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Tolerance –the thresholdof peace

toleranB e t t y A . R e a r d o n

Primary-school resource unit

Tolerance – the threshold of peace

Tolerance – the threshold of peace

Note:This unit for primary schools is the second of a three-unit series.The other two units are:

Unit 1:

Te a c h e r - t r a i n i n g r e s o u r c e u n i t

Unit 3:

S e c o n d a r y - s c h o o l r e s o u r c e u n i t

Unit 2: P r i m a r y - s c h o o l r e s o u r c e u n i t

Tolerance – the threshold of peaceB e t t y A . R e a r d o n

T h e T e a c h e r ’ s L i b r a r y

U N E S C O P u b l i s h i n g

This resource is the result of the project in education during the United Nations Year for Tolerance conceptualized and directed by Ms Kaisa Savolainen, Director of the Section for Humanistic, Cultural and International Education at UNESCO.

The author is responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this book and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit the Organization.The designations employed and the presentation of materiel throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

Published in 1997 by the United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization,7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SPComposed by Éditions du Mouflon, 94270 Le Kremlin-Bicêtre.Printed by Imprimerie des Presses Universitaires de France, 41100 Vendôme.

ISBN 92-3-103377-8

© UNESCO 1997

P r e f a c e

Living with diversity is one of the greatest challenges facing the societiesin which our children are growing up. In a world where cultures increas-ingly touch and intermingle, teaching the values and skills of ‘learning tolive together’ has become a priority issue for education.

I therefore appeal to the world’s Heads of State and Government, toMinisters and officials responsible for education at all levels, to the mayorsof all cities, towns and villages, to all teachers, to religious communities,to journalists and to all parents:

• to educate our children and young people with a sense of openness andcomprehension towards other people, their diverse cultures and historiesand their fundamental shared humanity;

• to teach them the importance of refusing violence and adopting peacefulmeans for resolving disagreements and conflicts;

• to forge in the next generations feelings of altruism, openness and respecttowards others, solidarity and sharing based on a sense of security in one’sown identity and a capacity to recognize the many dimensions of beinghuman in different cultural and social contexts.In the follow-up to the United Nations Year for Tolerance celebrated onthe initiative of UNESCO in 1995, it is crucial for all of us to continue togive new meaning to the word ‘tolerance’ and understand that our abilityto value each and every person is the ethical basis for peace, security andintercultural dialogue.

A peaceful future depends on our everyday acts and gestures. Let useducate for tolerance in our schools and communities, in our homes andworkplaces and, most of all, in our hearts and minds.

Federico Mayor,Director-General of UNESCO

José Bernardo Schmeisser Saavedra, 11, Chile

‘A teacher must not have any favourites and does not separate the poor from the rich and the not-so-intelligent from the intelligent.’ Zandile Sandra, 12, Zimbabwe

Source: What Makes a Good Teacher? Children Speak their Minds. Brochure of the International Children’s Contest organized by UNESCO through the Associated Schools Project, Paris, UNESCO, 1996.

The purpose of this resource and how to use it 11

●1 Diagnosing intolerance among students and teachers 13

●2 Characteristics of the tolerant classroom 17

●3 A process approach to learning the realms of tolerance 19

●4 Learning goals of education for peace, human rights and democracy 21

●5 Selected learning activities to serve as suggested approaches 25

Appendices

1. Universal Declaration of Human Rights 87

2. Declaration on the Rights of the Child 93

3. A look at the Convention on the Rights of the Child 94

C o n t e n t s

➡➡➡

●5.1 L I V I N G W I T H H U M A N D I V E R S I T YIntroducing cultural differences 26 • Self-awareness through self-expression 30 • Indigenous peoples: preserving human cultures 32 •The Ugly Duckling: a story of prejudice and exclusion 33 • Humansimilarities and differences 35 • Respect and awareness: thefoundations of tolerance 36 • Using arts and crafts for community-building 38 • Identity and diversity 39 • Encounter of cultures:learning from and about others 42 • Justice and equality: principles of tolerance 44

●5.2 D E A L I N G W I T H C O N F L I C T : S K I L L S A N D V A L U E S

Confronting the conflicts of young children 47 • Peer mediation 50 •Faces: an exercise in positing alternatives 52 • A process for resolvingconflicts 54 • Reconciliation through affirmation 57 • Reconciliationthrough co-operation 59 • Bullyproof: preventing violence 61

●5.3 E X E R C I S I N G R E S P O N S I B I L I T YSharing circles: learning to live in a community 65 • Establishingclassroom rights and responsibilities 67 • The fundamental ethics ofhuman relations 68 • Learning religious tolerance and respect fordiversity 70 • Non-violence to oppose injustice 72 • The rights ofthe child: responsibility and relationships 73 • Storytelling as a basisfor ethical reflection 79 • The voices of children: responding toviolence 82

➡

T h e p u r p o s e o f t h i s r e s o u r c e a n dh o w t o u s e i t

This learning resource is one of a set of three distinct but interrelated unitsdesigned to encourage and facilitate education for tolerance. This unit isintended to aid primary-school teachers and those who direct out-of-school programmes for children aged 4 or 5 to 12 or 13 years in initiatingand guiding learning that will nurture tolerance as a personal value,behavioural practice and social commitment. We seek to help children todevelop an understanding of some of the fundamental principles oftolerance: human diversity as a life-enhancing condition; conflict as anormal process to be managed constructively; and social responsibility andthe human capacity to reflect and apply ethical norms to personal andpublic decisions as essential to democracy. Thus, the learning activitiesdescribed here are focused on the development of the capacities tounderstand and apply these three fundamental principles.

