In a world where acts of violence fill our news broadcasts, our TVs, our social media posts, news and there is a stratospheric diffusion of pain around us, peace needs and (irrepressible) urgency to take root, in our schools, first of all, in the form of education.
Peace education (it is no coincidence that we are talking about it, precisely in these days when it is becoming even more necessary in old Europe) is important for each of us, regardless of our age. But the question, starting from these considerations, that we must necessarily ask ourselves (especially teachers and school leaders) is: what is the most effective time to engage in peace education by teaching and enabling children to learn transformative conflict resolution?
The age of development and the rootedness of the concept of peace
The more our children (children or pupils) grow up, the more their unique worldview is defined and rooted and the more energetically they learn how to interact with the people around them; how to react to their stimuli, pleasurable solicitations and pains, moments of joy and (existential) dramas. Learning about peace is a wonderful opportunity offered (we could say, with more security) given to our children to build peaceful perspectives of the world around them and in which they must live (we could say, sure not to make mistakes, live together). If we can (and we have to commit ourselves, every day,
Normalize healthy conflict resolution and integrate it into traditional learning
I believe, for all purposes, that it is important to normalize sound conflict resolution and integrate it into traditional learning. It would be necessary and fundamental to observe this sociological, pedagogical and, why not, methodological process firsthand. Peace education can be an essential part of education (an indispensable formative process, in every stage of human life) due to the immense impact it has on students in their classes and not only in these but also and mainly in the communities that surround them. When we teach young people the value of peace along with the skills they need to be healthy conflict solvers, we provide the future generation with the tools they need to be Women and Men in a society that is tenaciously capable of enhancing relationships rather than competition; a society of well-being with respect to the results which, until now, have been the terminal point of every educational and training (as well as didactic) intervention.
Shared values
When these values ​​are shared, some speak of concern that society is becoming too soft and not motivated to succeed, but when we work with those, when they are, in the classroom, around us and actively collaborate with us (even if only by force smile), we can achieve better results while maintaining our individual and collective health. Peace education can provide young people with concrete skills to use in teamwork. It is in conversation with those around them that we discover and can evaluate the quality of their ability to collaborate. In that moment we discover the importance of the group rather than that, in many cases determined, also through our evaluation method, of the competition that creates competing actors at school and not only in this reality.
Peace education is important for everyone
Peace education is important for everyone, but especially for children who are still building their own identity and the values ​​they will cherish throughout their lives, in relationships as a couple, in work, in friendships and in the community. , generally speaking. When we teach children to be peaceful, we allow them to be a positive role model for the adults around them. When this happens, the impact creates a ripple effect in their communities and the beauty of the relational nature of peace education is revealed. For me, the idea of ​​a ripple effect is what drives the passion behind teaching conflict resolution skills to young people through peace education.
UDA of continuity between fifth Primary and first Grade secondary school: “The caravan of the peaceful”
The article correctly proposes a UDA of continuity between the fifth Primary and the first Secondary grade of I degree titled “The caravan of the peaceful” created by the superb teachers of the Comprehensive Institute “Gioacchino Rossini” of Belvedere Ostrense, Monsano, Morro D’Alba and San Marcello (Albanian and Greek professors, Painters and Tailors). Subjects involved: Italian, art, history, geography, English and Spanish, religion, music.
UDA training objective: To know, research, discover, reflect, argue, thematize opinions and ideas and develop a critical spirit on the theme of peace and its repercussions in the historical, cultural, social and political context both locally and globally. Prevailing global learning indicators the student activates skills related to: decentralization, interdependence, critical thinking, transformation, co-responsibility, empathy and transcalarity.
