Telling the Peacemaker Story

Resources

Rebecca Janke

"Whoever tells the stories defines the culture." Terry Tempest Williams

In reflecting on this quote we have to ask, "What kind of culture are we perpetuating with our daily media diet? How can we have some influence as to what kinds of stories are told that help build a culture of peace and nonviolence?

Rewriting Fiction

My first attempt with students, back when the Ninja Turtles were popular, was to ask them if they thought the Ninja Turtles were peacemakers. "No," they said with a resounding voice. Because research shows that children mimic popular culture (s)heroes and refuse to step out of the "script" TV writers have placed them), I gave the children a startling announcement and said, "You have the power to change the story. We get to do anything we want with a Ninja Turtle story and turn them into peacemakers. What ideas do you have?"

The hum we witness in the classroom when children are focused and fulfilled with their work took place for several days as they drew and wrote their ideas. Four-year old Tony became our in-house resident playwright for the remainder of the school year by starting his day with this work.

Their ideas ranged from the Ninja Turtles being tired of living in a dirty sewer system under the city and cleaning it up to taking the Ninja Turtle sword and cutting the pizza in equal amounts so everyone had something to eat and then proclaiming, "Cow-a-bunga!"

They loved their new found power as thinkers and writers of non-violent action. Eric, a lover of guns, transformed his drawing of bombs and shoot-outs to a gun that emitted peace bubbles. When the bubbles landed on anyone they became an instant peacemaker.

The children in our classrooms today are the storytellers, playwrights, TV producers, movie directors, etc. of tomorrow. This is where our power lies-teaching the importance, intrigue and creativity of non-violent action and problem-solving in the world of fiction.

Moving From Fiction to Nonfiction

One day I asked my class, "What ideas do you have that would allow people to defend themselves without shooting or killing someone?" thinking they would respond from an imaginary world of magic. Instead, Katy said, "I think they should have trap doors in front of each teller's window at the bank and if a robber tries to rob them, the teller pushes a button and the robber falls into a netted trap until the police come."

A few nights later 60 Minutes aired a segment on bank robberies and explained the dilemma of not having security guards in the bank because to pay them would cost more than what is typically taken during a robbery. Katy's idea all of a sudden sounded like a viable nonviolent solution!

Now that the students were curious about finding answers to the larger questions of how problems could be solved with nonviolent action, we started a nonfiction media hunt. We pored and paged through newspapers, old magazines, calendars and books to find examples that we thought were funny, inspiring, smart, and interesting. Whenever a student found one he/she would share it in our closing circle of the day and either put it on our Non-Violent Action/Peacemaking Bulletin Board or our Big Book of Peace 3-ring binder.

Telling Our Own Stories

True transformation occurs when we are able to tell our own stories of non-violent action and peacemaking endeavors. Placing ourselves in a story is a powerful experience and to have our story told to others actually helps build a culture of peace and nonviolence. Idea after idea becomes readily available to the community as the stories are shared.

Each one of my students was given a homemade journal (writing paper enclosed with an attractive wallpaper cover, free from an interior decorator) where they could reflect on a topic for the day, draw, and write their story. On Fridays they were invited to share with the rest of the group and at the end of the year we published our collection and each student received a copy as a graduation gift. Here is a partial list of questions that help children see the active role they play in building a culture of peace and nonviolence:

. Something you've done for your parents or other family members

. Something good and useful that you often do

. Something you have shared

. Any support you have given to another person

. Something you carried through to the end

. Something about yourself that you've improved

. Something good that you've done about the environment

. Some kind of considerate act that you have done

. A habit you want to break that you have made progress with

. Something you did where you made your very best effort

. One of your peaceful places you like to spend time

. One of your peaceful smells

. A peaceful wish for the world

. Invention that would make the world a more peaceful place

. Something unfair/how I think it could be made fair

. A time I stood up for someone/or someone stood up for me

. Something I did for an animal

. One thing I like about my friend(s)

. My mom/dad was a peacemaker when

. I like it when my family

The day we did "support you have given to another person," two six-year olds shared that when they hear an ambulance go by when they are playing outside, they sit down on the curb and say a prayer asking that the person will get good care.

Children have a need to give love as much as they need to receive love. When we provide an opportunity for them to share their "peacemaking lives" it is astounding to hear all the things taking place. Maria Montessori said children are born as spiritual embryos and have a natural capacity for great feats of love, empathy and understanding. After the age of six their capacity begins to lessen unless it is actively nourished. Working with our stories and the stories of others allows us to nurture these natural abilities.

Additional fiction and nonfiction peacemaking stories can be found at www.humanrightsandpeacestore.org where we have compiled resources according to age and topic.

If you have a peacemaking lesson or story to share, e-mail it and I will get it to others who have signed up to be on the Growing Communities for Peace Education Network. If you would like to be a PEN contributor or recipient, e-mail me at pe...@umn.edu.

Rebecca Janke is the former owner and director of Hudson Children's House and is now the Executive Director of Growing Communities for Peace, a non-profit peace education organization serving PreK-12 teachers, parents and children. She is also a co-author of Peacemaker's A,B,C's for Young Children: A Guide for teaching conflict resolution with a peace table; The Compassionate Rebel: Energized by anger, motivated by love and Chicken Soup of the Soul: Stories for a Better World. She can be reached at 651-214-8282