As illustrated in the curriculum selections, these principles areembedded in a wider foundation of a value system best articulated in thenorms and standards of human rights. These three principles are emphas-ized here, not only because they are among the most essential values to becommunicated in education for tolerance, but also because they are thesubject of so many of the current curricula and teaching programmesfocused on peace, human rights, and democracy.

Most of the teaching materials and learning activities included here aregleaned from the materials and reports sent to UNESCO from all partsof the world in response to the call for contributions circulated in 1995with a preliminary version of this resource, a single unit produced anddistributed in observation of the International Year of Tolerance. Thepresent three-unit version is the next step in a longer-range effort thatUNESCO is undertaking to support and implement the United NationsInternational Decade for Human Rights Education.

12 Tolerance – the threshold of peace ➞ Unit 2

The materials and activities, although excerpted in part and adaptedsomewhat to the particular purposes of this resource, are presented in aform as close as possible to that used by the designers of the material. Thus,there is no standard format applied in the presentation of the units. Rather,they demonstrate some of the multiple ways in which curricula are pre-sented in various parts of the world. The materials included were selectedor particularly designed to facilitate the essential aspects of the threefundamental organizing principles: diversity, conflict, and responsibility.

The rationale for, and a fundamental conceptual framework for teachingabout tolerance, reflecting the principles set forth in UNESCO’s IntegratedFramework of Action on Education for Peace, Human Rights, andDemocracy, is presented in detail in Unit 1 of this three-unit version. Thecore unit was prepared for the education of adults, especially teachereducators and community education facilitators. This supplementary unitfor elementary schools is comprised primarily of actual teaching materialsset in the context of the fundamental organizing principles and a summaryof the main concepts, values and processes outlined in the core resource.Although use of that resource is not necessary to applying the selectionsincluded here, some teachers may want to review it to gain more familiaritywith the conceptual framework. Similarly, teacher educators will find thisand the secondary supplement useful for the demonstration of instructionalapproaches and procedures.

The approach to education for tolerance taken here is an extension ofthat of the preliminary resource distributed in 1995. It identified toleranceas the first stage of a longer-range process leading towards the developmentof a truly peaceful and democratic world society comprised of convivialcommunities. That process cannot unfold in the presence of the virulentepidemic of intolerance which has provoked the awareness of the necessityto educate for tolerance. Tolerance is the turning point at which we canmove from a culture of violence towards a culture of peace. Without thefundamental basis of tolerance, the more advanced and desirable conditionsof respect, mutuality, solidarity and conviviality cannot be achieved. Thuswe have identified tolerance as a ‘threshold’ value or condition which opensthe door to the actual goals desired, peace and democracy, based on auniversal respect for all the human rights of all members of the humanfamily – in sum, a culture of peace.

We hope that this guide will inspire teachers in all cultures to developtheir own methods and systematic approaches to promote tolerance.Because examples from every culture were not available, we recommendthat teachers adapt with appropriate changes those examples that theyconsider suitable to their specific cultural settings.

1 . D i a g n o s i n gi n t o l e r a n c e a m o n g s t u d e n t s a n d t e a c h e r s

In the educational process which is the very core of the larger socialprocess of moving from a culture of violence to a culture of peace, weadvocate as a first step diagnosing the elements of intolerance that exist inour communities and as a consequence are too frequently found, as well,in our schools.

I n t o l e r a n t b e h a v i o u rTeachers can use the indicators listed in Unit 1 of this series under ‘Symp-toms of Intolerance’ as a means of assessing the presence of intolerance intheir classes. There, the symptoms are described as social conditions. Herethe symptoms are described as behavioural indicators. Teachers who haveachieved an authentic level of trust and confidence with their students canuse these indicators as the bases for discussion to produce awareness ofthe nature and consequences of such behaviour that many children manifestwithout being aware of the full meaning of their actions. Such discussionscould be integrated into teaching for social responsibility, enabling studentsto reflect on the consequences of their actions as an essential step to takingresponsibility for them.

While the specific indicators here are only a few of the forms ofbehaviour that disclose the symptoms, they offer teachers some idea ofwhat to look for in an assessment of intolerance. The following questionsare intended to serve that purpose. Not all the following indicators willapply to situations of intolerance among all children, as circumstances varyfrom culture to culture and country to country, even classroom toclassroom. In some cases, teachers may find all symptoms present.


S O M E S Y M P T O M S O F I N T O L E R A N C E A N D Q U E S T I O N S T H A T L E A D T O T H E I RI D E N T I F I C A T I O N

Language ➡ Do children call each other names or use racial or ethnic slurs orother denigrating terms in describing or addressing any members of theclass?

