Involvement Can Be Wellspring of HopeResourcesRebecca JankeAs a daughter of a World War II Vet, I know that even when we "win the war," the war never ends. I lived with a post-traumatic stress father. His military job had been to identify and bag dead bodies for burial back in the states. As a loving and humane person first and solider second, he couldn't shake the fact that each person was somebody's husband, father, uncle, nephew or brother and he crumbled under all the broken dreams that lay in their dried blood and limbs no longer attached. With an honorable discharge, a mental hospital became his home where his main task was to learn to swallow food again and regain his sanity. Thankfully, he was successful enough, after a three-year stay, to marry, have a family and hold a steady job. However, his war experience became our experience in countless ways. That story would fill this article and many more, but I share this with you because we are in a time of war again and kids, who experienced what I did or more, hang up their coats every day in your classroom. Some children have family members who won't be coming home. Others have family members returning who have seen and done things that make it too difficult to return to "normal" and/or their physically maimed bodies will not allow them to provide for their families as they once did. Still others have families actively working on peace campaigns and children may argue over who is "right" and who is "wrong" regarding our involvement in Iraq. Add to these children who don't have direct involvement but hear ongoing discussions around the family table and the nightly news, and we find our entire student population is struggling in some form or another with war and terrorism. What's a child to think and what kind of indirect preparation is taking place in formulating the citizens of the future when all we seem to be able to do is "Go to War" when threats, real or imagined, are looming at our door? What are, if any, the alternatives to war? Who is talking about them? What would it mean to "Go to Peace" when there is trouble in the world? In times of despair and worry, one of the most important antidotes for children's fears and concerns is the active exploration of the following: . who is working on alternatives . where are they located . what has been discovered . how can they be supported in their efforts . what role can I play in creating a world I want to live in . what ideas do my friends and I have for creating a more just and peaceful world . human rights and peace education I began listing resources in last issue of the Public School Montessorian. Here are some additional resources and opportunities to explore these avenues together. The Nonviolent Peace Force This group trains individuals around the world to do third-party intervention before a conflict has erupted into war. Children who come from military families and want to serve their country can set their hopes on becoming a nonviolent solider. Their training manuals are a wonderful place to begin to learn about nonviolent social change strategies and teach many of them to your students now. www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org The Culture of Peace News Network - USA The Culture of Peace News Network (CPNN)-USA is a network composed of people who believe in the values of the eight peace keys: 1) Respect all life 2) Reject violence 3) Share with others 4) Listen to understand 5) Preserve the planet 6) Rediscover solidarity 7) Work for women's equality and 8) Participate in democracy. People everywhere and every day are quietly helping to create a culture of peace based on these values but the commercial media often overlooks their actions. CPNN is a place to find this news. www.cpnn-usa.org Peace Pledge Union Project A number of groups concerned about the lack of peace education in schools drafted a document that can be used for campaign and community groups, as a framework for educational policy-makers and as a tool for curriculum planners. www.ppu.org.uk/learn/peaceed/pe_ednetcurriculum.html Cultivating Peace This on-line curriculum was developed by Leah Wells, a former student of Coleman McCarthy, who was a journalist for the Washington Post and teaches nonviolence in schools. Leah, like others of his students who can no longer look at life the same after taking his class, has devoted her career to being a peace educator. www.cultivatingpeace.com Swackhamer Peace Essay The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation's Swackhamer Peace Essay Contest was established by the late Gladys Swackhamer in honor of her parents to encourage young people to think and act for peace. The contest is open to high school students worldwide, and winners receive $1,500 for first place, $1,000 for second place and $500 for third place. Let your younger students know what these teens have to say. In 2003 the topic was "How would a Peace Education course in your school benefit students, the school, the community and the world? What lessons and issues do you think should be included in such a course?" The 2004 topic was, "If you were invited to give a nationally televised speech to the American people, including the President and the Congress, what would you say to convince them that the United States should take a leadership role in the global elimination of nuclear weapons?" Visit the website more details and to download guidelines and past winning essays. www.wagingpeace.org/menu/programs/awards-&-contests/swack-contest/index.htm Global Source Network This group offers Bridging Classrooms and Communities institutes for elementary and secondary educators, administrators, curriculum coordinators, school teams, graduate students and other K-12 professionals. They provide training for young people in bearing witness to contemporary world issues facing humanity and the planet and fostering responsible, global citizenship in a world of unprecedented interdependence, challenge and possibility. Stories of war, countries in conflict, the effects of globalization, health crisis, poverty and immigration feature prominently in the media, civil society, government and higher education, but teaching and learning about these realities is often uncharted territory in K-12 education. The Global Source Network facilitates a professional education experience designed to encourage deeper teaching and learning about the world around us in ways that foster global awareness, highly informed social knowledge and active civic engagement. www.GlobalSourceNetwork.org Children's Fears of War, Terrorism This publication from Association for Childhood International explains the issues that young children experience in a climate of war and terrorism and how to address them developmentally. www.acei.org "It's the law of love that rules mankind. Had violence, i.e. hate, ruled us, we should have become extinct long ago." -Gandhi Rebecca Janke, a former Montessori teacher and owner of Hudson (WI) Children's House, is co-founder and executive director of Growing Communities for Peace, a non-profit organization specializing in training K-12 peace educators and providing human rights and peace education resources to teachers, parents and children at www.humanrightsandpeacestore.org. She is the co-author of Peacemaker's A,B,C's for Young Children and The Compassionate Rebel which shows how ordinary people are working for nonviolence and social change. She serves on the Executive Board of Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers and can be reached at pe...@umn.edu. |
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