Kindness: Pass it On This video shows ways we can help each other and spread caring and compassion by observing someone needing help and acting on it. Follow up viewing the video by creating a list of all the small things people did for each other in the video. Discussion Questions: Have you ever done any […]
Solving Conflicts through Nonviolence Nonviolence seems like a harmless idea rooted in compassionate and peaceful interests. Why is it then that practitioners of nonviolence are often seen as enemies of the state? Mark Kurlansky’s book Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous Idea illuminates that dark corner where economic, religious and state power often collude to […]
Addressing Name Calling Through Children’s Books Name calling does so much damage. It leads to hurt feelings, broken friendships, anger, and even war. The best way to address name calling is to develop our children’s empathy for those who are the victim and provide them with great examples. The following picture books contain empathetic characters and […]
A major cause of conflict between people and groups is misunderstanding each other. There are many reasons for this. Each of us has our own unique upbringing and belief system. We may speak different languages and have different value systems. We may even have different ideas about what makes something true. By understanding more about […]
Consensus is defined as finding the middle ground between total agreement and total disagreement. A consensus means that everyone has come together to agree on one thing. In a consensus, there are no winners or losers. Everyone accepts the final solution or decision and understands why that is the best decision for the conflict. It’s […]
You probably think name calling is something only children do. After all, name calling is one of the most common ways that conflict starts between children, especially on the playground out of the eye of the teacher. What child hasn’t been called a name? However, name calling doesn’t end on the playground. It pervades our […]
One reason people have conflicts with others is that they have preconceived ideas about the people they disagree with. By facing their own stereotypes and then learning ways in which their opponents are similar to them, people who have disagreements can learn to work with people different from themselves to come to a compromise. This […]
What is conflict? Before we can talk about resolving conflicts we need to define what we mean by conflict. Conflict Conflicts can take many forms. Sometimes only two people are involved. Other times, it may involve groups of nations and lead to war. Conflicts occur when: When people share different personal values. For example one […]
Have you ever tried to describe the color of your skin? For fiction writers, especially those writing multicultural books and those for children, coming up with color names to describe skin is an ongoing challenge. Coming up with color names for skin often crops up with children’s lessons on racism and in literature classes, too. A teacher, […]
How many books by Martin Luther King, Jr. have you read? We talk about this great man and quote his words all the time, but to see deep inside him we need to read his books. The following three books are wonderful reading for high students and adults. Strength To Love by Martin Luther King, Jr. […]
There is no time left for anything but to make peacework a dimension of our every waking activity.— Elise Boulding Lesson: Peace Journals Objective: To become aware of the role each one of us plays in creating a peaceful world and to record one’s thoughts about it. Peace journals can be kept by everyone. This is […]
Making a peace calendar is a great way to reinforce peaceful thinking, the search for justice, and anti-war activism. The following activity is perfect for families, small groups, classes, and religious organizations. Objective: To develop an understanding of ways each of us can contribute to making the world a more peaceful place. Grade Level: All ages […]
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