Stereotyping ➡ Do children generalize in negative terms about racial or ethnicgroups, disabled, elderly or other people different from themselves?

Teasing ➡ Do children seek to embarrass others by calling attention to somepersonal characteristic, mistakes or condition of their lives, families orfriends?

Prejudice ➡ Do children assume that some children are less capable or worthybecause of their racial or ethnic origins or personal characteristics? Do theyconsider children belonging to some religions unsuitable playmates orcompanions?

Scapegoating ➡ Do children tend to blame mishaps, misconduct, disputes, lossin sports or other competitions on one or a few particular classmates?

Discrimination ➡ Do children shun some classmates, not choosing them forpartners or team-mates on a regular basis?

Ostracism ➡ Do children go through periods in which one or a few childrenare not spoken to or included in their activities?

Harassment ➡ Do some children seek to make other children uncomfortableby squeezing them out of line, leaving unpleasant anonymous notes orcaricature drawings on their desks or in their books, or engaging in otherforms of behaviour that are intended to make the victimized child conformto or withdraw from the group?

Desecration or Defacement ➡ Do some children write graffiti or deliberatelyspill paint or in other ways show disrespect for and desire to damage theproperty or school work of another child or children?

Bullying ➡ Do some children tend to deliberately intimidate some smaller orweaker children, use their social status or coerce others to do what the bullywants them to do?

Expulsion ➡ Have some children been thrown off teams or out of clubs orworking groups in an unfair or gratuitous manner?

Exclusion ➡ Are some children consistently kept out of games, clubs or out-of-school activities?

Segregation ➡ Do students tend to congregate and socialize mainly in groupsbased on race, religion, ethnicity or gender?

15Diagnosing intolerance among students and teachers

Repression ➡ Are some children forcefully or by other forms of intimidationdiscouraged or prevented by other children from participating in classdiscussions or speaking their minds in social interactions with their peers?

Destruction ➡ Have some children been attacked or physically harmed by otherchildren?

It is advisable to make a general assessment of possible intolerance in thefirst days of meeting with a new class. However, teachers should be alertto the manifestation of these symptoms at all times. Responses must besensitive and instructional. It is no use blaming the perpetrator in thepresence of the class or lavishing sympathy on the victim. The responseshould begin with teaching units related to the forms of intolerance thatare present so that students become aware of them in a non-threateningway. When dealing with the actual symptoms in a particular class, teachersare advised to focus on the behaviour and its consequences, rather thanon perpetrators and victims. The focus should be first on the problem, thenon the relationship, not on the persons involved until there is sufficientunderstanding to enable students to take responsibility for their actions.

The students directly involved and their classmates should reflect onthe actual and the potential consequences, and assess the effects theseconsequences can have to the class. Then the students could be asked todevelop appropriate responses. What should others in the class do whenthey observe such behaviour? What kinds of action would help to changethe situation, provide a fair solution and contribute towards a more tolerantclimate in the class? The perpetrators and victims should be helped toacknowledge responsibility and develop a better relationship. Exercises inconflict resolution and reconciliation could be employed. Teachers couldalso introduce for discussion ‘Characteristics of the Tolerant Classroom’,as outlined in Chapter 2 of this unit.

Te a c h e r s i n c r e a s i n g t h e i r c a p a c i t i e s f o r t o l e r a n c e

There are few human beings who do not at some time manifest intolerance.It may be something as short-lived and simple as impatience, but it mayalso be an isolated, serious incident of behaviour that wounds the self-esteem or personal dignity of another. Unfortunately, teachers as a groupare not immune to intolerance. Because such incidents can have significantconsequences when children are affected, all teachers should become awareof and more sensitive to their own behaviour and attitudes. This isaddressed in more detail in Unit 1.


School staff members can serve as support groups to help each otherto practise active tolerance of and sincere respect for each other and theirstudents. Here, too, it is important not to be judgemental, but to strengthenteachers’ capacities for tolerance rather than blame them for intolerance.Unit 1 has a number of suggestions to institute such processes. Teacherscan use the symptoms described as classroom behaviour here, adaptingthem to an examination of their own attitudes and behaviour. Even thoughthe entire staff is not involved, a group of two, three or more teachers ontheir own could form tolerance support groups to encourage andstrengthen teachers’ capacities to teach about and for tolerance.

In so doing, it is recommended that teachers consider especially thesymptoms of stereotyping, scapegoating, prejudice and discrimination asthey reflect on their own behaviour. It would also help when exploringattitudes to have the courage to confront the possibilities that some of thesevere forms of intolerance defined in the primary unit might be presentin our schools or classrooms. It is especially important to try to ascertainthe presence of some of those forms of intolerance that often involveunconsciously assumed attitudes or actions that are not always intentionallyprejudicial, such as sexism, racism, and ethnocentrism.

One way to start would be with a review of curricula to diagnosesymptoms and identify forms of intolerance that may be in the materials,then move on to attitudes, then behaviour. Through this process, teacherscould help each other to establish and develop truly tolerant classrooms.

