Core
Values:
Respect and Dignity
Human
rights education is based on the values of:
We value
respect and dignity.
Respect
and dignity clarify the kind of love we express through
our actions as early childhood educators. Love in this context
is more than an emotion, as it is an expression of action.
Respect and
the treatment of others with dignity are expressed in the actions
of love.
We believe that all persons have an absolute
right to be treated with respect and dignity, solely on the
basis of being human. When we treat each other with respect
and dignity we treat one another as equals in shared humanity.
Respect and dignity for and between persons requires that
we listen to each other, that we tolerate even those whose
views and values we don't share, and that we find ways to
exist peacefully in community with each other. Respect and
human dignity are the products of universal love.
Respect
and dignity are also about constraining power. Respecting
the dignity of others doesn't require agreement,
or even tolerance, of the ideas and values of others but
does require respectful and dignified treatment of even
those whose values and views we disagree. The rights
to democratic
participation, economic justice, freedom of thought and
expression, freedom from want, and freedom from torture
all stem from
the belief that every person is born worthy of
respect and human dignity.
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