(1996). "Cry, the Beloved Country." Bill of Rights/Human Rights Project. Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar Abroad 1996 (South Africa). This unit is based upon study of Alan Paton's novel, "Cry, the Beloved Country," and includes a writing component in which students create an original Bill of Rights for the new Republic of South Africa. To create the new Bill of Rights, students study three basic human rights documents and work in groups to write the finished product. Appended sample materials that can be used to complement social studies/history resources are included. (EH)… [PDF]
(1996). The New South Africa: A Major Power in Transition. Fulbright-Hays Summer Seminar Abroad 1996 (South Africa). This interdisciplinary and multi-modal curriculum unit provides a context for studying South Africa in grades 5-12. Three aspects of the post-apartheid Republic of South Africa are highlighted, including: (1) "Revisiting the Past": a brief history of South Africa's political and social climate; (2) "Beginning the Transformation": an overview of the Reconstruction and Development Plan; and (3) "The Future, A Brighter Day?": summaries of conversations with South African young people. (EH)… [PDF]
(2000). Positive, Peaceful Interactions between Adults and Young Children. Growing Together: Building a Peaceful Community. This paper discusses classroom practices contributing to positive, peaceful interactions between adults and young children. The paper begins with reminders about the development of self-control as a crucial aspect of peacefulness, the role of the toddler's developing autonomy, and the development of a sense of fairness in prekindergarten children. The paper notes the importance of positive adult role models who have a daily quiet time, engage in meditation or prayer, and are mindful of their vocal inflection and body language. Suggestions for fostering peaceful environments are given, including using visual reminders, having orderly homes and classrooms, providing aesthetic experiences that promote peace, telling stories about problem solving, and limiting and monitoring television viewing. Inappropriate strategies for dealing with conflict are delineated, including the avoidance of threats, physical reactions, name calling, bringing up the past, and inattentive listening…. [PDF]
(1995). From the Hobbesian Floor to the Kantian Ceiling: UN Intervention as a Practical-Idealist Challenge. Social Studies, v86 n3 p101-04 May-Jun. Contends that the United Nations (UN) is redefining its role in the international community. Discusses whether the UN should follow a national sovereignty path or one that recognizes the erosion of the national state. Concludes that humanitarian intervention guided by practical idealism is the correct approach. (CFR)…
(1993). Teaching Peace. Young Children, v48 n3 p36-39 Mar. Discusses and illustrates the ways in which early childhood teachers can teach preschoolers about peace. Teachers can implement two simple rules: "Don't hurt anyone," and "Use words to settle problems." Explains how these rules would be implemented in particular preschool situations. (BB)…
(1993). Bibliography: Jewish/Palestinian Middle East Peace Perspectives (with a Focus on Feminist Activist Work). MultiCultural Review, v2 n4 p16-21 Dec. This semiannotated bibliography, developed for an honors program at the University if Minnesota on "Women and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict," lists regularly and irregularly appearing periodicals focusing on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict (8 sources) and books addressing the conflict (46 sources). The course syllabus and outline are also provided. (SLD)…
(2005). Citizenship and Human Rights Education: A Comparison of Textbooks in Turkey and the United States. International Journal of Educational Reform, v14 n1 p73-88 Win. Textbooks are major educational tools for students. A United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) project titled "Basic Learning Material" claims that textbooks provide the main resource for teachers, enabling them to animate the curricula and giving life to the subjects taught in the classroom. As Power and Allison indicate (2000), textbooks should support the full development of the human personality and promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. In order to actualize citizenship and human rights education apart from basic knowledge, educational activities that develop participation skills, critical-thinking skills, collaboration skills, problem-solving skills, and communication skills are also needed. That is why civics and human rights textbooks especially should include both texts and instructions for educational activities consistent with the text that help to develop these skills of the students. A number of studies were… [Direct]
(1993). War and Peace Literature for Children and Young Adults: A Resource Guide to Significant Issues. This book suggests ways that children's books can create frames of reference about the related topics of war and peace. It suggests ways that books can be used to start a dialogue between adults and children, to facilitate communication about a subject that causes much anxiety in children. Rather than bibliotherapy, however, the object of this book is to help adults help children understand the complex issues involved in war and peace. Books are used to create a shared frame of reference and to extend the child's experiences beyond the everyday world. They make abstract or historical concepts more concrete and comprehensible. The book is organized into four chapters. The first chapter presents a historical perspective on the process of sharing books about war and peace with children, as well as some of the developmental issues involved with giving the right book to the right child at the right time. The second chapter suggests specific techniques for sharing books about war and…
