea, said the
  headmaster. What should be the first
  expecatation?