The challenge of Peace education
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By Jan Durk
Tuinier and Geu Visser
Ladies and
gentlemen: peace education means that people can learn and teach peace.
People can exercise with tools for peace in their daily life. They can live
together, co-operate, handle diversity and overcome conflicts. The question
is: how can children and young people learn peace? We will try to share with
you our experiences with peace education projects in Europe. In this
afternoon we want to present: -
An introduction
of our organisation. -
Our view on
peace education. -
The methodology
of interactive learning. -
Examples of our
interactive exhibitions. Peace Education ProjectsOur foundation develops
projects in the field of peace, diversity, conflict resolution and the
multicultural society. A lot of people have a
negative approach to peace. Peace is no war, no violence, no hate, no hunger,
no pollution and more No’s. This is a negative starting point for education.
We think it gives more perspective to start with a positive definition. Peace
is living together, solve conflicts in a non-violent way, peace is the hope
that people can contribute to a future, peace is everyone has enough to eat.
Peace is people respecting the earth. The meaning of peace In
our projects we use a simple definition of Peace. When people take care for
each other and the earth, there is a situation of peace. When children resist
bullying and support other children, there is a situation of peace. Such
definitions bring peace into the world of children and young people. They can
practice it every day at home, in school, on the street. They can improve
their efforts. They can make mistakes and try again. Peace is part of a
learning process every day. We need to give peace a real place in their lives
and in their social context. Making peace Peace
does not suddenly appear out of the sky. People of all times, anywhere have
made war and they have used violence. But that is only one side of the medal.
People of all times, anywhere have also made peace with each other. May be
this sound strange is your ears but children and adults have a lot of
experience of making peace. They overcome conflicts a few times a day. They
are able to listen to each other. They co-operate and dedicate them to other
people and the earth. Our society needs people of all ages to make
freedom and democracy come true every day. Instrument makers Sometimes people ask: How do you look to yourself as
peace educators? We see ourselves as instrument – makers, not as architects. We
want to give children tools, not readymade houses. The big advantage of this
strategy is that children learn to handle peace tools that are important for
their whole life. We cannot force the values of peace. We cannot put all the
answers to the questions of life in empty heads of children. We only can
co-operate in dialogue. Sharing knowledge, exercising tools, improving skills
and finally exploring the desire for peace. We don’t want to teach children
WHAT to think. We teach them to think by themselves. Our
organisation is specialised in the
development of tools to teach and to learn peace. These tools result in
educational software, video films, musical projects, interactive exhibitions
and innovative educational projects. The activities
are aimed at pupils and teachers in primary, secondary and higher education
and youth work. Also parents belong to the target groups. International Internationally Peace
Education Projects developed and provided several interactive exhibitions in
Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, N-Ireland and Russia. For their international
projects, the foundation received the European Evens Prize in 2000, the
Tolerance Prize of the City of Utrecht in 2001 and the Comenius Euro Media
Medal from the European center for modern media in Berlin. Exhibition
of peace We made our first interactive exhibition in 1991. It
was not easy to make an exhibition about peace. It is much easier to develop
an exhibition about war or violence You can show large collections of
uniforms, bombs, bullets, guns, tanks, air fighters and let us don’t forget
the medals. What can we show about peace in an exhibition? That is not easy.
But we found the ultimate solution: we should not teach children to look to
peace but we should learn them to make peace. They have already a lot of
experience with making peace. We can enlarge that and make the school and the
peer group a place of experience in peace. The classroom and the school can
work as a place to exercise. Therefore we developed an interactive
methodology. Methodology Children visit our interactive exhibitions in groups
of about 30 and it takes roughly one hour and a half. They start with a short
introduction by a video-film, to make an appeal to the pupils’ concentration.
After that, they interact between the panels with the themes and the tools or
instruments. They interact with one another and write down their opinions or
solutions in a booklet. This booklet is also a guide through the exhibition.
The pupils manage their own learning process and most of the admissions are
self-correcting. The teachers and other adults, play a role in the
background. They are prepared to stimulate the pupils so they can develop
their own opinions and find their own solutions. Afterwards, in the
classroom, the booklet provides material for follow up activities. Game circuit We frequently call the
exhibition a game circuit to illustrate that for most of the children,
learning in such a context is serious but also a great pleasure. Peace can be
very attractive and pleasant. For the teachers a manual is developed,
containing some theoretical backgrounds and different educational means and
group activities. Violently Happy Express One of our interactive exhibitions is made in
a large truck and travels throughout Holland and Belgium. It is called the
Violently Happy Express. The visitors discover the backgrounds of conflicts
and violence. They discover that differences between people and cultures can
be a source of conflict. What it means to live in a rapidly changing society
with immigrants from Africa and Asia. Being different and unique is exciting
and enriching but it can also be a reason for fights between people. They
learn that aggression in itself is not a problem. Aggression is part of our human
being. It is the engine of ambition, to achieve something in your life. The
point is to learn to handle aggression in a positive way. Prejudices In the mobile exhibition the children can also
learn the background and function of prejudices. The visitors are challenged
in a creative way to think of answers, give opinions and find solutions. The children have to choose, true or false.
