Childrens rights and teacher advocacy

The National Committees in UNICEF have actively participated in addressing every aspect of CRE successfully in one or two places. Concerning children's rights and adequate learning, while there are widespread opportunities for children, it is still not an entitlement in most parts of the world. When programme entitlements exist, it is quite common for links to be established between the rights contained in programme and certain responsibilities, when it should actually be linked to the United Nations Convention on Rights of the Child. This increases the chances of children learning about the rights without learning about the CRC; plus, they will be able to understand what being a duty-bearer or right-holder entails (two major aspects of the child right initiative) (Jerome, Emerson, Lundy, & Orr, 2015).

Understanding Children's Rights from a Teacher's Perspective

Educationalists have always had a dedicated professional sense of responsibility towards the children under their care. They show much concern about the safety, happiness, health and overall wellbeing of the children under their jurisdiction. These educationalists are well aware of their roles as role models in the lives of the children under their tutelage and the fact that the children may be looking up to them for support, protection and care (Crosson - Tower, 2003).

i. Personal Commitments

For most educationalists, an in-depth devotion to the overall well-being of the children under their care is part of their professional responsibility. This personal devotion is invaluable owing to the fact that without it, it becomes impossible to carry out effective child abuse and child neglect prevention and treatment.

ii. Reacting to Physical Abuse

In the case of child abuse, educationalists noticed both behavioural and physical symptoms and certain family models that, when amalgamated, acted as pointers to the occurrence of an abuse or a possible exposure to abuse (which include hearing, observation, domestic violence intervention, or subsequently having negative behaviours and fears to deal with, which according to some states amount to child maltreatment).

The challenge of the rights of children with regards to future policies is how to translate from specific pleading and support to major rights of children as contained in institutions and policies across board. This implies the institution of the right of children both in the ideologies of civil society organizations and local authorities. To most people, it is easier to see children as the vulnerable population that needs all the care and protection they can get, rather than see them as citizens who possess the right to stand for their own rights and voice out their own views. However, if we accept that children are entitled to a home, an identity, to quality education or to protection from all forms of abuse, we are simply consenting to an approach that is right-based, and ultimately to the position of accepting children as citizens in their own legal rights. Once this is done, we must recognize their rights for self-determination and participation (Thomas, 2011).

Child Advocacy

1979 was termed the International Year of the Child. During the UN Convention that year, the Polish delegates submitted a proposal to the United Nations General Assembly, on the need for the institution of an international treaty targeted at protecting the human rights of children all over the world.

"Every child should be entitled to the right for safety, adequate care and respect. Australia, in their right as a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, owes Australian children adequate safety/protection, make services available for the children to develop mentally, socially and physically to enable them maximize their potentials and equip them for effective participation in global issues (NFPAC, 2009)

Teacher as the Children's Advocate

With the guidance from the staff of the Parent Leadership Network, I started getting a much clearer understanding of the correlation existing between effective teaching practices and the elements of healthy partnership with parents. Moreover, I understood what the involvement of parents could mean for their children.

Anyone who promotes or supports the interests of others is an advocate, and that is what a teacher does when he/she involves both the students and their parents as active collaborators in a classroom community focused on achieving positive knowledge. Anyone who promotes a particular cause is also an advocate, and in my own opinion, every teacher should play the role of an advocate in terms of bringing the children and their parents together as partners towards achieving a common educational goal. They should also act as active promoters of this noble educational cause; these efforts must be embedded into daily classroom practices on a day-to-day basis. Some of the students and their parents will be easily reachable, prone to engagement, easily recognized, and enthusiastic about the whole classroom project -- owing solely to whom they are naturally. There will also be certain group of students and parents who will prove to be the exact opposite of the first group I mentioned. It is my belief that the teacher holds the responsibility of casting his/her net wide enough to pull in both students and parents who have the natural tendency to engage in the project and those who would resist the conventional engagement methods (Ridnouer, 2016).