2 . C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e t o l e r a n tc l a s s r o o m

Just as teachers need guidelines to diagnose intolerance, they also needindicators to describe and measure the conditions that characterize thetolerant classroom. The following indicators, adapted from Unit 1, areoffered to help teachers set goals and measure progress towards tolerancein their classroom.

I N D I C A T O R S O F T O L E R A N C ELanguage ➡ Children do not use slurs or insulting language to each other. They

are appreciative of other languages and those who speak them. They arehelpful to children who are just learning the language of instruction.

Classroom order ➡ All are treated equally, allowed and encouraged to participatein all lessons and activities. All try to co-operate towards a good learningclimate.

Social relations ➡ Teachers and children address and behave towards each otherin a respectful and cordial manner, and children treat each other with mutualrespect.

Decision-making ➡ All are consulted and encouraged to give opinions aboutclassroom matters and any decisions and actions to be made by the students.Pupils are given opportunities to discuss and determine an increasingnumber of the issues that concern them as they gain maturity. Childrenshould practise democracy in their learning communities.

Majority–minority relations ➡ Children of all groups, especially those fromcultural, religious, ethnic or linguistic minorities, are treated with sensitivityby teachers and respect by all their classmates. Children have opportunitiesto know and learn from the minorities in their societies as teachers or fellow


students. Minority experiences and perspectives are included in thecurriculum.

Special events ➡ At school festivals, on parents’ days and other specialoccasions, children of both sexes and all cultural, religious, ethnic andlanguage groups participate equally in the performances and activities.

Cultural events and activities ➡ The special holidays of the various culturalgroups represented in the school or class are acknowledged and, wherepossible, celebrations are shared.

Religious practices ➡ The faiths of all children are respected. All children areprovided with opportunities, if they so wish, to explain their religious beliefsand practices to their classmates. Respect for the religious faiths of othersis demonstrated by all.

Intergroup co-operation ➡ Co-operative learning and group work are frequentlypractised. The teacher assures that as much of this work as possible is donein groups that represent most of the cultures and various forms of humanidentity in the class.

When most of these characteristics prevail, we can say that there is morethan tolerance in our schools. We would have classrooms in which childrenlive for at least a few hours a day in a convivial community, a microcosmof a culture of peace. Children who have experienced a culture of peacein some phase or area of their social lives are far more likely than thosewhose sole or main experience is a culture of violence to learn the skillsand develop the capacities to achieve and maintain a culture of peace inthe larger social arenas in which they will live out their lives. They will beenabled to enter and mature in the widening realms of learning tolerance,from the beginning of the shift from intolerance to tolerance and on tothe wider realms that comprise a culture of peace. The learning and thesocial development of these realms should be approached as a process, anunfolding of instructive experiences.

3 . A p r o c e s s a p p r o a c ht o l e a r n i n g t h e r e a l m s o f t o l e r a n c e

Seven realms of learning are outlined in Unit 1 as comprising a processapproach to teaching for tolerance and peace. These do not include all thepossible and relevant realms of learning that persons and groups couldexperience in education for an authentic culture of peace; rather, they areintended to be suggestive and to demonstrate an approach that appearswell-suited to learning tolerance, an active learning process in which skills,capacities and behaviour are actually practised as they are learned. Thisprocess clearly demonstrates that tolerance is merely a beginning, athreshold through which learners may enter ever wider and deeper realmsof learning until they understand and are able to behave in a way thatcreates the relationships constituting a convivial community.

Each of these realms can be the basis of study and/or the objectives ofparticular curricular materials and teaching methods. Some of the possi-bilities are suggested here:

T H E S E V E N R E A L M S O F L E A R N I N G T O L E R A N C ETolerance ➡ Begin the process by introducing children to the concept of

universal human dignity, noting that all of us are obliged to allow others tolive as dignified human beings or to be and become personalities andmembers of their own culture. Various human rights curricula havesuggestions for such lessons.

Acquaintance ➡ Teachers should assure that all students are acquainted withall the other classmates. Using name games and getting acquainted sessionsduring which children introduce other children to the class are two of manyapproaches to this realm of learning.


Respect for difference ➡ Observing the diversities among the class membersin an affirming celebratory way can open this realm of learning. Any of theactivities among the selection of lessons in Section 5.1, ‘Living with HumanDiversity’ (pages 25–46) can be used or adapted as openers.

Understanding uniqueness ➡ Students need to learn that diversity is comprisedof group differences and individual differences. All humans are members ofone species and all are unique, irreplaceable individuals. Each person is aspecial gift to the whole human family. The lessons devoted to personalidentity are very useful for bringing children into this realm.

Complementarity as the principle of relating to differences ➡ Children shouldbe given opportunities to explore ways in which their differences can bebrought together so that all in a group have the advantages of the gifts ofthe individual members. Discovering each person’s special talents andcapacities is a constructive beginning to co-operative learning.

Mutuality as a basis for co-operative endeavours ➡ Children can be introducedto collaborative problem-solving and shared learning tasks to demonstratehow everyone benefits when the interests of all are served through co-operation.

