Human Rights Questionnaire
Compare student answers with those from a national youth survey (see below), and a lively discussion is sure to follow.
1. If you were giving the United States a "report card" on how we are doing when it comes to the following issues, would you give the country an "A," "B," "C," "D" or "F"?
a. Providing young people with access to a quality education
b. Respecting one another
c. Ensuring equal treatment and equal pay for women in the workplace
d. Helping poor people
e. Protecting the environment
f. Being tolerant of people who have different value systems or lifestyles
g. Providing access to affordable healthcare
h. Combating racism and prejudice
2. From your point of view, how serious is the overall human rights situation in the United States?
a. ___ A very serious problem
b. ___ A fairly serious problem
c. ___ A minor problem
d. ___ Not a problem
e. ___ Not sure
3. Thinking about the human rights situation in countries all over the world, how would you rank the United States?
a. ___ One of the very best
b. ___ Above average
c. ___ A little below average
d. ___ Near the bottom
e. ___ Not sure
4. As far as you know, is there an official document that sets forth human rights for everyone worldwide?
a. ___ Yes, there is an official document. Name: ____________________________
b. ___ No, there is not an official document.
c. ___ Not sure
5. From your perspective as a student, do you feel that you are or are not learning things in school that will help your generation to care about and deal with the issues and problems facing our society? Questions selected from a national survey developed by Peter Hart Research Associates, Inc., for Human Rights USA.
a. ___ Yes, I am learning to deal with societal problems in school.
b. ___ No, I am not learning to deal with societal problems in school.
c. ___ Not sure.
For more information about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and a copy of the full document, visit THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS: A LIVING DOCUMENT
Answer Key and Discussion Questions
1. (Results are presented as grade-point averages, with A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1, F=0. For this question only, adult responses were included in the results.) a. 2.6; b. 2.0; c. 2.6; d. 2.1; e. 2.1; f. 2.2; g. 2.3; h. 2.1
- How do your answers differ from those of the national survey?
- What are your opinions based on?
- Where do you think the solution to these problems lies: with you, your family, your local community, the government?
2. a. 9%; b. 39%; c. 43%; d. 9%; e. 0%
3. a. 35%; b. 38%; c. 21%; d. 4%; e. 1%
- How do your answers for #2 and #3 differ from those of the national survey?
- What is your opinion based on? Specify sources of information.
- How do you define human rights?
4. a. 16% (UDHR 4%, Bill of Rights 2%, US Constitution 2%, Bible 3%, Other 1%, Not sure 4%); b. 59%; c. 25%
- Why do you think so few people know about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?
- For those of you who knew about the UDHR, how did you learn about it?
- After researching the history of the UDHR, read and discuss the provisions of the document.
5. a. 65%; b. 30%; c. 5%
- What things are you already learning in school that will help you deal with societal problems?
- What things would you like to learn in school that are not presently being addressed?
- What things do you feel should be addressed in other settings, and why?
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