The answer is at the back of the panel. It is an easy exercise. The objective
is to discover that although you think something is true, it can be false. Or
you might think it is false but it is true. Let me show you some examples. It will give you the
chance of experiencing our interactive methodology. First example: Raise your hand if you think it is true. True or false: All birds can fly. False. Because ostriches cannot fly. Second example: Raise your hand if you think it is true. True or false: All birds lay eggs. False as well. Because just 50% of all birds lay eggs: only the
female birds. You have to take care! Now a serious example. The third example: Raise your hand if you think it is true. You can recognise a Dutchman by his white skin
colour. False again for footballer Ruud Gullit is a Dutchman
from Surinam origin. The last exercise. Raise your hand if you think it is true. True or false: In 1946 Holland was the largest
Muslim country of the world. The answer is: True! Indonesia was in that time one of the Dutch
colonies. It became independent in 1949. It is still the largest Muslim
country of the world. Fact
and opinion Now the children are being asked: fact or opinion. A
fact is always true. An opinion is sometimes true. Bananas are curved, that’s
a fact. But Bananas are delicious, that is an opinion. Muslims are violent. Fact or opinion? It is an
opinion. Some girls are more violent than boys. That is a
fact, because we say SOME! Although we can say that men in Holland are 9
times more criminal than women. A final example: French men are excellent lovers.
Well, we don’t know your experience but is still an opinion. Perhaps, you
never met a Dutchman... Who is the treasure? Each correct answer of the Fact – Opinion mission
gives a number. The children have to add up these number and the total gives
a secret code. With this code they can open a lock of a treasure box. If the
pupils made a mistake, confusing one fact with an opinion, they cannot open
the lock. So the mission is self-correcting. If the pupils put their head in
the treasure box, they will find the best child of the world. They look in a
mirror. About 50% of the children still fill in their booklet the name of
somebody else. Sometimes children ask us: we cannot find the best child in
the world. Then we ask them: whom did you see? And we can discover a big
smile on their faces. The teacher is always right The Fact-Opinion statement “The teacher is always
right.” gave some serious discussions at schools in Russia. A school director
told us he was very surprised because lots of children thought that the statement
“The teacher is always right.” is a fact. Then he asked the children: “Do you
really think, I know everything”. The children then answered: “No actually
not, but we think you would like to hear it from us”. The school director
discussed this with his team. After some weeks working in the project, the
situation changed. Some teachers gave is the following feedback. Every time
the teacher makes a statement in the classroom, there is at least one child
that asks: “Madam, is this a fact of an opinion?” Alternatives Learning is a social process. Learning takes place
by interacting with other children, the instruments in the exhibition and
afterwards with the teacher in the classroom. In our exhibition, children are
personal involved. Their opinions, their doubts, their characteristics, their
hopes and their desires for the future, in relation to other people, is the
core of the methodology. The exhibition gives pupils answers and reactions so
it is possible that you change your mind and discover behavioural
alternatives. Handle diversity
Interactive learning has its theoretical basis in
several concepts. This is an answer to a great problem of teachers. How can
we deal with the diversity of pupils? How can we enpower the learning process
with the differences about ethnic backgrounds, social-economic factors,
talents and learning styles? Our answer to this problem is: use all kind of
didactic means. Activate the minds, the hands and the hearts of the children.
How different the tools and means, the more children can join the programme
and the more richer is their learning process. View
boxes The interactive methodology is adapted to different
didactic means. One example is to make view boxes with children. Pupils in the
age of 7 or 8 can develop a view box on the theme of prejudices. The search
for information and design it in a view box, integrate the theme in their
lives and learn them to communicate. For they show their view box to their
families and neighbours. In one box you can hide the same joke as the Fact –
Opinion mission. The viewer is asked: “In this box you can find the greatest
treasure of the world. Would you see it?” The viewer makes a guess. Then the
viewer looks into the box and sees her own eyes in a small mirror. The
message is simple but effective. All people are unique. All people are a
treasure. Objectives In our exhibitions, we
want to challenge children from 10 - 14 years to use tools: -
To investigate their opinions. -
To unmask their prejudices. -
To analyze their role in violent group dynamics. -
To create perspectives of peace in their daily life. -
To exercise with diversity to live in a multi-ethnic society. Unmask
prejudices How to unmask prejudices is an important tool in
peace education. Prejudices are no facts. A prejudice is an opinion. We judge
other people before knowing them. Or we judge a group of people because of
the behaviour of one of them. Prejudices are mistakes. Please raise hand if
you think that the following statements are Prejudices. Old people are boring. Yes, that it is a prejudice. Smoking is not healthy. Is not a prejudice, it is a fact. Poor people are lazy, that is the reason why they
are poor. Certainly not true, they have to struggle for live.