A culture of peace ➡ Children who experience and practise respect, com-plementarity and collaborative problem-solving are being provided withfundamental capacities for peace-building and community building. Activitiesundertaken to serve the community of the classroom, the school and thewider community reinforce the learning of these realms and enable studentsto enter the realm of the convivial community, living together in the joy andharmony that are the fruits of peace.

4 . L e a r n i n g g o a l s o f e d u c a t i o n f o r p e a c e , h u m a n r i g h t s a n d d e m o c r a c y

The purposes, goals and objectives of educating for tolerance are entirelyrelated to those outlined in the UNESCO Integrated Framework of Actionfor Education for Peace, Human Rights and Democracy. As specified inTable 1 (reproduced here from Unit 1), each of these categories representsboth the superordinate values, the realization of which is the major purposeof education for global citizenship, and the knowledge and skills for theexercise of global citizenship. The future of the planetary society emergingfrom a complex of the global systems and institutions that characterize thepresent world requires active citizenship. The processes of nation-buildingthat predominated over the past two centuries led to an education fornational citizenship. Now the process of building the foundations of aplanetary society that will function in a global culture of peace requiresthat national citizenship be complemented by global citizenship, that is, bya sense of responsibility and the capacity to participate in a planetarysociety.

While the capacities required for global citizenship are not distinctlydifferent from those required for national citizenship, they do require abroadening of perspective in addition to new layers of complexity incurriculum content. Both these necessities call for a more holistic approachto education in general and the adoption of more co-operative modes ofinstruction. A holistic approach involves not only a global perspective ineducation, especially that related to education for peace, democracy andhuman rights, it also calls for wider frameworks in all curricular areas, sothat the whole substance of any topic or issue and the full extent of anysystem being studied be assumed as the working framework. Such is therecommendation of the Integrated Framework of Action. This does notmean that the details and specific subjects should receive less attention,


but rather that these elements should be emphasized in the context of theirinterrelationship and interdependence (two key concepts in education forglobal citizenship).

Emphasizing the interrelationship and interdependence of variousissues studied in depth can be facilitated by co-operative learning processesin which tasks are divided between students and individual learning isshared in groups. Co-operative learning makes dealing with complexityeasier, so that problems need not be ‘simplified’, a process that can lead todistortion and misinterpretation. Co-operation encourages an interactiveform of learning that enables most individuals to deal with much higherlevels of complexity, even at the elementary level.

The temptation to simplify frequently indulged at the elementary levelshould be resisted in favour of intelligent selection of topics and issues uponwhich to focus learning that gradually builds the capacity to deal withcomplexity. By choosing relevant subjects, close or similar to the children’s

Table 1. Tolerance, a conceptual framework: social goals and problems

Value concepts Goals – tolerance Problems – intolerance Processes of tolerance

Peace Civil disputation; constructive conflict; co-operative social relationships

Human Cultural variety;rights religious diversity;

political pluralism; economic equity; social justice; healthful environment

Democracy Multiple political philosophies and opinions; public policy debate; full and openly available information

Violence: physical,structural, cultural,psychological

Sexism, racism,ethnocentrism,poverty, exploitation,prejudice,discrimination,oppression,environmentaldegradation

Impediments topolitical participation;denial of fundamentalfreedoms; censorshipand manipulation ofpublic information

Peacekeeping and othermeans of restrainingviolence and remediatingits destructive conse-quencesNegotiation, mediation,adjudication (non-violentconflict resolution)

Cross-cultural co-operation; interreligious dialogue;human rightsprotections; equitable resourcedistribution; sustainable development

Fair and open politicaldiscussions; repres-entative/participatorydecision-making; responsible informationmedia free to inform thepublic on public issues

23Learning goals of education for peace, human rights and democracy

experience, and emphasizing the varieties of experiences and perspectives,primary-school teachers can lay the groundwork for dealing with complexissues at the secondary level. As can be seen in the widening realms oflearning tolerance, education for peace comprises a panoply of complexissues.

By using participatory and experiential teaching methods, teachers cansensitize children to a process orientation that will enable them to under-stand change as well as complexity and help them to see that change itself,like the processes needed to achieve tolerance and peace, is a participatoryprocess. This understanding is the requisite base for developing a sense ofcapacity and a commitment to participate in such processes as a way ofexercising social responsibility.

However, the most important aspect of co-operative learning is that itteaches children the value of co-operation while giving them opportunitiesto practise skills of co-operation, which may be the most urgently neededfor all those seeking to behave as constructive planetary citizens. Certainly

Table 2. Tolerance: general learning goals

Values Knowledge Capacities and skills Basis for assessment

Human dignity (human rights)

Social justice (democracy)

Co-operative non-violent society (peace)

Varieties ofhuman, personaland culturalidentities, socialissues

Multiple forms of democraticprocesses andgovernance

Alternative waysof respondingconstructively tohuman differencesand conflicts

Living with diversityCross-cultural co-operation; using human rightsstandards to makejudgements

ExercisingresponsibilityCritical reflection;communication offacts and opinions;political decision-making

Managing conflictDiscussion and debate;conflict resolution;reconciliation; socialreconstruction; co-operative problem-solving andtask achievement

Performance in actualcross-cultural tasks;performance in applyinghuman rights standardsto cases of violation

Presentation ofinterpretation of samplesituations; presentationof description ofproblems and potentialsolutions; presentationof reasons for a politicalposition

Oral and writtenarguments describingalternatives, choosingone, and stating reasonsfor choice; simulation of conflict-resolution proceduresand approaches toreconciliation


such skills are a necessary complement to those of conflict resolution andnegotiation of differences fundamental to the democratic process, whichcannot function in the absence of co-operation skills.

