Tolerance: the threshold of peace: A teaching/learning guide for education for peace, human rights

42-page PDF document which was “prepared to serve as an introductory resource material, to provide some understanding of what is involved in and required of education for tolerance. It provides a statement of the problems of intolerance, a rationale for teaching toward the goal of tolerance, and concepts and descriptions for identifying both the problems and the goals … Each chapter of the guide comprises material that can be used for study and discussion on issues of tolerance and peace. Organizations, groups and formal classes of secondary level and above can explore together the issues raised and problems identified…”

Opening the door to nonviolence: Peace education manual for primary school children

Electronic version of the second edition of a teacher’s guide for teaching peace education to primary school students. “Part I is designed as a training in affirmation, cooperation and communication. Part II deals with the healing of trauma; Part III is about bias and prejudices. Part IV introduces peaceful problem solving and nonviolent conflict resolving and Part V is about peaceful living. There are 20 chapters/sessions in the book, each session developed through step-by-step activities.”

Companion: A campaign guide about education and learning for change in diversity, human rights …

80-page PDF manual, “designed to help those involved in learning for democracy and learning for change. The issues it raises and the methods which are proposed have been developed as a part of the campaign, but the manual can and should be used after the formal end of the campaign … This is not a campaign for young people. It is a campaign by young people. The slogan of the campaign “All different, All equal” combines the freedom of diversity and the equality of rights, and it reflects the Council of Europe philosophy in tackling all forms of discrimination and exclusion.”

Peace education in UNICEF: Working paper

52-page PDF paper “produced to describe Peace Education programmes in UNICEF. Peace education programmes have been developed in a number of UNICEF country offices and National Committees for UNICEF over the past decade. Ideas are continually evolving about how to use the full range of children’s educational experiences to promote commitment to principles of peace and social justice. The purpose of this working paper is to stimulate further discussion and networking among UNICEF colleagues, to move towards a clearer articulation of good practice in Peace Education, and to pave the way for further exploration of how best to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of this area of UNICEF activity.”

Tolerance in multiethnic Georgia: Training methodology manual for educators

156-page pdf training manual, “on the management of interethnic relations intended for teachers and youth leaders (educators). It also includes the description of the ethnic groups residing in Georgia and covers the themes like the nature of ethnic stereotypes and attitudes, peculiarities of intercultural dialogue, the essence of ethnic identity and conflicts. The suggested training system is based on the findings of the empirical research carried out with the teachers in the public schools of Georgia, youth leaders in patriot camps and future teachers. The system underwent an additional testing with 195 training participants. The given book can be useful to psychologists, students, ethnologists and those who are involved in the fields of education and interethnic relations.”

Peace education curriculum: Programa pendidiken damai (pdf)

84-page pdf translation of the Indonesian “Kurikulum Pendidikan Damai” which “was the first of its kind to be developed in Indonesia, representing peace education from an Islamic and Acehnese perspective. It promotes a positive, comprehensive peace encompassing peaceful relations with God the Creator, with oneself, with one’s fellow humans, and with the environment. The curriculum teaches communal peace in accordance with the positive Islamic approach, namely the absence of war and discrimination and the necessity of justice in society. This manual emphasizes that peace is neither a subjugation to situations nor a passive acceptance of injustice, discrimination, and war, but rather a recognition of these problems and addressing them in a peaceful manner. The curriculum also stresses the importance of process and ends, since peace is both process and results, as reflected in active involvement of students in a system of learning by doing … The materials and learning activities were authored in such a manner to allow the students dominant roles in the learning process. The students are guided to observe, analyze, and seek for solutions to existing conflicts. We feel that this strategy can better improve the students’ knowledge on conflict and peace, build their skills in managing conflicts without violence, and actualize them all in their real life.”

Peace education curriculum: Programa pendidiken damai

92-page word document translation of the Indonesian “Kurikulum Pendidikan Damai” which “was the first of its kind to be developed in Indonesia, representing peace education from an Islamic and Acehnese perspective. It promotes a positive, comprehensive peace encompassing peaceful relations with God the Creator, with oneself, with one’s fellow humans, and with the environment. The curriculum teaches communal peace in accordance with the positive Islamic approach, namely the absence of war and discrimination and the necessity of justice in society. This manual emphasizes that peace is neither a subjugation to situations nor a passive acceptance of injustice, discrimination, and war, but rather a recognition of these problems and addressing them in a peaceful manner. The curriculum also stresses the importance of process and ends, since peace is both process and results, as reflected in active involvement of students in a system of learning by doing … The materials and learning activities were authored in such a manner to allow the students dominant roles in the learning process. The students are guided to observe, analyze, and seek for solutions to existing conflicts. We feel that this strategy can better improve the students’ knowledge on conflict and peace, build their skills in managing conflicts without violence, and actualize them all in their real life.”

SACSC Toward a safe and caring secondary curriculum

Web site developed by the Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada whose mission “is to encourage home, school and community practices that teach, model and reinforce socially responsible and respectful behaviors, so that living and learning can take place in a safe, caring and inclusive environment. Achieving this mission requires the involvement not only of parents, teachers, and children, but of all the important adults in children’s lives.” The “purpose of the Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities Toward a Safe and Caring Curriculum Secondary Unit and Lesson Plans web-based resource is to provide units, lesson plans and other resources that integrate safe and caring knowledge, skills and attitudes into all subject areas in the Alberta secondary curriculum… this resource was developed by Alberta reachers in whose classrooms the accompanying lessons have been field tested.” The lessons address 6 topics: Living Respectfully; Developing Self-Esteem; Respecting Diversity and Preventing Prejudice; Managing Anger; Dealing with Bullying; and Resolving Conflicts Peacefully for junior and senior high school students.