It is a prejudice. Some Dutchmen cannot be trusted. It is not a prejudice. You can trust us both but not
all Dutchman. Prejudices and facts in balance At our “Remembrance center for the future” in
Holland, children learn the difference between fact and prejudice. On a balance
they have to divide little bags with statements, 3 facts and 3 prejudices.
The scale will be in balance when they divide it correctly. “Coca Cola is the best, it’s a prejudice”. But the statement: “Every ones taste differs
is a fact”. (By the way, we got the idea of the scale
from our French colleagues from Ecole de la paix in Grenoble.) Dead end exit After that exercise the children are supposed
to leave the exhibition room. But they have to make a choice between two
exits. The left exit is supposed for children without prejudices. The right
exit is for children with prejudices. Sometimes there are children who did
the scale exercise perfectly and therefore made the conclusion: “I don’t have
prejudices”. But the left exit for children without
prejudices has a dead end. There is no exit at all. It’s closed. Behind the
curtain there is written: “Sorry, everyone can make mistakes, everyone has
prejudices”. So, every one, even the adults have to pass the exit for
children with prejudices. The girl you see at the slide is leaving the room.
She has prejudices, like everybody here. Special
approach to special children Children, who have a cognitive or social problem and
go to special schools, feel themselves happy in our exhibitions. We
experienced this in Holland. They can start from their own personal level.
That gives them self-confidence. We received enthusiastic reactions from
teachers in Russia who work with handicapped children and mentally retarded
pupils. The children could express their experiences and see themselves in a
new perspective. Mini
exhibition in a suitcase For the Russian situation we developed an exhibition
in a suitcase. A Dutch project was transformed and adapted to the Russian
situation. One thousand suitcases were distributed in four Russian regions.
Each suitcase contains a complete mini-exhibition of 45 carton board panels.
They are exposed on tables and children work in pairs with a booklet to make
notes. A manual for teachers was edited and the seminars, for introducing the
mini-exhibition and the methodology, were a success. It gave the teachers
concrete tools to implement peace education in the schools. The origin
of violence Another important tool in Peace Education is to understand
the origin of evil and violence. We confront the pupils with the scapegoat
phenomenon. A group ritual, which exists from all times and places. When
people have success in life, they say: look what I have done, I am the best.
When people fail or have fear they blame somebody else. The child in the
classroom or adult in the street, who always gets the blame, although it is
not his fault, is called the scapegoat. We all have experiences with it. It makes no sense
to teach pupils not to behave like that for it is a part of the human nature.
We must not deny that but try to understand how this violent phenomenon works
and how we can handle it. Scape
goat phenomenon Four thousand years ago a scapegoat was a real goat.
In the Middle East people used a reconciliation ritual by blaming a goat. We
can read about this ritual in the third book of Moses. Once a year people
came together on the great reconciliation day and put all their faults and
all their sins symbolically on the back of a goat. They sent the goat into
the desert, where the poor animal surely would die. But the people felt free
of their blames and sins and could make a fresh start. Today we don’t blame
an animal anymore but scapegoats still exist. If things go wrong in a school class, in the office,
in parliament, in the football team or in our country, we feel the need to
blame someone. And probably, we would send somebody away, just like the goat.
