Peace in the playground

In many countries across the world, peace education is part of the school curriculum. Through this, people are able to acquire an understanding from an early age about the root causes of a conflict, how it escalates and how to face it as a society. The need for peace education in Sri Lanka has been felt for a long time and even though several Government organizations and NGOs have made attempts to make it a compulsory part of the education system, nothing concrete has ever been achieved.

Considerable inequality in access to education between rural and urban areas exists in Sri Lanka, and the decisive factor is often an ethnic or linguistic one. Lack of sufficient training and facilities means that classroom lessons are failing to harness the potential of children and youth, missing the chance to fulfill the preconditions for peaceful coexistence and a multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual Sri Lankan society through education. The severe ethnic divide in the country means that many Tamil and Singhalese children are growing up with biased and discriminatory views of the other, widening the rift which has been gradually tearing the country apart for decades.
UNICEF and UNESCO are particularly active advocates of peace education. UNICEF describes it as schooling and other educational initiatives that, amongst others, draw on the knowledge of peace building that exists in the community, including means of dealing with conflict that are effective, non-violent, and rooted in the local culture; and that enable children to put peace making into practice in the educational setting as well as in the wider community.

In the classroom, peace education aims to develop skills, attitudes and knowledge with co-operative learning methods in an environment of tolerance, support and respect. Teachers and students embark on a journey of dialogue and shared learning where students are nurtured and empowered to take responsibility for their own growth, while teachers care for and promote the welfare of students. This kind of education advocates for just and equitable relations, promotes individual and social responsibility for both educators and learners, and demonstrates that there are alternatives to violence.

Furthermore, “peace” is understood not only as the absence of traditional forms of direct violence, but also as a positive presence, something that is instilled in a child from birth via positive role models and teaching methods. As Patrick Whitaker, British educational advisor and former teacher said, “If peace is both the destination and the journey, then what we teach and how we teach it must not be separated in our preparations for working with pupils.” Peace education can even be incorporated into already existing subjects. Mathematics is used to develop problem solving skills, critical thinking and an awareness of the connection between math and culture. Mathematics can also be a very powerful way to approach topics of equity, global distribution of wealth, economic development, military versus educational expenditures, pollution and environmental responsibility.
But peace education should not be limited to countries that are developing or embroiled in conflict. Countries which are none of these, for example the United Kingdom, are also home to racial tension and division amongst its multicultural inhabitants. Mass international immigration is now a part of the modern world but the tragedy is that it goes hand in hand with discrimination so often, that it’s surprising the term ‘discrimmigration’ hasn’t found its way into the dictionary.

Ultimately, conflict is forever on the cards and if one is to draw upon the common notion that prevention is better than cure, it is vital that peace education is incorporated into every child’s timetable. What they learn and use to solve problems in the playground today can be adapted, so that tomorrow the playground, as it has in Sri Lanka and so many other countries across the world, doesn’t turn into a battlefield. Conflict transformation and peace building are often regarded as being only within highly academic and intellectual realms but when put into the simple but powerful words of A.J. Muste, one can see how teaching children about peace, respect and tolerance seems like the obvious way forward: “There is no way to peace, peace is the way.”