A study published in the journal Child Development finds that Morningside Center’s 4Rs Program (Reading, Writing, Respect & Resolution) improves children’s behavior, increases their social competency – – and significantly improves academic achievement for at-risk students. Watch this 15-minute video of The 4Rs program in action in a second grade classroom in Brooklyn.

Adam Turner, a college student intern with the American Friends Service Committee office in Los Angeles, documents AFSC’s work with high school students in Los Angeles.

Emmanuel Jal says: JOIN ME. BE A PEACE SOLDIER
Join us. I was a war child in the Sudan. Now I am a peace soldier. The difference for me between love and hate, war and peace, was education. I was saved by one woman who cared and dared to make a difference. I believe I survived for a reason. To teach. To be an example of change and an example of peace.

We have a saying in my village, “whoever is hurting allow them to talk, once they have finished talking, then there is peace”

Peace Soldiers are individuals who use education and understanding as their only weapons in generating a peaceful environment. Peace Soldiers are armed with compassion, the ability to listen, to be an example of peace.

Find more information and ways to get involved at http://wewantpeace2012.org/

This 14-minute video produced by Teacher’s TV in the U.K. shows a variety of ways that schools are incorporating conflict resolution into their programming. We get to sit in on some teacher training on conflict management strategies, witness the use of circle time to build community in a 7th grade classroom, and see a group of students being trained as peer mediators.

Peace Learning highlights the programs and progress of Peace Learning Center, a nonprofit organization in Indianapolis Indiana. The goal of the documentary is to artistically capture and promote hope and peace to a broad audience.

Started in 1997 in Indianapolis Indiana, Peace Learning Center has reached more than 150,000 people locally and internationally. Peace Learning is a documentary of the PLC’s gift of giving conflict resolution and peace education skills to youth and adults. This transformative film encourages positive change in the lives of viewers.

Jill Vialet believes that playing is essential to human development, and addresses significant education reform issues by encouraging greater creativity and problem-solving skills. This approach, she says, creates learning environments where kids feel safer, more engaged and more connected. Jill launched Playworks in 1996 in Berkeley, California. In 2012, Playworks will be bringing play and physical activities and conflict resolution skills training to 350 low-income, urban elementary schools in 23 cities.