For some teachers, back-to-school excitement comes with jitters over how best to address new curriculum mandates. And for many parents, there are other worries, including concerns about their children?s social interactions and fears of playground bullying.
As a researcher in children?s literature, I have developed a literary mentorship program that tackles both of these challenges. Read for Your Rights! uses children?s fiction to engage young children on the concepts of rights and responsibility, and with the content of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
The program also aims to reduce bullying at school. And preliminary data from a pilot at a Chilliwack elementary school in British Columbia during 2017 shows success.
Participating teachers observed fewer instances of negative social behaviour after their students participated in Read for Your Rights! They also observed scenarios in which an altercation broke out and children made specific references to the program in attempts to elicit better treatment of one another.
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