Co-operation skills should be honed as much as possible in the contextof difference. Learning to communicate and work constructively withthose who are different is an important goal for learning to live withdiversity. When forming co-operative learning groups, teachers should besensitive to the necessity of varying group formation, so that children havethe experience both of working with those who have much in commonwith them and with those who may be perceived as ‘others’, even as‘strangers’, for the capacity to accept and work with others and withstrangers may well be what determines human survival.

Many of the activities included in Chapter 5 are designed to be carriedout through co-operative and group learning processes. Learning to co-operate effectively is one of the major learning goals pursued in educationfor tolerance. So, too, is learning to conduct conflict in a constructivemanner.

Since conflict is a major characteristic of our society and an inevitableoccurrence in the human experience, we include skills for dealing withconflict as one of the major learning goals and one of the three categoriesof learning activities. The objectives of the lessons here are to teach childrento value non-violence and understand ways of conducting and resolvingconflict fairly and constructively.

Conflict and diversity are probably the major characteristics of thesocieties in which our children are growing up. If they do not learn to livewith diversity, they may well die from conflict. Now as never beforeeducation is faced with issues of life and death. A major objective ofteaching for tolerance is to enable our children to live with diversity, tobenefit from it and to fashion from it a pluralistic, just and peaceful worldsociety – a ‘culture of peace’.

To fulfil the learning goals of education for social responsibility, weinclude here activities and lessons that emphasize choice-making and ethicalbehaviour based on fundamental principles of universal human rights.

Thus, the following learning activities are organized according to thegoals of living with diversity, dealing constructively with conflict andtaking action in fulfilment of social responsibility. Table 2 on page 23(reproduced from Unit 1) outlines these goals in more detail.

Diversity

5 . S e l e c t e d l e a r n i n ga c t i v i t i e s t o s e r v ea s s u g g e s t e da p p r o a c h e s

The activities selected or designed for this unit are intended to serve assuggestions and as the basis for adaptations especially developed for par-ticular classrooms. Teachers are advised to assess the appropriateness andadaptability of any of these activities to the learners in their own classrooms,to make changes to meet their own instructional needs and, where possible,to develop their own units. UNESCO would be happy to continue toreceive sample lessons from as broad a range of learning situations aspossible, so that the process of developing ways of teaching about and fortolerance can continue to be extended, refined and disseminated.

Each selection is intended to illustrate and facilitate instruction in someessential attribute, capacity or skill for the practice of tolerance and theachievement of peace.

5 . 1 L i v i n g w i t h h u m a n d i v e r s i t yMutual understanding and co-operation between groups with differentethnicities, religions, political ideologies and economic status is essentialnot only to communal and world peace, but to the very survival of humansociety. It is this imperative that inspires the majority of materials for anddescriptions of education for tolerance received by UNESCO. Thus, thereis a larger portion of lessons and learning activities designed to fulfil thegoal of learning to live with human diversity than there is for managingconflict and exercising social responsibility. The materials in this section,as in the other two sections, are arranged according to age suitability. Aswith all aspects of this unit, teachers are advised to exercise prudence inselections not only for age, but for social and cognitive development andcultural characteristics.


The concepts that are particularly emphasized in this section areidentity, self-esteem and awareness, respect for others, understandingsimilarities and differences, and appreciation of human diversity. It is mostimportant that learners perceive diversity as a source of strength and as apossibility for building a human community.

D i v e r s i t yS e l e c t i o n 1

I n t r o d u c i n g c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e s(ages 4–8)

Even the youngest child can comprehend cultural differences and canbegin to appreciate cultural diversity. Such is the purpose of the lessonsprovided by early childhood educator Maryse Michaud and offered duringthe Christmas holiday season by a French école maternelle. It should benoted that any national holiday or feast days of any other religions couldalso be the occasion for this kind of lesson. This lesson, involving parents,serves as a model for co-operation between schools and families, so thatthe two most important factors in the child’s life are mutually supportiveof the developmental and learning processes intended to encourage attitudesof openness to diversity. While the following activities were developed forpre-school children, they can be also adapted to the early primary schoolgrades.

Parents’ participation and preparations for a party

The childrenAll the children of the school took part in mixed-grade workgroups.

Point of departurePreparing for the Christmas party, with the baking of cakes and learningof songs. After the entertainment, a tea-party was to be laid on for all thechildren in the school.

