Step 2. Educate yourself
Learn as much as you can, for instance, about the barriers (such as child labor) preventing more than 100 million children from attending school. To educate others and achieve a goal, you have to educate yourself first.

"You want to be the most educated, the most brilliant, . . . the most creative individual in the world because then you can give it away."
- Leo Buscaglia

Remember,
Knowledge is power!!

How do I start my research?
Read related articles in newspapers and magazines. Collect them, making sure that you document the newspaper/magazine and date for future reference. Watch a related television show.

Visit the library. Beforehand, make a list of questions you would like answered. For example, if your issue is Education for All, you might ask:
1) Do all children have the right to education?
2) How many children do not attend school in the world?
3) How does child labor affect a child's education?
4) What are some of the biggest barriers to achieving Education for All children?

If your issue is Child Labor, you might ask:
1) What is child labor?
2) How many children work in the world today?
3) Where do children work? In which countries/regions? Where do the most children work?
4) What kinds of work are children doing? In what industries do they work?
5) What are the "worst forms of child labor"?
6) Why do children work? Who is responsible for their working?
7) What are some of the consequences of children working?
8) Is child labor so bad?

Research strategies
1. Question all information
Read articles and reports by a variety of authors. Do not blindly trust everything you read. Some resources might be biased, inaccurate, or even false. Discern between facts and opinions.

2. Consider all points of view
Make sure that you have the whole story. Look at the issue from different viewpoints and consider all arguments so that you have a well-rounded perspective.

3. Focus on one issue at a time
You will come across lots of topics that interest you. You might do some quick exploring, but concentrate on one issue at a time so that you will end up achieving more.

Not sure what to read? - Explore some basic books.
Grades 3-7 (ages 8-12)
Grades 6-10 (ages 11-15)
Grades 7 (ages 12) and Up

Grades 3-7 (ages 8-12)
The Carpet Boy's Gift (fiction)
Author: Pegi Peitz Shea
Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers, 2003
Content: Using color illustrations, this fictional story honors the legacy of Iqbal Masih, who had escaped from a carpet factory, and provides an introduction to the subject of bonded labor.
Target audience: Grades 3-6 (ages 8-11)
Access information: http://www.tilburyhouse.com/Children%27s%20Frames/child_carpet_fr.html

Exploitation of Children
Author: Judith Ennew
Publisher: Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers, 1997
Content: Visuals, case studies and quotations present an international perspective on issues relating to the exploitation of children, such as poverty, child labor in towns and cities, child labor in agriculture, hidden forms of child labor, and the sexual exploitation of children. Describes children's organizational efforts to stop the exploitation of children.
Target audience: Grades 4-6 (ages 9-11)
Access information: http://www.bestwebbuys.com/Exploitation_of_
Children-ISBN_0817245464.html?isrc=b-search

Child Slavery in Modern Times
Author: Shirlee Newman
Publisher: Franklin Watts, a division of Grolier Publishing, Inc., 2000
Content: Contains an overview of contemporary child slavery with photographs of children working in homes, factories and fields all over the world. Discusses famous cases of child slavery that have been highlighted in the news. Explains how children end up in slavery and documents cases of children who escaped and how they did it.
Target audience: Grades 4-7 (ages 9-12)
Access information: http://half.ebay.com/cat/buy/
prod.cgi?cpidEQ5042240AMPdomain_idEQ1856AMPmeta_idEQ1&aid=2678060&pid=910840

Grades 6-10 (ages 11-15)
Iqbal Masih & the Crusaders Against Child Slavery
Author: Susan Kuklin
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company, 1998
Content: Recounts Iqbal's odyssey, discusses child labor worldwide where children work in carpet factories, brick kilns and workshops making silver jewelry, shows how we are all implicated in the global practice of child labor, and how we can all work together to end it.
Target audience: Grades 6-8 (ages 11-13)
Access information: http://www.henryholtchildrensbooks.com/search.htm

