Education for Peace and Sustainable Development

Talk at the UNESCO Seminar in Colombo

A.S.Balasooriya

Introduction to Education for Peace and Sustainable Development

Peace is the ultimate aspiration of mankind all over the world, despite all ethnic, cultural and other differences. Without peace, life loses its intrinsic meaning, beauty and dignity. This human aspiration is expressed in a variety of forms: poetical, artistic, spiritual, and so on across different cultures. I shall quote two such beautiful expressions. Nearly six thousand years ago, the Aryans who lived in the Sindhu valleys in India sang the following stanza, which we find in the Vedas ( in Yajurveda).

‘May there be Peace in heaven,

Peace in atmosphere,

Peace on earth,

Peace in waters,

Peace in plants and forests,

Peace in the forces of nature

Peace in the absolute Brahman

Peace in all things,

Peace in peace

May that peace be with me!’

Here in Sri Lanka we chant a peace evoking Buddhist stanza in all our important social events.

‘May the clouds give rain in proper time

And crops yield harvest

May the whole world be happy and hale

And the rulers be righteous!’

This stanza views peace as the total product of the balanced ecological cycles, as rain in proper time, abundance of foods from good harvests, happy and contended society and right governance. The concept of sustainable development is imbedded in the above aspiration.

What is peace?

The word peace has a broad spectrum of meanings, which cover all aspects of life. Peace is so pervasive to define. Peace is such pervasive phenomena no definition can be given without reducing its meaning. The capacity to understand peace depends upon our present level of civilization and stage of development of consciousness.

Our predicament is the ignorance of the significance of peace which makes man conflictant with everything that he comes across, be it ethnicity, language, culture, or religion. He becomes more divisive rather than being unitive. Division leads to conflict and conflict leads to mutual destruction. Peace provides the atmosphere, space as well as nourishment essential to grow towards human perfection.

Peace may be viewed as arising from three sources, namely from inner well being, social well being and harmony with Nature. This view can be diagrammed as :


Inner Peace+Social Peace+Peace with Nature+ Total Peace

Inner peace includes harmony and peace with oneself, good health, absence of inner conflict, sense of joy, freedom. content etc.

Social peace means peace between man and man, man and woman, conflict resolution and reconciliation, love, friendship, cooperation, tolerance of differences, democracy and respect for human dignity and so on

Peace with Nature implies harmony with natural environment, caring for mother planet.

Each aspect taken separately is fragmentary. Total peace is the product of inner peace, social peace and peace with nature. Total peace should be our guiding principle and aim of development.

What is Peace Education?

Education is a powerful means of changing human psyche. If we want peace it is obligatory that we have to educate people how to live peacefully. Consider what Dr. Maria Montessori said at the beginning of the last century;

‘Those who want war prepare young people for war: but those who want peace have neglected young children and adolescents so that they are unable to organize them for peace

It is obvious that children should be educated in the art of peaceful living but are we doing it sufficiently and consciously?

RD Laing (1978) points out:

‘A child born in UK stands a ten times greater chance of being admitted to a mental hospital than a university….We are driving mad our children more effectively than we are genuinely educating them’.

He offers a very agreeable definition of Peace Education::

‘Peace Education is an attempt to respond to conflict and violence on scales ranging from global and national to the local and personal. It is about exploring ways of creating more just and sustainable futures’.

In sum, he says that peace education is education’s response to social violence. It is an attempt to inculcate nonviolent ways of behavior, of conflict resolution, of communication in the coming generation. In essence, peace education’s function is to build a peace consciousness in children. It embraces all basic peace values, love, fairness, cooperation and reverence for human family and all forms of life on earth including sustainable development.

Schools can immensely gain by implementation of a good peace education programme. Research findings reports that peace education improves relations among school community, facilitate students to develop peaceful life skills such as cooperation, friendliness, non violent communication, listening, self discipline, creativity and so on which lead to their healthy social and emotional development. Above all it improves quality of both the teaching and learning in the school.

I would like to present some feedbacks, received from students after participating peace education sessions in schools. You can note the dynamic effects of experiencing peace on adolescents.

My mind bloomed like lotus

How beautiful it is?

How fragrant it is?

How can I put the beauty

Of the experience of peace into words?

W. Maduka Himansi ( age 14)

Carmel Girls’ Central School. Chilaw.

Anger vanished away from my mind.

W.K.Nalinda Sampathwickramasirii Age 15

Palawatta Ranjan High School. Buttala.

The pressure in me released like the air in a balloon.

Now I feel relaxed.

The burning within cooled like a pool of water.

My feet wounded from thorns

Pricked in the walk of life have healed.