Duration: One month.We asked parents to join in the baking groups. Among them was Ahmed’smother, who is from Tunisia and came to teach the children how to makehoney cakes, a speciality of her country.

Ahmed, who is usually troublesome during ‘cookery’ sessions, helpedhis mother with great seriousness and pleasure. He liked being a ‘teacher’.

27Selected learning activities to serve as suggested approaches

The recipeHis mother gave us the recipe which the teacher then photocopied so thateach child could make ‘Ahmed’s cake’ at home.

SongsThe bigger children decided to learn Christmas carols and sing them infront of the whole school on the day of the party. Nicolas, whose motheris German, wanted to sing a song in German. Why not learn it too? ‘Wecan’t understand a word. It’s much too hard. It doesn’t mean anything.Maybe it would be easier with Nicolas’s mother. She could translate thesong and teach it to us.’ So she came twice a week to teach us ‘Nicolas’ssong’. We even ‘put it to music’ with bells and chimes!

At one of these sessions, Bernard said: ‘My mummy and daddy don’tspeak German. They speak Portuguese.’ We decided to ask his mother orfather to come and teach us a Christmas song from Portugal. His mothersuggested a song that her own mother had taught her when she was little.

This approach through different cultures (with the party, a shared mealand songs learnt together) was a way of showing respect for differences.But something else happened, something fundamental and difficult to putinto words: Nicolas, Bernard and their mothers felt somehow like ‘royalty’.They were the kings and queens of their own culture and their own history,which was something they could offer us, not as a curiosity but as a gift.They gave their most valuable possession – their identity. Everyone is kingor queen of his or her own domain.

Bernard’s mother, who had little contact with the school before, hascome out of her shell since the party. She no longer feels intimidated bythe school, and the teachers seem less remote. She now has a new kind ofrelationship with these women whom she once saw as unapproachable.

Respect for others involves a positive attitude as well towards othercreatures and the environment. Children can learn much about tolerance,caring and other positive values through relationships with animals as thisnext learning experience indicates. (This selection is written as a teacher’sfirst-person narrative.)

Acceptance – friendship: the story of a rabbit called Flower

The children3 to 4 years old, in a small nursery school group.

Point of departureOne morning, I had a surprise in store for the children, and brought ananimal in a cage to class with me before they arrived.


The adult’s intentions and teaching objectivesMy aim was to understand the emotional relationships between youngchildren and animals. But their reactions as regards acceptance, rejectionand friendship went beyond the bounds of my project and threw light onthe rules of human behaviour towards the other, that stranger who is sodifferent, and so often misunderstood.

Materials usedA live rabbit in a basket. Posters of rabbits. A playpen.

Duration: Four months.

Listening to the children without interrupting them:‘It’s a rabbit. Why have you brought us a rabbit?’‘To stroke.’‘To play with.’‘It’s not a toy, it’s a rabbit.’‘But can we still play with it?’‘Yes, but mind you don’t hurt it.’Our rabbit’s name was Flower. The concept of freedom and the limits tothat freedom resulting from the need to prevent both the animal and theclassroom equipment, for which we were all responsible, from coming toany harm, emerged from my unfolding dialogue with the children.

The rabbit’s freedom:‘Your rabbit hasn’t got enough room.’‘The cage is too small. It can’t run around.’‘Just write a note asking our mummies to bring a bigger cage.’‘As big as the whole classroom.’‘No, we can’t do that. Then there won’t be any room left for us!’I suggested marking out an area on the floor, after first choosing a cornerof the classroom for the rabbit. Everybody agreed on the corner betweenthe window and the radiator. At that point I put in my word:‘We must keep some space for painting and washing our hands.’I set up a baby’s playpen, lining the bars with wire netting. I observed thatit had taken several days to find the right spot. Some time later, Flower,who had grown in the meantime, was able to jump out of its pen.

Limits to the rabbit’s freedom:‘It has to stay in its cage and not move.’‘It’s allowed out for a bit.’


‘If it’s let out into the classroom, I’ll tread on it and hurt it.’‘Maybe we can let it out when there aren’t many children around.’‘Yes, in the afternoon.’‘But it mustn’t go out into the playground. All the children will pester it.’‘Nor into the street either. There are cars there.’‘If Flower goes out, it will eat weeds that are bad for rabbits.’‘Dogs will eat it.’‘People will go after it to kill it and cook it.’I question them about their freedom.‘It means that you can go out all the time.’‘It means eating chips . . . and chicken.’‘It means playing.’‘It means not being kept in.’‘It means doing what you want without anybody saying to you: “Edith,don’t do that”.’Flower was gnawing at my basket. I asked:‘Is it allowed to gnaw at my basket?’‘No, it isn’t.’‘If it were my basket I wouldn’t like it.’‘Does a rabbit nibble because it has big teeth?’‘You can’t stop a rabbit nibbling, unless you take all its teeth out.’‘Flower gnaws at the tables and the carpet.’‘We don’t care. They aren’t ours.’‘They are ours! They belong to all teacher’s pupils.’‘It mustn’t gnaw at everything in the classroom.’No solution was found, but the children became aware that there was sucha thing as common property which was to be respected by everyone,including the rabbit, despite their recognizing its specific need to nibble.