Child Labor, a Global Crisis
Author: Kathlyn Gay
Publisher: Millbrook Press, 1998
Content: Examines child labor practices throughout the world within a historical context and discusses ways of dealing with the problem.
Target audience: Grades 6-10 (ages 11-15)
Access information: Millbrook titles will soon be available at http://www.lernerbooks.com/cgi-bin/books.sh/lernerpublishing.p

Face the Facts: Child Labor
Author: Kaye Stearman
Publisher: Raintree Steck-Vaughn Publishers, 2003
Content: Engaging photographs and text document a reflective and in-depth look at the different types of child labor throughout the world. Explores different points of view about child labor and considers the main areas of debate. Explores what is being done about the problem, and what you can do to help stop the exploitation of children.
Target audience: Grades 6-8 (ages 11-13)
Access information: http://www.raintreelibrary.com/products/title.asp?id=0739868489

Grades 7 (ages 12) and Up
Marie - In the Shadow of the Lion (fiction based on fact)
Author: Jerry Piasecki
Publisher: United Nations, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 2001
Content: Tells the story of thirteen-year-old Marie and fourteen-year-old Joseph whose lives as they know them and hopes for the future are destroyed by conflict in their country.
Target audience: Grades 7-10 (ages 12-15)
Access information: United Nations Bookshop, e-mail bookshop@un.org or call 1-800-553-3210 or 1-212-963-7680. Download PDF: http://www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/childsoldiers/whatsgoingon/Marie.pdf

Stolen Dreams: Portraits of Working Class Children (nonfiction)
Author: David L. Parker
Publisher: Lerner Publications Company, 1998
Content: Photographs and text document working children especially in Nepal, India, Bangladesh, and Mexico. Includes a chapter on Iqbal Masih, a child labor activist from Pakistan.
Target audience: reading level - grade 6 (age 11); interest level - Grades 5-12 (ages 10-17)
Access information: http://www.lernerbooks.com/cgi-bin/books.sh/lernerpublishing.p?
navaction=SearchResults.w&navvalue=Search

Listen to Us: the World's Working Children
Author: Jane Springer
Publisher: Groundwood Books, 1997
Content: Photographs, statistics and testimonies of former child laborers provide a comprehensive study of the worst forms of child labor in developing and industrialized countries. Explores children's rights and how to respond to the situation of children working.
Target audience: Grades 7 (ages 12) and up
Access information: http://www.pgw.com/catalog/

More extensive resource list, including additional publications, videos, and curricula for teachers.

Internet: Surf the web. Look frequently at www.iccle.org for updated information and the web sites of other organizations dedicated to reporting on child labor. If you find some interesting information, send it to us. It might end up in the e-newsletter.

Wonderful web sites
BBC Children's Rights
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
Equal Exchange
International Labour Organization's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO IPEC)
ILO DC's Classroom on Child Labor
Global March Against Child Labor
Human Rights Watch
Scholastic News on Child Labor around the World
South Asian Coalition on Child Servitude
The World Bank
Unicef
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): Education for All

Fantastic films and dynamic documentaries:.

Stolen Childhoods (86 minutes)
Producers: Galen Films, Inc. and Romano Productions
Content: Depicts the problem of child labor in seven countries (including the United States). Child slaves and laborers tell their own stories.
Target audience: Grades 7 (ages 12) and up
Access information: http://www.galenfilms.com/html/MasterFrameset.html

Involve TEACHERS/parents: Ask teachers and parents questions about how to organize your group. Adults may offer guidance and support on educational materials, awareness strategies, fundraising activities, etc.

• Ask a teacher to invite a guest speaker on child labor, e.g. on Labor Day.
• Refer your teacher to Beth at ICCLE (blindley@iccle.org) to learn about excellent existing curricula on child labor.
• Share your ideas to address child labor with your teacher.
• Ask your teacher to help you organize around child labor.

Write to or call Human Rights Organizations: For example, the International Labor Organization, ICCLE (202-778-6370), or Human Rights Watch, to learn more about the violation of children's rights and innovative initiatives to stop child labor. Find out how you can get involved in promoting and protecting children's rights.