The following Peace Pledge was written by teachers Hillary Squier and Joan Koster for their students. It is intended for young children, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if our world leaders took this pledge too? I pledge respect to everyone Not just to those I know. Family, friends, and neighbors All need my help to grow. […]
Students protest NYS “Pineapple” test
Students see the light as the blind lead the blind…by Tim Wolcott A sage once said “Life is 10% how you make it…and 90% how you take it.” Activist eighth graders from New York aren’t taking mistreatment by this year’s English Language Arts test sitting down. Hooray for them and us all! Effective this year, […]
Addressing Racism
Stand Against Racism Dayis April 27th. Here are links to some exemplary lessons to use in your classrooms from our own website and from others. Lessons are ordered by suggested grade levels, but can be adapted by creative educators to other levels. Preschool Alike and Different All the Colors We Are The Colors of Us […]
Stand Against Racism
Becoming an Anti-Racist Educator and Parent: Debra Van Ausdale and Joe R. Feagin in their book The First R : How Children Learn about Race and Racism document a year they spent in an exemplary multicultural preschool listening to three- and four-year-olds talk about skin color and race. What they learned was that even very young children are […]
The Hardwired Emotions
Eric Jensen in Teaching with Poverty in Mind says the emotions children are born with are SADNESS, JOY, DISGUST, ANGER, SURPRISE, and FEAR. What message does this send to teachers and peace educators? The first thing that strikes me is that overwhelmingly the basic emotions we are born with are negative. All the emotional responses […]
Making Beauty for the Earth
Caring for Mother Earth By Tim Wolcott of Teach Peace Now She is respectful, kind and quiet. She often asks before class how I’m doing and/or lingers after class to say goodbye. She isn’t consistent in her quiz or lab grades, and her organization definitely needs improvement. However, I’ve thought more than once how well […]
You Can’t Say You Can’t Play
In every classroom, in every school, in every community there are always insiders and outsiders. When you were in school which were you? In 1992 Vivian Gussin Paley set out to change the social order in her kindergarten classroom. She noticed, as most teachers do, that even when you outlaw hitting and ban name calling, […]
Megan Landry sings “Stronger”
Megan Landry, a 15 year old Canadian, sings about the pain bullying causes in this original song she wrote. Find Megan on Facebook Bullying for girls often takes the form of name calling and put downs that destroy self-image. Learn more at Girls’ Health
Teaching Peace
Working for Peace “It isn’t enough to talk about peace, one must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it, one must work for it.” Eleanor Roosevelt Watch unsupervised children at play and most people will come to the conclusion that human beings are not by nature peaceful creatures. Being peaceful inside oneself […]