It is likely the easiest way but also the most violent way of conflict
resolution because the cause of the problem still exist and shall burst out
again. Four
roles People can have four different roles in the
scapegoat phenomenon. - Scapegoat or victim - Oppressor or persecutor - Bystander or witness - Resister or defender Support
the victim Children experience the scapegoat-phenomenon every
day. They change roles in different groups, sometimes more times a day. It is
very important to understand these social roles and develop skills to
recognise and handle them. Most children stay in the group of bystanders and
witness the social event. They observe the situation but are afraid to
interfere. They are afraid to be the scapegoat of tomorrow. Some children
have experiences in resisting the scapegoat phenomenon. In our remembrance
centre children get explanations about the scapegoat phenomena and they
exercise in tools to resist it and support the victim. Three aspects in learning process In the learning process of peace education,
three aspects are involved: Knowledge
(to know, to be
aware) Information Skill (to act, to be
able to) Exercise Attitude (to want, to relate to) Performance We will explain this to you by the theme of
conflict resolution. Pupils have a lot of experiences with
conflicts. And we have to be honest that most children have a lot of
experience in solving conflicts in a peaceful way. We are not pessimistic
about that. But still there is a lot to learn. Conflict resolution Children have to gain knowledge and research
information about the different conflicts, the roles, the human behaviour and
the perspectives. Children have to exercise skills to solve
conflicts in a non-violent way. Children should be able to keep the rules of
a game and get familiar with compromising and mediation. Hidden curriculum But knowledge and skills are not enough. You
can know what a conflict is about, you are able to make a compromise but you
also need the desire and attitude to handle conflicts peacefully. The
attitude of children is formed by adult’s example in the first place. Think
of the educational climate in the schools, the ways of punishment and
rewarding pupils, the role of competition, the values of the educator and the
way in which he of she uses power. All these aspects are called the hidden
curriculum. Most of this behaviour is unaware and it is our task to be aware
of this. Different conflicts In the violently happy express, pupils are
confronted with three interactive paintings with small panels and lights and
buttons. On the first painting they learn that there
are different types of conflicts. - Conflicts of interest - Conflicts of power - Conflict of values In many conflicts these three aspects play a
role and need specific attention. That is the reason that some conflicts are so
very complicated. The solution of conficts On the second painting children discover seven
ways to deal with a conflict. This is about skills. For example: To fight -
To negotiate - To bribe - To exclude - To yell names - To seduce - To make a
coalition - To find support by others The pupils are challenged to express their own
opinions by looking to the consequences. Some means are non-violent. Some are
violent. On the third panel the children have to
research methods of conflict solution in a peaceful way. This is about
attitude.. For example: A mediator - Finish the fight -
Co-operate - Admit faults on both sides - Find a common interest. The success of the interactive exhibitions What makes the interactive exhibitions in so many
countries to a success?
From research of the universities of Utrecht, Moscow
and Belfast we can present you the following conclusions:
The pupils - Experience learning as a pleasure. - Can handle facts, opinions and prejudices. - Improve their understanding of their behavior from
the scapegoat phenomenon. - Discover effective learning by interaction with
peers. - Can mention perspectives of peace in daily
context. - Like “learning by doing”. - Exercise multi-intelligence tools. - Can participate with various learning styles.
(cognitive, affective, artistic, physical) - Experience themselves as a part of social problem
as well as a part of the solution. The teachers - Are mediators and partners in learning. - Co-operate in research instead of transforming
information. - Like to teach pupils that find learning a
pleasure. - Experience more satisfaction in their profession. - Educate children to think by themselves. - Communicate and clarify social values. - Exercise all human potentials in problem solving. - Mention that the learning process has a positive
effect on social context. The methodology - Contains different learning concepts as an answer
to the diversity of pupils. - Has a non-moralistic approach. - Offers innovative means of self directed learning. - Have positive effects in countries with (violent)
social conflicts. - Presents social problems as a challenge for all
people. - Can be implemented to different means like
traveling exhibitions, table exhibitions, educational - Involve pupils and teachers in the project from
the early start. - Includes a process evaluation with clear and
positive objectives, target group as a source, themes to Positive objectives Children and young people are growing up in a
society where violence and social conflict are part of everyday life. It is
our task to guide children into this violent world. Help them not to get used
to violence. It is not our intention to burden children with all kind of social
problems. We cannot learn children peace by only showing them effects of
violence. That won’t work. Peace education needs hope, some real optimism and
positive objectives. The peace factory At
this moment we are preparing a new travelling exhibition in the Netherlands.
It is called: “The Peace Factory”. In this exhibition children can make peace
and freedom in a mobile factory. They work a few hours as if they were
engineers. They work with the tolerance machine, the power balance, the
conflict meter, the prejudice wheel, the freedom mill and the scapegoat
engine. Children exercise in making peace and freedom. The youth has the present You
know the expression: The youth is the future! But what we have learned the
past two days especially yesterday morning: The youth is the present. Some
people in Holland warned us for going to Bogota. But these days we met so
much people with a strong motivation for peace. We will tell them about the
situation in Colombia. About the initiatives, about the determination to
peace and about the Alliance for peace education. All the stories en
enriching experiences motivates us to continue. In the present and in the
future. Thank you very much.
Bogotá November 8th 2003 © Peace Education Projects |
