“Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.” United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, Article 26(2)
Imagine walking down a crowded hallway in an urban or suburban high school between classes. The space is filled with teens opening and closing lockers, talking with friends, carrying textbooks, binders, backpacks and purses, seeing who’s with whom and thinking about the weekend activities. Now imagine that you open one of the many classroom doors lining the hallway but instead of the usual assortment of desks, bookcases and blackboards framed by windows, linoleum flooring and fluorescent lighting you see a hilly landscape packed with shacks of varying sizes built from scrap lumber, discarded metal roofing, plastic and cement blocks. In between the small houses yards and sheds wind dusty narrow roads. The conversations of those nearest you are nearly drowned out by the squawking of chickens, bleating of goats, shouts of children, cries of infants, snatches of songs, bicycle bells and distant motor traffic. The heat and the stench of untreated sewage are overwhelming. Do you close the door, or go exploring? If you go exploring, do you invite any students to go with you?
Most of us have little if any personal experience of the world that millions endure every day. We are similarly distanced from those living in less extreme circumstances, those who have adequate food, clothing and shelter and who earn what they consider a reasonable living, but who spend long hours manufacturing the forgettable essentials of our middle class, post-industrial, late global capitalist, northern lives. As a consequence hundreds of millions of people lives are easily forgotten by us until a distant natural disaster, the death of one of our soldiers overseas, genocide or an act of terror wakes us to the realization that we all inhabit the same world. Even then, for how long do we hold the memory?
What responsibility, if any, do school libraries and teacher-librarians bear for helping students address such issues as abject poverty, HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa, child labour and the burgeoning slums of the South? And if we do bear some responsibility, how can high school libraries and teacher-librarians bring this global reality to the attention of students and teachers in such a way that they will fully embrace shared responsibility to address the issues? How can we help students develop the skills they will need to begin to take action for social justice and empower them to confront the global challenges they will face in their lifetimes?
Intellectual Freedom
On what basis could such an agenda for school libraries be justified?
School libraries in British Columbia (B.C.) and the teacher-librarians who work in them share the larger library community’s ethos of intellectual freedom and social responsibility. In their respective Statements on Intellectual Freedom, the British Columbia Library Association (BCLA) and the Canadian Library Association (CLA) defend one of the freedoms most fundamental to democracy– the freedom of expression. The BCLA states, “It is the responsibility of libraries and librarians to give full meaning to intellectual freedom by providing books and other materials that enrich the quality of thought and expression” (BCLA, n.d.). And since 1985 the CLA has worked to ensure that:
All persons in Canada have the fundamental right, as embodied in the nation's Bill of Rights and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to have access to all expressions of knowledge, creativity and intellectual activity, and to express their thoughts publicly. This right to intellectual freedom, under the law, is essential to the health and development of Canadian society. (CLA, 1985)
According to the CLA, “libraries have a basic responsibility for the development and maintenance of intellectual freedom.”
Intellectual freedom is a cornerstone of the freedom of expression guaranteed in Canada by Section 2.2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982) thatspecifically protects the “freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication.” In his decision in R vs. Keegstra Supreme Court Chief Justice Dickson noted that, in comparison to that of other nations, the Canadian guarantee of free expression, “is a very broad guarantee, and … the framers of the Charter envisaged freedom of expression as a comprehensive, fundamental right of great importance” (1990). Canada’s ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child ten years after the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms confirms that Canadian children also enjoy the right to freedom of expression (UN 1989).
On the world stage, the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) state jointly that one of the core services of school libraries is:
proclaiming the concept that intellectual freedom and access to information are essential to effective and responsible citizenship and participation in a democracy; (IFLA/UNESCO, 2006, March 28)
The right to free expression is fundamental to the fulfillment of the responsibilities of citizenship. These statements illustrate the role librarians strive to play in the defence of this freedom. Provincially, federally and internationally, librarians are charged to uphold and defend the intellectual freedom of citizens. But how does intellectual freedom underpin the school library’s responsibility to support education for global social justice?
Social Responsibility
Public libraries support democracy by providing access to information and defending freedom of expression and they demonstrate social responsibility as institutions in part by guaranteeing citizens the necessary tools to build a functioning democracy. In a school library, the work of the teacher-librarian, the school library program and the library collection help students to appreciate the importance of free expression and social responsibility by laying a foundation of essential skills, knowledge and attitudes. The IFLA/UNESCO School Library Manifesto declares that the school library “equips students with life-long learning skills and develops the imagination, enabling them to live as responsible[italics added] citizens” (IFLA/UNESCO, 2006, March 28). One of the ways school libraries do this is by “organizing activities that encourage cultural and social awareness and sensitivity” (IFLA/UNESCO, 2006, March 28).
