Peace education in an urban school district in the United States

Abstract

My kindergarten students at Sherman Multicultural Arts School in Milwaukee were dealing with the trauma of growing up in a violent society. Their personal encounters with violence were reflected daily in their journal dictations, class discussions and peer conversations. It was difficult for them to understand why Mom had been robbed, a bike had been stolen, an uncle was in jail. I wanted to engage them in an activity that would make them aware of peaceful alternatives. Using Martin Luther King Jr. as a role model, we had enthusiastic discussions on how to bring peace into their lives. We decided to compile their ideas into a big and entitled it Living Together Better Peace by Peace. Each page in the book concentrated on one area of the students' lives-family, school, neighborhood and world. They composed peaceful rules to live by, such as: Don't get mad and throw things. Stay away from guns. Help old people clean up their yard. Their colorful drawings enlivened the text on each page.