D. Sandali Prashani Age 14

Carmel Girls’ Central School. Chilaw.

I discovered the calm, peace,freedom, and joy which laid hidden in me so far. .

The door into the chamber of gems opened within.

Metusela Prasadi Livera age 13

Carmel Girls’ Central School. Chilaw.

I realized that peace is the best medicine for healing worries within.

Shalini Babra Age 12

Carmel Girls’ Central School. Chilaw.

The mind which was lost

in home work ,

in tuition classes,

in negative remarks

in distrust, suspicion and condemnations

experienced a momentary peace.

which lightened up my way ahead.

Mary Rose Priyani Age 12

Carmel Girls’ Central School. Chilaw

My desire for learning heightened.

W.G. Kaushalya Weragama (Age 14)

Sirisiwali High school.

Matale

I realized the value of life through the experience of peace within

J. D Krishana Shahani (age 16)

Sirisiwali High school.

Matale

Children from grades 8 to 12 report that they experienced during the peace education session, an increased sense of courage to face challenges in life, heightened sensitiveness to nature, compassion for people suffering, an awakened mindfulness, discovery of intense joy within, heightened spiritual energy, sense of freedom, being opened and clarity of mind. I could not contain my surprise when reading what they had written impromptu within a few mutes time. Teachers too expressed their surprise at students’ newly gained insights and their poetical expressions so beautiful. May be that the intensity of the experience led to the poetic utterances.

The above mentioned effects of the experience of peace, in children are confirmed by many teachers who have attempted the same. For instance a teacher named Stephanie Herzog in California has published her experience of teaching peace in a book called ‘Joy In the Classroom’ She conducted short peace evoking meditations in her a primary class. And found that the practice made profound changes in children’s thinking, attitudes, way of behaviour. To quote from her:

‘Meditation is not introspection or a kind of thinking process but is just learning to be still. In the stillness we are able to perceive what is normally covered up in the clamor and the bustle and conflict of life’.

Stephanie Herzog (Page 6)

Joy in the Classroom

Herzog finds meditation a means of listening to one’s own self.

‘We do not give children much opportunity in our schools to listen to themselves. We spend a lot of time talking to tem, leading discussions and creating numerous stimulating external learning situations… But children who learn to listen to themselves become more certain of themselves’ (.page 1)

She found a joyous and friendly atmosphere arising in the classroom as children practised inner peace activities. The relationship between the students as well as the students and teacher became warm. Sense of care, creativity, ability to relax, imagination and learning achievement increased as a result.

A common mistake prevailing about peace education is that it is often thought as peace studies. The latter studies about the conflicts affecting world peace with a view of finding political solutions, where as the former , namely peace education is concerned of sane and holistic development of the child through experiential learning of peace in its various dimensions, cognitive, affective, interpersonal, intrapersonal and environmental.

The UNESCO Teachers’ Guide for Peace Education

To implement Peace education first and foremost, one needs a model curriculum which is meaningful not only educationally but also nationally and globally. Various educators have independently proposed various models. In this context UNESCO New Delhi has offered a Peace Education model curriculum most appropriate to the present context of the Globe, especially to the Asian Region

In year 2001, UNESCO convened a seminar of peace educators from South Asian Region with the purpose of reaching consensus and drafting a common peace curriculum taking into accounts the educational and national needs of their countries. A Teacher Guide to Peace Education has been developed by the name ‘Learning the Way of Peace’ which is made available in the Internet by UNESCO New Delhi Documents and Publications. (http://unesdoc.unesco.org ).

This Guide, which is written in English has been translated into Hindi in India and into Sinhala and Tamil in Sri Lanka. The Guide prompted India to decide to make Peace Education a component in her general education. As I happened to be the writer of the Guide I base the present lecture on the approaches developed in it.

The Guide gives lot of suggestions how to convert the school into a peace school by creating a peaceful culture and atmosphere where the children can bloom as good, peace loving human beings. By introducing a school can reduce violence, invent creative teaching and learning methods, improve classroom management, improve discipline and develop teachers. The Teacher Guide discusses all these aspects. The approach maintains that every teacher needs be a peace teacher.

