Studying Peace
I don’t mean to say that you ignore that wars exist and have happened in the past, but focus instead on what caused the wars and what eventually stopped them. Focus on helping to quell “wars” in your home and neighborhood, so your kids can eventually move on to making peace in your country and the world.
Right now many are very concerned that the wheat shortage caused by floods and droughts could cause uprisings by the hungry. Wheat is easier for children to understand than is oil. Talk with your children about how you can use less wheat in the first place, and not waste the wheat you do buy. Explain that wheat is in bread, cookies, cakes, pasta, biscuits, muffins, and as a thickener in many items we don’t think of has having any flour in them at all.
Help your children to learn how to negotiate for peace when a family fight breaks out. How can a child who has not learned about personal boundaries ever understand national boundaries? Even a very young child can learn to negotiate and compromise. Explain to older children that just because they are older, bigger, smarter, etc. they still can’t “lord it over” younger siblings.
Some resources for Peace Education:
Cyberschoolbus: Peace section
The Peace Education Project
Recommends books that encourage peace
Teen Volunteer Organizations
Long list of organizations welcoming teens who want to help make peace in the world.
Seeds of Peace
Teen peace organization.
Nasreen’s Secret School: A True Story from Afghanistan
by Jeanette Winter
About a girl called Nasreen sitting at home in Afghanistan, silent since her parents disappeared, forbidden to attend school; the grandmother, who tells the story, taking her to a secret girls’ school in a private home.
Remember Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
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