The School Ombudsman Fights
\nfor Students\u2019 Rights\u00a0<\/p>\n
The project “School Ombudsman,”
\nwhich ADC “Memorial” initiated in 2009 with the support of the Gagarin
\nFund, is being implemented in several elementary schools in the St.
\nPetersburg area.<\/p>\n
School #462, according to the
\nformal criteria, is part of the St. Petersburg system of schools.
\nThe town of Aleksandrovskaia, in which this school is located, is on
\nthe edge of the city.\u00a0 This three-story school building is practically
\nthe tallest one in the district.\u00a0 In this recently renovated building,
\nwith its newly-equipped classrooms, it feels comfortable and homey.
\nThe teachers know every student well, and it is obvious that the students
\nare happy here.\u00a0 The atmosphere in this school differs greatly
\nfrom the norm.\u00a0 The phrases that you might hear typically in other
\nschools would sound strange on the lips of this school\u2019s teachers:
\n“They sat down quickly, got up quickly, and the teacher left the room.”
\nThe classes are not large:\u00a0 in the eighth grade, for instance,
\nthere are only eight students.<\/p>\n
In addition to these differences,
\nthis school has one more remarkable trait:\u00a0 students of many different
\nethnic groups study together in school #462-Russians, Armenians, Azerbaijanis,
\nRoma, Moldovans, and many others.\u00a0 For this reason, the issue of
\n“tolerance” is treated very seriously in this school.<\/p>\n
In January 2009, this and four
\nother schools in the city with a multi-ethnic student body began to
\ntake part in an experimental project:\u00a0 a role playing game, in
\nwhich students take turns playing the role of a Human Rights Ombudsman.
\nThe students take a class, in which they learn about the Universal Declaration
\nof Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and in
\na form that is accessible to them, they discuss the rights of all Russian
\ncitizens and how these rights should be observed.\u00a0 Then, the knowledge
\nthe children gain through this class is put into practice.\u00a0 Every
\nstudent must, at least for one day, play the role of an ombudsman:
\nhe or she must take note of how, in his or her class, human rights and
\nchildren\u2019s rights are observed.\u00a0 That day\u2019s ombudsman then
\nmust consider all of the complaints filed by anyone who has been involved
\nin some kind of conflict or by those who consider themselves to have
\nbeen insulted in some way, and the ombudsman must then make a related
\nrecommendation.\u00a0 These recommendations are not so much to be directed
\ntowards the particular conflict at hand, but more towards preventing
\nany similar problems from happening in the future.\u00a0 That is, the
\nrecommendations are to be of a more general nature.<\/p>\n
Out of the eighth grade of
\nschool #462 it first fell to Samira to be ombudsman.\u00a0 This seemed
\nsymbolic:\u00a0 Samira has a reputation for always defending anyone
\nwho, in her opinion, has been offended.\u00a0 As she says, she knows
\ndiscrimination well, inasmuch as she is both an Azerbaijani and “emo”
\n(“emo” is a youth subculture, the members of which love to talk
\nabout tragic misfortunes, emotional suffering, and frequently discuss
\nsuicide).\u00a0 However, Samira does not really look emo:\u00a0 she
\nis far too lively and full of life to fit in well with that subculture.
\nBecause the school is so small, it was decided that a student would
\nact as the ombudsman not for a day, but for an entire week.\u00a0 I
\nmet with Samira upon the conclusion of her week as ombudsman.
\nAs it turns out, Samira took it upon herself to check up on human rights
\nviolations not just in her class, but in the entire school.\u00a0 She
\npaid particular attention to the teachers\u2019 behavior.<\/p>\n
“In one week there were five
\nserious violations!” Samira told me as we were talking, “Moreover,
\ntwo times these violations were committed by teachers.\u00a0 The head
\nteacher himself admitted to it.\u00a0 And the second time an anonymous
\nnote was sent to me.\u00a0 A teacher grabbed a young student by the
\nneck.\u00a0 That is a truly serious violation!”<\/p>\n
Samira does not give the names
\nof those who were involved in the conflict:\u00a0 she says it is important
\nthat her work is not seen as tattling or informing on others.
\n“I will solve it myself,” she explains.\u00a0 It is true, though,
\nthat Samira repeatedly forgets about the arrangements agreed upon by
\nher classmates:\u00a0 name no names and do not attempt to solve any
\nconflicts-instead, just observe, describe, and give recommendations.
\nFor instance, today after school she arranged for a meeting between
\ntwo girls:\u00a0 she plans to help them sort out a dispute that has
\narisen between them.<\/p>\n
In general, the issue of “informing”
\non others is key for the students.\u00a0 How can one monitor for the
\nproper observation of rights, write a report on any violation of rights
\nin school, but at the same time not “tattle?”\u00a0 Khadzher, a
\nclassmate of Samira\u2019s, is pessimistic about the project.\u00a0 The
\nweek when she is to be ombudsman is coming up, but she has no desire
\nto tell on her classmates.\u00a0 And Khadzher sees any kind of complaint
\nlodged about anyone as tattling.\u00a0 When any student chooses to involve
\nan adult in any situation, she sees it in a negative light.\u00a0 After
\na conversation about what exactly “tattling” or “informing”
\nis and what is not, a solution was found:\u00a0 Khadzher will work exclusively
\nwith anonymous complaints.\u00a0 Perhaps that is an even better idea:
\nif the ombudsman does not know whose complaints he or she is considering,
\nthen he or she will be able to give a completely unbiased assessment
\nof the situation.<\/p>\n
In short, human rights for
\nthe masses.\u00a0 However, sometimes there are curiosities.\u00a0 For
\nexample, a student ombudsman from the seventh grade observed what he
\nconsidered to be a violation of the rights of street cleaners.
\nDuring class a teacher said, “Who will you be when you grow up?
\nYou\u2019ll never turn into real people!\u00a0 You will be street cleaners!”
\nThe young ombudsman pronounced this statement discriminatory:
\nthe teacher, he said, does not consider street cleaners to be people.<\/p>\n
Every school has its own specificities.
\nIn Vsevolozhsk School No 2, the ombudsman of the day in class 6-b must
\nlook over a whole score of complaints.\u00a0 The schoolchildren pay
\nparticular attention to the teacher\u2019s actions.\u00a0 After reading
\nthe Convention on the Rights of the Child, the sixth graders came to
\nthe conclusion that their teachers almost constantly violate their rights.
\nAfter calling a meeting, the children decided that, possessing such
\nknowledge about human rights, they would now help transmit this knowledge
\nto their teachers.\u00a0 “The teachers simply do not know about children\u2019s
\nrights, but we will teach them,” the children explained, “If we
\njust read off a list of the rights, it might not be understood, so we
\nwill gather the teachers together and show them the \u2018Declaration of
\nHuman Rights\u2019 in skit form.”<\/p>\n
For the time being, this program
\nhas been introduced in only five schools.\u00a0 But if the results are
\npositive, then this role playing game will be introduced into new classes
\nand new schools, so that respect for human rights might become a norm
\nin society.<\/p>\n
Maksim Ivanov<\/p>\n
For reference:<\/p>\n
An “ombudsman” (from the
\nSwedish ombudsmen