In B.C., one of the ways school libraries foster social a culture of responsibility is by supporting the Social Studies curriculum. This curriculum encourages students in B.C. to:
- understand and prepare to exercise their roles, rights, and responsibilities within Canada and the world
- develop an appreciation of democracy and what it means to be Canadian
- demonstrate respect for human equality and cultural diversity (Social Studies 11, 2005 p.11
A student action component is included in every course at the secondary level. The grade 9 Social Studies curriculum requires students to “co-operatively plan, implement, and assess a course of action that addresses the problem, issue, or inquiry initially identified” (Social Studies 8-10, 1996) and in the new Civics 11 curriculum, students are expected to “implement a plan for action on a selected local, provincial, national or international civic issue”(Civic Studies 11, 2005 p.23). Even the emphasis on content knowledge in the Social Studies curriculum encourages civic action. When students learn about various levels of government, colonialism, nationalism, imperialism, the Canadian constitution, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Canadianautonomy and international involvement, human rights and the United Nations they are building the foundations of informed social responsibility. Consequently, by the end of the grade 11 Social Studies course, students should be better prepared for “their lives as Canadian citizens and members of the international community” (Social Studies 11, 2005 p.11).
The development of “skills and attitudes of active citizenship, including ethical behaviour, open-mindedness, respect for diversity, and collaboration” (Social Studies 11, 2005 p. 20) has recently been further supported by the development of the Social Responsibility Performance Standards which are used to assess social responsibility across the curricula from kindergarten to grade 10. These standards emphasize the importance of informed action by highlighting “Knowing and acting on rights and responsibilities (local, national, global)” (B.C. Performance Standards Social Responsibility, 2005). In supporting the teaching of Social Studies and the implementation of the Social Responsibility Performance Standards, school libraries in B.C. lay the groundwork for students’ social responsibility during and after their school careers.
Information Literacy
The freedom of information is central to all discussions of intellectual freedom. Free access to information is a necessary condition for the development of information literacy. The importance of information literacy is underscored in Article 13, section 1 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which explains that the right to freedom of expression, “shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other mediaof the child's choice”(UN, 1989). It is easy to forget that this protection of children’s freedom of expression also protects children’s access to the free expressions of others. This is just as important as protecting children’s expressions themselves. While many children in the South suffer from a lack of access to information, the tidal wave of information that hits many children in the North on a daily basis says very little about the world south of the Equator. No less than the lack of access in the South, this omission is a violation of children’s rights that ultimately affects children in both the North and the South. In the absence of good information appropriate information literacy skill development is impossible, though the expectation is that it be integrated into various curricula in B.C. schools. When a society’s citizens are not adequately informed, intellectual freedom, global social responsibility and democracy are threatened.
“Barriers to the flow of information should be removed, especially those that promote inequality, poverty, and despair” (IFLA, 2006, January 17). The most common and detrimental barriers to the free flow of information result from economic inequality (Norris, 2001, pp. 39-67) and as a result have their roots in the international trade and development policies and programs of wealthy northern nations such as Canada. The barriers the IFLA Internet Manifesto refers to can be physical, technical, political, social and/or economic. These barriers result when countries are unwilling or unable to dedicate the resources needed to provide access to information and thereby guarantee freedom of expression. But I would argue that these barriers are more closely related to barriers preventing our own understanding of global issues in wealthy and relatively free countries than we generally realize. Our conceptual barriers directly impact the perpetuation of concrete barriers in the South. The economic and political barriers in the South have been built on the lack of effective guarantees for freedoms we consider fundamental, the freedom of expression and freedom of information. Our lack of understanding about and appreciation for the practical effects of these barriers strengthens them because it is our collective ignorance that has allowed Canada to fail to meet its goal of increasing foreign aid to 0.7% of GDP. This failure has real, practical and significant consequences for people around the world on a daily basis.
By helping students understand the issues and how to take appropriate meaningful action school libraries can have a direct and immediate impact on living conditions elsewhere in the world. The value of coordinated, direct involvement through an exchange of information, ideas and resources between school libraries in the North and South should not be downplayed. But by helping to educate students about global issues, nurturing social responsibility and an informed citizenry in school libraries can “provide a mechanism to overcome the barriers created by differences in resources, technology, and training” (IFLA, 2006, January 17).
Conscientização
Freedom of expression, as Supreme Court Chief Justice Dickson said, is valuable in three ways: “the value of seeking and attaining truth; the value of participation in social and political decision-making; and individual self-fulfillment and human flourishing” (R vs Keegstra, 1990). The first two of these three value systems permeate the discourse on intellectual freedom and social responsibility. Intellectual freedom is fundamental to the search for truth, however we choose to construe it, and participation in social and political organizations is one of the more sophisticated ways of demonstrating social responsibility. The last of these ways of valuing freedom of expression differs from the first two in that it values this freedom intrinsically rather than as an instrument of achieving some other good. It is this value that the authors of IFLA’s Alexandria Proclamation on Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning refer to when they assert:
Information Literacy lies at the core of lifelong learning. It empowers people in all walks of life to seek, evaluate, use and create information effectively to achieve their personal, social, occupational and educational goals (IFLA, 2006 July 10).
