Friday, October 17, 2008

Peace Education

10/17/2008 Assignment 3
Philosophy Part II - Peace Education
Amy Shao

Montessori Peace Education and Lesson Plan
“Peace and Education” was the name of a lecture given by Maria Montessori in 1932 at Geneva. This theme, which was a new issue in the field of education. Education is a peaceful approach, and only in peace it can develop intelligence and love to their highest levels. “Education is the weapon of peace”, wrote Maria Montessori, and “peace is the basis for good education”. Maria Montessori's work, "Peace and Education”, stated that in order to set a spiritual rebuilding of the human race, we must go back to the child.

Montessori advocated that children are the “hope of peace for the world” and that we must learn to educate them in such a way that they will be able to develop their potential as human beings and reveal to us the spiritual embryo of humankind. As children become more self-aware, they begin to develop sensitivity and awareness for people of other cultures and the global environment. Montessori begins to develop a global sense of peace and harmony. They learn to accept and appreciate cultural differences that are crucial to the development of world peace.

Peace means no disorder, no oppression, no material and intellectual misery. A child is a protagonist to a need for peace where all positive urges of life can be satisfied. A child should maintain this attitude at home as well as school. In the home, a child can develop and grow supported in his or her constructive nature. This new eventuality was identified by Maria Montessori when a “Home for Children” was established, where children learning in a natural way, following self-discipline principles, and where they achieve results featuring excellent educational and cultural values. Educating, said Maria Montessori, means helping life to take new, wider paths through experience, with joy, fraternity attitudes, longing for good, and responsibility.

In order for children to enjoy peace, the teacher must make the classroom appropriate. The classroom setting for 3- to 6-year-olds should offer space, materials, and opportunities for harmonious and interactive play. It teaches the children to choose their words carefully, keeping in mind the feelings of others. It actively promotes and encourages peace in Montessori classrooms by having a peace corner or a peace rose as a symbol of working together to work out problems. The teacher should make sure thier language is positive and inclusive of all children. They encourage active listening by utilizing the “one voice at a time” rule. Planned program or curriculum activities can also enhance the peaceful classroom. Children's literature can be a powerful vehicle for strengthening communication skills and teaching peaceful conflict resolution. Therefore, books used with children should be screened and evaluated beforehand to determine the values they convey about peace and conflict. Some books can provide information that children can use to solve their own problems of dealing with anger.

One lesson plan I found/modified was the “Great Tree of Peace”. Since words contain a lot of power, that power is like that of in a seed. Power makes the seed grow into a great tree causes tender green plants to rise up out of the dark graves and break through a blacktop crust. Every time a word about peace is read or spoken, a thought of peace stirred, or an image of peace created in the mind, peace comes a little closer. Quotations are like seeds of peace that are suitable for "direct sowing." First they need to be composted in the thought process of the mind-where they can be allowed to germinate, push through the soil and make their presence known. We, ourselves, have contributed "seeds of peace" through their words of wisdom based on life experience and deep reflection. The main focus of this activity is to find peace in our daily lives and learn peace ideas from those who have gone before us. All you need is some handwriting paper, books from the library on peace, and age appropriate quotes like “Peace is all around us,” by Thich Nhat Hahn.

Dr. Montessori said “Establishing lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of war.” We can celebrate and honor our veterans best by promoting non-violence and peace within our Montessori classrooms, our families, our communities, and our world.

The Absorbent Mind 2

Assignment 2 continued - The Absorbent Mind
Chapters: 25- 28
Feng Mei

Chapter 25: You use instinct and knowledge to educate a child and do not try to break his will then build it up again, that is an old way of thinking.

Chapter 26: The teacher must be strict in her discipline, however she must not be strict as to inhibit the growth of the child.

Chapter 27: The teacher must be prepared to teach the class for this is the very basic steps one must take to teach the students

Chapter 28: The absorbent mind welcomes everything and puts hope in everything, this is the child.

Email Posts

Peace Curriculum and Educational Systerms Comparisons should be emailed to group members.