SACSC Elementary unit and lesson plans

Web site developed by the Society for Safe and Caring Schools and Communities in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada whose mission “is to encourage home, school and community practices that teach, model and reinforce socially responsible and respectful behaviors, so that living and learning can take place in a safe, caring and inclusive environment. Achieving this mission requires the involvement not only of parents, teachers, and children, but of all the important adults in children’s lives.” The site houses a number of lesson plans and educational units “focusing on adult modeling, the SACSC programs prevent negative social behavior through character education, conflict management training and building respect for diversity. They promote a problem-solving approach to discipline that encourages positive social behavior by expecting young people to fix the wrong they have caused, thereby learning from their mistakes.” They focus on 5 topics: Living Respectfully; Developing Self-Esteem; Respecting Diversity and Preventing Prejudice; Managing Anger and Dealing with Bullying and Harassment; and Resolving Conflicts Peacefully for grades K-6.

In the mix lesson plan: Cliques, friendship groups, or boxes

Web based lesson plan which “helps students explore the social ‘boxes’ that they place themselves in or are put in by others, and focus on how they judge one another. The lesson can also serve as a training session for students who wish to be Big Brothers and Sisters to incoming freshmen, or student facilitators of Human Relations groups — two programs that promote a greater sense of community within schools.” Draws on materials provided by PBS’s In the Mix program http://to.pbs.org/2sX2aD2

Pennies for peace toolkit materials

Website presented by “Pennies for Peace is a program of Central Asia Institute (CAI), founded by Greg Mortenson – author of the #1 New York Times best seller, Three Cups of Tea. The heart of the Pennies for Peace program is the penny raising campaign. The campaigns raise money to build schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but they also serve a more important purpose. A Pennies for Peace campaign teaches young people at all levels the importance of taking action and engaging their communities. It shows them that no matter how big or small you are, you can make a difference for others – often a profound one – by choosing to commit yourself to service and to a cause that matters to you. If you’re a classroom teacher, the Pennies for Peace toolkit encourages you to think differently about your program. The Pennies for Peace toolkit offers deep classroom activities at all grade levels; but to create effective campaigns you’ll need to do more outside of the classroom to get your community involved. For this reason, the Pennies for Peace toolkit is designed with classroom resources as well as campaign tools.” Includes curriculum resource guides for grades K-4, 4-8 and 9-12 as well as videos, maps, photos, etc.

UNESCO: Mainstreaming the culture of peace

26-page pdf created by UNESCO which “defined the Culture of Peace as consisting of values, attitudes and behaviours that reject violence and endeavour to prevent conflicts by addressing their root causes with a view to solving problems through dialogue and negotiation among individuals, groups and nations. The 1999 United Nations Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace (resolution A/53/243) called gor everyone – governments, civil dociety, the media, parents, teachers, politicians, scientists, artists, NGOs and the entire United Nations system – to assume responsibility in this respect. It staked out eight action areas for actors at national, regional and international levels:” Those 8 action areas are: Fostering a culture of peace through education; Promoting sustainable economic and social development; Promoting respect for all human rights; Ensuring equality between women and men; Fostering democratic participation; Advancing understanding, tolerance and solidarity; Supporting participatory communication and the free flow of information and knowledge and Promoting international peace and security.

Curriculum in mediation, A: Lesson plans gateway

5-page pdf document which presents a teacher’s guide for training peer mediators, provides links to workbook lesson plans for conflict management, communication skills, role playing exercises and agreement writing.

Restorative conferences resource kit

60-page pdf resource kit for presenting restorative conferences which “(involves the gathering of those who have a stake in a particular troublesome situation, to talk together to find ways of making amends) … the purpose of these conferences is to discuss what the problem might be and to pool ideas about what might be most helpful from here, for all concerned, from this pool of ideas should emerge a plan for restoration of the situation… These Conferences offer a helpful step forward by involving a range of participants who both contribute to and are affected by the situation at hand, they promote a spirit of open and direct conversation and add a human touch to the process of addressing transgressions… this Resource Kit represents the culmination of 18 months of work by a group whose links are with restorative justice, Maori protocols, and counsellor training with narrative therapy at the University of Waikato.” Includes bibliography

Peace education: A pathway to a culture of peace

178-page pdf document which “helps the educator, whether in formal or non formal settings, to understand that peace is a holistic concept and state of being and that it can not be learned in the traditional lecture-note taking-testing framework. Indeed, peace education can be integrated into many disciplines. The culture of peace must replace the culture of violence if we and our home, planet Earth, are to survive … teaching the value of tolerance, understanding and respect for diversity among the school children could be introduced through exposing them to various countries of the world, their geography, history, and culture. At the appropriate levels, curricula must include human rights, the rules governing international law, the United Nations Charter, the goals of our global organization, disarmament, sustainable development and other peace issues. The participation of young people in this process is very essential. Their inputs in terms of their own ideas on how to cooperate with each other in order to eliminate violence in our societies must be fully taken into account. In addition to expanding the capacity of the students to understand the issues, peace education aims particularly at empowering the students, suited to their individual levels, to become agents of peace and nonviolence in their own lives as well as in their interaction with others in every sphere of their existence … We have organized the book into three sections. Part I presents chapters that are meant to help us develop a holistic understanding of peace and peace education. Part II discusses the key themes in peace education. Each chapter starts with a conceptual essay on a theme and is followed by some practical teaching-learning ideas that can either be used in a class or adapted to a community setting. Part III focuses on the peaceable learning climate and the educator, the agent who facilitates the planting and nurturing of the seeds of peace in the learning environment. Finally, the whole school approach is introduced to suggest the need for institutional transformation and the need to move beyond the school towards engagement with other stakeholders in the larger society.”