Many of us long for peace. We dream of peace for our families, communities, our world, and within ourselves. When asked 'What is peace?' various thoughts and feelings come to mind and touch our hearts. Is it a way of being, how we relate to one another, or a feeling felt deep within? Several of our CE classes have been exploring this idea or concept since classes resumed in January.
Our children have a wonderful opportunity to be a part of the "International Peace Poem" that started on Maui in 1996. The first lines of the Peace Poem were written by a six-year-old girl, and the poem has grown to more than 70,000 lines of poetry from over 120 nations. Its purpose is to express hope for peace in the new millennium. Many of our children will be adding to this Peace Poem in the next few weeks.
Our fifth graders have been exploring the concept of peace from various perspectives. Our journey began by sharing ideas, thoughts, and feelings that arise when we hear the word, "Peace." Then, we tapped into the deep space within ourselves by closing our eyes, taking deep breaths, and feeling the silence within. From this space within, we began connecting with our intuition to feel what is peace, and then expressed these feelings in words. Mrs. Johnson (Art) offered another aspect of peace by presenting various objects, originating from about 50-60 years ag and relating to life and conditions in southern United States, and asked the children to share their observations and questions about these objects. We will soon begin our discussion and reflections of how these observations and questions relate to the historical event that took place on January 20, 2009 when Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States.
The third and fourth graders are continuing their training in Conflict Resolution and Peer Mediation. Exploring feelings, especially the uncomfortable ones like anger, have helped us discover our own anger triggers, ways of handling conflict, and what leads one to climbing the "anger mountain." We then developed a plan for handling our anger. Who can we talk to? Where can we go and what can we do? It's important to have a plan so that we don't become victim to our feelings of anger.
At Mid-Pacific Institute we do have a dream for peace. It encompasses each one of us in many ways. It is role modeled for our children through our interactions among staff members and with the children. Various aspects of Peace are intentionally explored throughout our curriculum. More importantly, true peace, which comes from within, is strengthened through reflection, prayer, and quiet times offered to our children throughout the day.
"Peace means everyone loving everyone else and we're all part of one world."
-- 1st Peace Poem Contributor - Libby Barker, 6 yr. old
Florida, USA