The intrinsic value of the freedom of expression subsumes the other instrumental values and in doing so underwrites the value of our humanity.
Paulo Freire’s work helps us understand how important it is to respect our own emerging humanity in our work, the humanity of those with whom we work and the humanity of those who so often remain invisible in our world. I agree with Freire’s insight that:
there is no such thing as a neutral educational process.… Education either functions as an instrument that is used to facilitate the integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity to it, or it becomes the “practice of freedom,” the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.” (Freire, 2000, p.34)
Freire uses the term conscientização to refer to the act of “learning to perceive social, political, and economic contradictions, and to take action against the oppressive elements of reality”(2000, p35). Freire’s work on the power of literacy and on the personally and socially transforming power of radically informed social activism has much to offer the work of critical librarianship. His philosophy of dialogical pedagogy informs the socially responsible library teaching I advocate here.
I am acutely aware of the privileged position from which I experience the world as a university-educated, property owning, Caucasian, urban, middle-class, male, professional and citizen of one of the world’s wealthiest nations. And so while I have no intention of belittling the hardships experienced by the most marginalized in the world, I think it is important to recognize that, to some extent, we are all oppressed by something, even the oppressors. As a result we stand to grow by recognizing our oppression and engaging in the process of overcoming it. Through dialogue the student teacher “contradiction” is reconciled “so that both are simultaneously teachers and students” (Freire, 2000, p.119). By modelling dialogue with students we can help them learn to do this with others both in school and throughout their lives. The respect this demonstrates is the foundation of the liberation of students into the world and a radical recognition of the sanctity of the process of their continuing emergence as human beings. What better foundation could we expect to construct for their engagement with their own and the world’s needs, wants and aspirations?
“Be the change”: Examples of global education in school libraries
At a recent Ontario Library Association Super Conference, a group of seven teacher-librarians were inspired by passionate keynote speeches from both Craig Kielburger (founder of Free the Children) and Stephen Lewis (UN Special Envoy on HIV and AIDS in Africa), describing the plight of Africa’s children. They committed to “put into practice the words of Gandhi” (“You must be the change you want to see in the world”) declaring:
It is our vision to educate a generation of children who will see it as their responsibility to protect the human rights of all; who know that they can and do make a difference in this world. (Be the Change, 2006)
To that end, they designed a series of lessons and units for kindergarten through grade 12 organized around the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child that promote active, global citizenship. In keeping with their focus on the Gandhian quote, they include suggestions for action with each lesson.
But while “Be the Change” provides an inspiring example of what is possible when teacher-librarians take the initiative and highlight issues that are underrepresented in the mass media, school curricula and school library collections, the lessons posted on the website to date stop short of leading students to critical awareness of the institutions and processes that perpetuate underdevelopment and poverty. Remaining authentic as teachers while negotiating a public space with students to explore radical criticisms of the established social, political and economic order is challenging. The authors of “Be the Change” may have wisely decided to concentrate initially on less contentious approaches and issues and yet the absence of this level of engagement with the issues means that students may develop partial understandings, which can be destructive if used as a basis for action, or become frustrated as they seek to explore these issues to their roots. Lessons encouraging students to critically examine the policies of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the global arms trade are noticeably absent, yet they could be dealt with effectively by senior secondary students. Some of these issues are successfully addressed by various projects in B.C. developed by the Victoria International Development Education Association (VIDEA, n.d.) and the youth run organization “Check Your Head” (CYH, n.d.).
Global Citizens for Change is a website project initiated by Canadian Crossroads International, Youth Challenge International, The International Institute for Global Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and the Toronto District School Board. This initiative differs in style and scope from “Be the Change.” It addresses an older audience and is not specifically designed to address curricular outcomes in information literacy. As do many of the lessons provided by “Be the Change” the Global Citizens for Change project makes good use of lesson activities that engage students in meaningful and transforming dialogue, but ultimately Global Citizens for Change relies on its main aim of encouraging students to volunteer overseas in international development projects for deep transformative learning. The stated objective is “learning more about the issues we care about through action” based on “a synergy between global education and international development. The first involves learning about the world and our impact on it, the second is about acting on that knowledge to help destroy inequities and build a sustainable future for all (italics in the original)” (Global Citizens for Change, n.d.)