The peace curriculum introduced in the Guide is founded on ten core universal peace values, namely:

1. Think positive

2. Be compassionate and do no harm

3. Discover inner peace

4. Learn to live together

5. Respect human dignity.

6. Be your true self.

7. Think critically.

8. Resolve conflict nonviolently.

9. Build peace in the community

10. Care for the planet.

Let us take a close look at each value briefly. :

1. Think positive

This theme attempts to develop in children

· positive attitudes to life, learning , future, work

· self esteem

2. Be compassionate and do no harm

This theme attempts to help children to

• View human problems and practice love, kindness
• Listen with empathy to other and express empathy and warmth in relationship.
• Refrain from harmful thoughts and actions.
• Be kind to animals
• Practice forgiving

3. Discover inner peace

This theme attempts to help children to

• Be self disciplined
• Resolving inner conflicts
• Practice awareness and attention in daily activities
• Cultivate contended living
• Relax mentally and physically
• Discover inner peace through meditation

4. Learning to live together

This theme attempts to help children to

• Prefer cooperation rather than competition.
• Enjoy working together
• Share resources.
• Participate in democratic decision making
• Listen and respect others views and tolerate individual difference.

.

5. Respect for human dignity

This theme attempts to help children to

· Respect and be concerned for human rights.

· Develop tolerant behaviours towards diversity of views, cultures religions and political beliefs.

· Perform one’s duty appropriately

· Be empathetic to others needs and feelings

6. Be your True Self

This theme attempts to help children to

• Stand for one’s rights
• Stand for justice.
• Know one’s personal rights
• Learn effective ways of asserting oneself.
• Be truthful and honest.
• Develop will

7. Think critically.

This theme attempts to help children to

· Develop

o Skills in critical thinking

o Skills in questioning and probing into issues concerned

o Skills in analysis

· Practise self criticism and self refection

· Use basic tools in decision making

8. Resolve conflict nonviolently.

This theme attempts to help children to

· develop

o Skills in conflict resolution

o Skill in mediation

9. Build peace in the community .

This theme attempts to help children to

· Study contemporary local and global issues

· Explain one’s responsibility towards human society

· Participate in community development activities

· Develop to be responsible and productive citizen.

· Care for the planet.

10. Care for the planet.

This theme attempts to help children to

· Develop affectionate attitudes towards the Earth and nature.

· Explain the types of environmental crisis

· Refrain from polluting and destroying nature.

· Value reusing , repairing and recycling natural recourses

· Participate in environmental saving activities

· Values simple living

· Appreciate peace with nature

· Relate to Nature spiritually

The above themes touch the most essential aspects of good education. They adhere to the four pillars of education as proposed in the Dello reports, namely: Learning to know, Learning to do, Learning to live together and Learning to be. They also touch the essence of sustainable development.

Methodology

Peace Education basically uses learning through activity method, which is also called experiential learning method. The Teacher Guide provides a large number of types of game like learning activities such as: group discussion, debating, colloquy, fishbowl discussions, values clarification, case studies, brainstorming, puzzles, creative self expression, story telling, drawing, drama, role play, simulation, meditation, visualization, cooperative games and problem solving activities.

Integration into subject teaching

Should peace education be made into a subject? Some countries, including Sri Lanka have done it under different names. However, more than a subject, it is an approach to school education. Its significant features are affective approach to learning, experiential learning, aiming at holistic development of the child.

You can call any educational approach, peace education if it uses a peace perspective to what is being taught, leading to the expansion of peace consciousness of students. Any lesson can be presented through a peace perspective, be it history, geography, social studies language and so on. The above mentioned ten core values can be easily integrated into almost any lesson. In the context of the lesson the teacher can bring in activities to develop skills such as empathetic listening, assertive behavour, critical thinking, caring for the planet.

As Somfay-Stitz points out

‘Peace remains hidden in education literature rather than practiced’’

What is expected of teachers is to bring out the peace values, attitudes, concepts and skills laid hidden in the curricular materials. The above ten themes provides a guide for identifying peace values in the curriculum.

Implementation.

Initiative for peace education can be taken by

1. Individual teachers.
2. Individual principals
3. Local or provincial education authorities
4. National or central education authorities

It all depends on the teachers’ capacity to identify peace values and present them meaningfully within the context of the lesson. Therefore first step would be developing teachers to be peace educators through in-services training or school based staff development. Our motto is : Every teacher has to be a peace teacher.

Evaluation

For peace education to be a success, schools need to develop a good evaluation system.

The guide suggests a system with the following steps:

1. Identify learning needs and set a programme goals
2. Select peace concepts, themes, and values from the curriculum can meet the identified learning needs.
3. Plan a programme within a set period of time.
4. Implement the programme
5. Prepare a suitable tool for evaluation (Some tools have been given in the Guide)
6. Evaluate
7. Revise or improve the programme from assessment.

The Guide discusses the above issues in detail

Talk was given at the international conference on sustainable development held at Mount Lavinia Hotel in Sri Lanka organized by UNESCO and APCEIU on the 4^th of September 2008