Why peace education?

written by Jennifer Enriquez

February 10, 2018

Last year at my daughter’s school we celebrated the end of the Math Team season with a pizza party and little awards ceremony. Twenty plus kids from grades 2-6 met once a week, all winter to meet new math challenges. I was so excited to see so many kids who wanted to push a little further in this important subject.

I began to wonder what the turnout /interest would be for a Peace Team. Children’s choices at this age are influenced by parents’ suggestion and priorities, insofar as they are able to incorporate an activity into the busy lifestyle all families seem to have. Academics and sports, maybe religious education, are common calendar-fillers for many families in our area. But peace? Are we too busy for that? How would that enrich and form the future of our children?

Peace education and practices allow children to practice cooperation and conflict resolution. Children can learn skills to approach their problems peacefully and to create their own solutions to the injustices they see in the world. It begins with peace in oneself, then peace in family/ community and finally peace in the nation/ world. Peace education is intentional, dedicated, often hard work - and necessary.

The skills children practice in peace education are difficult for many, maybe most, adults. Peace in oneself: Consider the list of things you worry about every day. Kids, money, extended family, the environment, injustices in the nation / world. Listen to the news for 20 minutes and you’ll have plenty. These stressors impact our ability to relate to those closest to us as well as the cashier at the grocery store or the driver in front of us who can’t find the turn signal. Do you have an internal dialogue to help you process and manage the day to day stress? How would our families, our communities, our World be different if we raised a generation of children with these skills?

Education of all kinds shapes not only an individual’s future but the future of our communities. The practice of peace is a vital part of that education.