(1984). Alternatives to Violence: A Manual for Teaching Peacemaking to Youth and Adults. Designed as a guide to teaching an introductory course in creative conflict resolution for adults and teenagers in school and community settings, this resource manual describes active, experiential learning activities. The alternatives to violence course is structured into twenty 45-minute units (a total of 15 hours). Sessions 1-3 examine kinds of violence, the nature of violence, and institutional violence. Session 4 deals with basic responses to conflict and historical cases of nonviolent action. Sessions 5-7 focus on the development of nonviolent alternatives, including active listening, group facilitation and consensus, and negotiation and leadership. Session 8 explores differences between violence and nonviolence and session 9 examines elementary skills necessary for active nonviolent self-defense. Sessions 10-12 deal with confronting violence, alternatives to violence on the community level, and problem solving. In session 13, students apply concepts and skills for… [PDF]
(1971). Stability and Change: Through Ideas, and Non-Violent Action. Grade Eleven, Unit Two, 11.2. Comprehensive Social Studies Curriculum for the Inner City. The second unit of the 11th grade section of the FICSS series (Focus on Inner City Social Studies — see SO 008 271) examines social change in the United States through ideas and non-violent protest. The unit looks at the peaceful protests portrayed in politics, art, music, and writing demonstrating that peaceful protest is an accepted part of American life and that respecting the rights of others with differing opinions is an important aspect of society and change. Examples are given of men and groups who affected change through peaceful activism. The lessons begin with early historical protests and end with current contemporary concerns of immediate interest to the student. The content of the unit includes an introduction; required materials for the successful completion of the unit; knowledge, skill, and behavioral objectives; learning activities; and supplementary materials for both students and teachers. (JR)… [PDF]
(1991). Knowledge of the Elders: The Iroquois Condolence Cane Tradition. This study guide, developed for high school students, looks at Eastern Woodlands history and tradition through the words of Cayuga Nation elder Jacob Thomas. The Six Nations, also known as the Iroquois, are a confederacy of the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora tribes. The Iroquois have a population of more than 60,000 living in 14 reservations and several urban centers in New York, Ontario, Quebec, Wisconsin, and Oklahoma. The guide focuses on the Condolence ceremony by which chiefs are inducted into the nation councils represented in the Grand Council of the Iroquois Confederacy, or League of the Haudenosaunee. The ceremony also prescribes the customs to be followed at times of death, both of common people and of leaders. Wampum belts, sympathy strings, and a carved Condolence Cane are used in the ceremony. The Condolence Cane is a mnemonic device that depicts the "seating" arrangement of the Grand Council confederacy chiefs from clans in the Six…
(1996). Promoting Peace in Our Schools: Developmental, Preventive, and Multicultural Considerations. School Counselor, v44 n1 p55-64 Sep. Discusses ways to cultivate a more peaceful and respectful atmosphere in schools by incorporating developmental, preventive, and multicultural theories into the school environment. Three components are reviewed: (1) traditional conflict resolution learning strategies; (2) curriculum-based efforts designed to help students acquire the life skills necessary to prevent interpersonal conflicts; and (3) a clearly defined multicultural component. (KW)…
(2004). Peace Building and Conflict Resolution in Preschool Children. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, v19 n2 p131 Win. This study was designed to examine whether teacher training facilitates greater conflict resolution strategies and whether conflict resolution training leads to prosocial solutions by preschoolers who are at risk for conflict and violence in their environments. Head Start teachers were trained in a 40-hour college-level course. Teachers were instructed in the theory of conflict, conflict management, and socio-emotional development in addition to following a problem-solving curriculum with their preschool students. Sixty-four children were assessed at 4 and 5 years of age. Results showed that preschoolers of trained teachers had more skills in generating solutions to interpersonal problems. Furthermore, children of trained teachers relied on more relevant solutions and fewer forceful, and thus more prosocial, solutions to solve interpersonal problems. These findings will be discussed in a framework for teaching conflict resolution and social-emotional skills to preschool children….
(1976). If You Want Peace, Defend Life. This booklet, prepared for the 1977 World Day of Peace, examines the growing use of torture by governments around the world. It specifically focuses on torture and imprisonment of political prisoners as systematic violations of human rights. The booklet includes: a background essay which discusses human rights in the context of U.S. foreign policy; a paraliturgy section; an essay of the technology of torture; five case studies; a study and action guide; and a resource section. Argentina, Czechosolvakia, Indonesia, Iran, and South Africa are the five countries selected for the case studies. They were chosen with these criteria in mind: severe and persistant human rights violations; geographic distribution; and relationship to the United States aid and trade policies. The study and action guide outlines the procedures for the adoption of a political prisoner and gives suggestions and ideas for ongoing discussion and action related to the prisoner. Organizations, books, periodicals,…
(1971). Guide to the Concept: Identity. This draft outline presents and organizes for teachers one of the fundamental concepts in war/peace studies: identity. Identity is viewed as the relationship between a person's self-role and other socio-political roles learned and valued by him in the course of his psychological development. A rationale section points up the relationship of the concepts identity and self to a war/peace curriculum, the objective of such a curriculum being to identify for the child those roles that seem most relevant to an understanding of conflict and order, and to do so in a way that encourages the child to place these roles high in the hierarchy of his own role-structure. A number of affective and cognitive objectives for a study of the concept of identity are enumerated, and a method of testing for shifts in attitudes is suggested. A general discussion of role-theory follows, indicating how some of the research findings may be adapted to classroom use. A short, suggestive listing of social and… [PDF]