In our modern world, it is so easy to get sucked in to conflict - online, on the news, with our family and friends. It is important that at a very young age, we begin to learn how to settle our differences and appropriately handle strong emotions. Peace education is a major component of the Montessori classroom. Adults model peaceful and respectful behavior, and because Montessori classrooms are composed of mixed age groups, older students serve as role models for younger children. Most classrooms have a peace corner or peace table, at which two students can go to resolve a conflict or a single child can go to calm down and feel peaceful. One strategy is the use of a peace rose. Children learn to take turns holding the peace rose while speaking about how they feel. They stay at the peace table until they have heard each other and resolved their conflict. With very young children, adults model and coach the children with words they can use. Older students can do this independently. At the Elementary level, when the imagination takes off, students enjoy role playing and solving problems in small groups. Elementary and Middle School age students may participate in student-led community meetings, in which conflicts are discussed, brainstormed, and resolved as a group. This book provides learning experiences to reduce violence, enhance personal integrity and foster mutual respect. We teach conflict resolution, peer mediation and prejudice reduction.

From the largest and most successful school initiatives in social and emotional learning in the country-The Resolving Conflict Creatively Program, now active in more than 350 schools nationwide-comes a powerful, practical guide for teaching young people to empathize, mediate, negotiate, and create peace. The authors address everything from minor schoolyard conflicts to violent outbursts, and offer educators and parents proven strategies for enhancing children's emotional, social, and conflict resolution skills.

A volume in Peace Education Series Editors Ian Harris, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Edward J. Brantmeier, James Madison University, and Jing Lin, University of Maryland Committed to teaching for peace and justice, the author brings to life a teaching approach that empowers youth: - to think critically and creatively about historical, current, and future issues, - to care about classmates and neighbors as well as the global community, - to act-locally and globally-for the greater good. Think, Care, Act: Teaching for a Peaceful Future is readable, practical, conversational, and intimate. It will inspire readers to build a just and peaceful world. Think, Care, Act depicts the daily successes and struggles a peace educator undergoes in encouraging students to envision peace and gain tools to build a culture of peace. The author uses three imperatives-think, care, act-to infuse required curricula with peace, character, and multicultural concepts in daily activities throughout the year. Chapters address critical and creative thinking; media and political literacy; compassionate classroom and school climate; explorations of racism, gender issues, civil discourse, global citizenship, war, and peace; and school, community, and global social-action projects. Chapters include rationales, lesson expectations, and classroom "play-by-play." Students' feedback about the impact of lessons is also featured. With its combination of theory and practice Think, Care, Act is unique. It will motivate teachers, education students, and scholars to employ "think, care, act" frameworks to empower students to build a peaceful future.

Historians often ignore the day-to-day struggles of ordinary people to improve their lives. They tend to focus on the accomplishments of illustrious leaders. Peace Education from the Grassroots tells the stories of concerned citizens, teachers, and grassroots peace activists who have struggled to counteract high levels of violence by teaching about the sources for violence and strategies for peace. The stories told here come from the grass roots meaning the educators are close to the forms of violence they are addressing. This collection of essays tells how citizens at the grassroots level developed peace education initiatives in thirteen different nations (Belgium, Canada, El Salvador, Germany, India, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, South Korea, Spain, Uganda, and the United States). A fourteenth article describes the efforts of the International Red Cross to implement a human rights curriculum to teachers on the ground in the Balkans, Iran, Senegal, and the United Sates. These chapters describe a variety of schools, colleges, peace movement organizations, community-based organizations, and international nongovernmental organizations engaged in peace education.

Imagine a peaceable place of learning, where the total focus is on teaching and helping students learn. From superintendents to classroom teachers, this is what all education professionals want for their schools. Making School a Place of Peace gives you details on how to make nonviolence and peaceable behavior the norm in your school. The authors have included real-life examples and forms for assessing the culture and values of the school. They have included practical ways you can incorporate lessons about peace into the curriculum, such as using examples from children's literature. Particularly useful are the resources for helping to promote peace as a way of life, not just at school but at home and in the community as well. Involvement of parents, teachers, and children is stressed as a key factor in bringing about these changes.