teaching – Peace Learning Center

Mr. Anybody Lesson

The Mr. Anybody Lesson I have been known to ask educators and youth workers, "How do we get better at basketball or become better readers?" Without hesitation, they always tell me, "practice." Next I ask, "how do we get better at resolving conflict?" Almost always I am answered with silence. In some groups who are willing to be honest, I hear things like "You get sent to the principal's office" or "you get told to be quiet." The skills required to coexist peacefully with each other are the same skills that help us learn together and help us create healthy communities. Believe it or not, much of our time is spent convincing those who work with children that these skills deserve time and attention. If we know that a healthy school climate helps keep kids learning and keeps them in school, why don't we prioritize the learning which creates that healthy school climate? Maybe it's because teachers don't feel adequately prepared to do so. Maybe it's because teachers have been warned against taking a few minutes from curriculum, standards, and pacing guides to tune in to what is really needed in their classrooms. We at Peace Learning Center have found, after 18 years of working with youth,that a small investment in time and energy pays off in lasting and remarkable ways. The lasting value of peace education hit home for me, literally, when one of our facilitators worked with my daughter's

Tim’s Peace Update: April 2015

Brandi Metzger2021-05-20T17:42:20-04:00April 16th, 2015|Tags: jamaica service, peace through service, teaching|

Jamaican teachers take turn being the leader during a "blind caterpillar" exercise. Teaching: An honorable profession In the last few months I've met with a number of administrators and professors from schools of education at Marian, Butler and IUPUI. A common theme is a noticeable drop in applications from students who want to be teachers. Contrast this with a recent service trip I took with a team from Peace Learning Center to Sav La Mar Jamaica for a 3-day teacher vocational training focused on conflict resolution and peace building in the classroom. In Jamaica, the teaching profession is still ranked as a prestigious position for females and males. Many teachers told stories of their parents urging them to be educators even though Jamaican schools are oftentimes crowded and underfunded with a lack of basic teaching supplies and technology. "This is the best training I've ever attended," said a veteran Jamaican teacher while participating in this vocational training on peace and conflict resolution. The three day spring conference hosted over 90 participants who learned ways to peacefully resolve their conflicts while improving their classroom management. The teachers assembled were challenged to reflect on why they are teachers, while exploring the root causes of many of the problems their students and communities face. "We must be the change we wish to see in the world," they shared. Participants received a Teach the Facilitator Manual and Jamaican Student Peace Education Workbook