Responding to Children's Behaviour

In addition to physical activities, several factors have emerged from new studies that might protect children from improper care and promote more positive results (Public Health England, 2013). Some of these factors are:

i. Maternal health -- the[[:blank:]]wellbeing of children and the wellbeing of their mothers were found to be intertwined (this does not make the influence of their fathers' wellbeing less important, but the study provided very little data on the specific influence of the fathers' wellbeing on the children's wellbeing)

ii. Wellbeing in families and family relationships-getting along with members of one's family has been linked to increased good moods and reduced anxiety in children, and viewed as keys to the wellbeing of the child by the parents. Having a good time with one's family, especially during the weekends corresponds to increased happiness in children and reduced anxiety.

iii. Having several school friends- the happiness of children within the age of 7 were found to be influenced by the number of friends a child has at school. Children between the ages of 11& 15 were found to experience minimal wellbeing as they are always in low spirits due to unhealthy relationships with their peers in school.

Children with whom educationists experienced more difficulty managing when they were between ages 3-4 have much higher chances of continuously exhibiting behavioural difficulties all through their years in high school and even into adolescence. The following factors were identified by this review as indicators of possible behavioural problems that could persist from childhood into adulthood (Earler, 2013):

i. Spread - A situation where several behavioural problems are present

ii. Pervasiveness - A situation where problems show up under different contexts iii. A dysfunctional or distressed family background

Improving Communication

Different interventions and services have been developed with the aim of facilitating communication; aiding children to manage transitions better; facilitation of support network; managing and reducing conflict effectively; and encouraging effective parenting through parenting support. However, most of these services have not been evaluated with regards to how effective they are on each child. Certain proofs exist in support of the effectiveness of the interventions that have been designed to minimize depressive conditions among mothers to the barest minimum. Same evidence also prove that children can largely benefit from support programs offered in schools. However, most children are still not comfortable discussing their family issues in school (Mooney, Oliver, & Smith, 2009).

Familial and Peer Attachments

Insecure attachments lead to higher level of both behavioural and emotional problems, mostly in families with several other problems to deal with. On the other hand, secure attachments provide adequate protective effect. Children whose attachments have been identified as disorganized are mostly from families with histories of both social and economic woes/difficulties, or sometimes children who have always been subjected to maltreatments. Such children stand higher risks of experiencing pre-school behavioural difficulties; though their dysfunctional attachment condition might be just one out of several risk factors to which they have suffered exposure (Earler, 2013). Both the behaviours and emotions of children are affected by difficulties they experience with their mental health, and can always give the child, carers, parents, and school deep concerns. Early identification of the mental health condition of children and the difficulties they are experiencing and early provision of useful professional support can go a long way to make the whole difference in the life of these children. It can also contribute to the successful resolution of difficulties associated with children's mental health before much damage, thereby improving the overall quality of both the children and their families. Both early identification and adequate responses are vital and equips children with the needed skills to enable them cope positively with its benefits and mental wellbeing that lasts a lifetime (Dept of Health and Ageing, 2013).

References

Crosson - Tower, C. (2003). The Role of Educators in Preventing and Responding to Child Abuse and NEglect. Washington DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Dept of Health and Ageing. (2013). How Mental Health affects Children. Commonwealth of Australia.

Earler, J. (2013). Emotional and behavioural problems. In E. Jessie, Growing up in the UK -- Ensuring a healthy future for our children (pp. 121-148).

Jerome, L., Emerson, L., Lundy, L., & Orr, K. (2015). Teaching and Learning about Child Rights. Belfast: UNICEF.

Mooney, A., Oliver, C., & Smith, M. (2009). Impact of Family Breakdown on Children's Well-being. London: Institute of Education - University of London.

NFPAC. (2009). National Framework for Protecting Australia's Children 2009-2020.

Public Health England. (2013). How healthy behaviour supports children's wellbeing. london: Public Health England.

Ridnouer, K. (2016). Introduction: The Teacher as Everyday Advocate. Retrieved from ASCD: http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/109009/chapters/[email protected]

Thomas, N. (2011). Children's Rights: Policy Into Practice. Lancashire: Centre for Children and Young People.