Each of these projects offers special strengths: the integration of provincial curricula and information literacy in “Be the Change”; transforming dialogue and a substantial commitment to personal action supported by Global Citizens for Change; and critical examination of global forces in the work of VIDEA and “Check Your Head.” But none of these projects approach the challenge of organizing the engagement of groups of school libraries in this process, or promoting the use of the school library as a locus of student organization within the school to address these issues. This should not be held as a criticism of these programs, since this was not their intent. The role of school libraries is only specifically addressed by “Be the Change” and the absence of these broader goals in that project should not undermine the value of what that project has achieved. Building from all of these projects will enable other school libraries to begin to coordinate larger efforts and these will benefit enormously from the groundwork laid by these projects.
Conclusion
By drawing on the strengths of existing programs school libraries can nurture students’ understanding of their world and in doing so realize their potential as upholders of intellectual freedom and social responsibility. Canadians have a part to play in helping the world achieve the following U.N. Millennium Development Goals:
- eradicate extreme poverty and hunger,
- achieve universal primary education,
- promote gender equality and empower women,
- reduce child mortality,
- improve maternal health,
- combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases,
- ensure environmental sustainability, and
- develop a global partnership for development.
Playing our part depends on broad public awareness and a deep understanding of the needs these goals are designed to address. If in teaching we fail to focus on the millions of struggling people marginalized from the benefits of global capitalism that make our lives so materially rich, we deny the children we teach an accurate understanding of their world and diminish the possibility of a world that is safer, more respectful of human dignity and responsive to the needs of everyone.
When students open the doors to their school libraries in Canada, they can open themselves to a greater awareness of the lives of children around the world, a deeper understanding of our wealth and how it is generated and how we can all make a difference globally. As they explore this broader understanding of their world students will begin to understand the prevalence of relative material poverty and its impact on the health, education and livelihood of children in the South. Our students will appreciate and be inspired by the resilience and resourcefulness of those who struggle under the inequitable distribution of wealth and develop a better understanding of their own options for action. This cannot but help result in a better understanding of their world, a richer understanding of themselves, and greater justice for all.
References
British Columbia Library Association.(n.d.). Statement on Intellectual Freedom. Retrieved July 27th 2006 from http://www.bcla.bc.ca/default.aspx (go to Advocacy/Policy and select Intellectual Freedom)
British Columbia, Ministry of Education. (2005). British Columbia performance standards: Social responsibility. Retrieved July 24th, 2006 from http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/perf_stands/social _resp.htm
British Columbia, Ministry of Education. (2005). Civic studies 11: Integrated resource package 2005. Victoria, BC: Author.
British Columbia, Ministry of Education. (2005). Social studies 11: Integrated resource package 2005. Victoria, B.C.: Author.
British Columbia, Ministry of Education. (1996). Social studies 8-10: Integrated resource package 1996. Victoria, B.C.: Author.
Canadian Library Association. (1985). Statement on intellectual freedom. Retrieved July 12th, 2006 from http://www.cla.ca/about/intfreed.htm
Check your head: The youth global education network. (n.d.). Retrieved July 27th 2006 from http://www.checkyourhead.org/index.html
Clipsham D. ed. (n.d.). Guide to infusing global education into the curriculum. Retrieved July 26, 2006 from http://www.global-ed.org/curriculum-guide.doc
Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum Press.
Global Citizens for Change. (n.d.): Global education. Retrieved July 25th 2006 from http://www.citizens4change.org/global/global_education_home.htm
Government of Canada. (1982). Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – Schedule B Constitution Act 1982. Retrieved July 12th, 2006 from http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/charter/index.html
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. (2006, January 17) Internet manifesto, the. Retrieved July 1, 2006 from http://www.ifla.org/III/misc/im-e.htm
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. (2006, July 10). Beacons of the information society: Alexandria proclamation on information literacy and lifelong learning. Retrieved July 27th 2006, from http://www.ifla.org/III/wsis/BeaconInfSoc.html
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (2006, March 28). School library manifesto. Retrieved June 8th, 2006 from http://www.ifla.org/VII/s11/pubs/manifest.htm
Norris, P. (2001). Digital divide: Civic engagement, information poverty and the Internet worldwide. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Ontario School Library Association. (2005). Be the Change. Retrieved July 25th 2006 from http://www.accessola.com/osla/bethechange/home.html
R. v. Keegstra, [1990] 3 S.C.R. 697. Retrieved July 13th 2006 from http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/csc-scc/en/pub/1990/vol3/html/1990scr3_0697.html
United Nations Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (1989). Convention on the rights of the child. Retrieved July 13th, 2006 from http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/k2crc.htm
United Nations. United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Retrieved July 27th, 2006 from http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
Victoria International Development Education Association.(n.d.). Global education. Retrieved July 27th 2006 from http://www.videa.ca/global/
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