The rabbit’s needsIts specific needs were discovered by the children as they projected theirown needs on to the animal:‘It has to eat lettuce, carrots, bread and milk.’‘It has to wee and poo.’‘It’s clean, it goes in its box.’One after the other, the children offered it a plane, a car, a doll, a whistle,a puzzle and beads to play with. Flower sniffed and nibbled at them – andthen lost interest. The children were very disappointed. I did not intervene.Just when I was thinking of doing so, sensing that they were very sad,Joseph found a solution.‘Those are all toys for little children, not toys for rabbits.’


‘My dog likes playing.’‘Perhaps there are toys for rabbits.’‘I’ll ask my mother, she sells things for animals.’‘Perhaps for a rabbit, playing means running and jumping.’We looked through the various books about rabbits in our bookcase, andnoticed that in all the stories about rabbits their playing involved runningand jumping.

Further developmentsOur thoughts on freedom were extrapolated by the children themselveswho discovered their own place in the classroom and the school. Theydefined the limits of their individual territory by drawing up a code ofbehaviour in different places which took into account their individual needsand respect for others, friends and adults.

This activity, centred on the adoption of a rabbit, shows that a strongand emotionally appealing point of departure can arouse in children, evenvery young ones, an awareness of abstract concepts that no theoreticalapproach would have made clear to them.


S e l f - a w a r e n e s s t h r o u g h s e l f - e x p r e s s i o n(ages 4–8)

Self-esteem derives from self-awareness, knowing who one is and what isimportant to oneself. School counsellors and teachers can foster children’sself-awareness through exercises designed to help children see themselvesand others for who they are, apart from the expectations and stereotypesthat can easily colour their thinking.

In one activity designed to develop North American children’sawareness of themselves as unique individuals – ‘The Me Bag’1 – childrenare each given a plain brown grocery bag to decorate in any way theychoose. Then they are encouraged to fill the bag at home with things theyvalue, things that represent what they love and feel proudest of. The nextday, children get to show off what they’ve brought in. A recent immigrant

1. Teaching Tolerance, Vol. 4, No. 2, Spring 1995, p. 24. This is a resource periodicallydistributed by the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, UnitedStates.


from Bolivia may come in with an embroidered doll, for example, andanother student may bring the cap of a sports team.

Although each bag looks different, they all contain precious items.Children learn that the things that make them unique are as valuable asthe things that they have in common. They learn to appreciate differencesrather than fear them. And they learn to see themselves as others mightsee them: as individuals with their own enthusiasms and cultural traditions,neither better nor worse than others.

Another set of activities helpful for the process of guiding children tobecome more aware of their personal identities comes from Hohenworth-Mühlback, a primary school in Austria. The project was managed by theheadmaster, Stephan Schez.

Project structureThe multidisciplinary project concentrated on issues of the ‘I-identity’which are of crucial importance for primary-school pupils. The followingactivities were promoted in order to encourage participants to investigatethe many facets of their own identities:I-books: In order to deepen their knowledge of themselves and their family,

students prepared their own I-books that described their personalityand family subjects: a portrait of myself, a portrait of my family,hobbies, etc.

I-museum: In the course of a process accompanied by many discussions,during which reasons had to be given for the choices made, thechildren collected personal objects for an exhibition. They includedfavourite toys, photographs, favourite books, souvenirs from favouriteplaces, etc.

Work for a presentation: The hours devoted to musical education were usedto rehearse songs and dances; a buffet was prepared for the guests.

Presentation: The children presented the ‘I-museum’ to their parents andrelatives, and performed their dances and songs. The event ended witha community meal and talkfest.

RemarksInvestigating the personal self requires prudent and considerate counsellingon the part of the teacher to prevent children getting stuck with vain self-inspection. Joint activities (co-operative skills in assembling the exhibition,buffet and programme for the presentation, etc.) help participants progresson their way from I to you to we.



I n d i g e n o u s p e o p l e s : p r e s e r v i n g h u m a n c u l t u r e s(ages 5–9)

Educators are now introducing the study of indigenous cultures intoprogrammes of education for human rights, peace and mutual under-standing. One of those universals is a story of the origins of humanity ora given people found in all cultures. These stories help to form a people’sidentity, as folk-tales express their values and mores. Retelling the originstories is a rite of affirmation. Listening to other people’s origin stories isan act of respect. Tolerance of the diversity of these stories is the assuranceof the cultural integrity of the multiple members of the human family.

Melinda Salazar, the founder of the American educational agencyDiversity Matters, and who herself originates from an indigenous peopleof South America, has used the folk-tales of indigenous people as the basisof moral education of primary-school pupils. Storytelling is one of the mosteffective instructional devices for young children. She reports on thisapproach with a third-grade class.

Fifteen stories from selected indigenous cultures were introduced to pupils.The pupils reviewed and selected stories of their choice. Pupils learned totell these stories by observing a professional storyteller, engaging in peercoaching, practising daily, processing and evaluating within the group.Pupils discovered more about the ways and traditions of the indigenouspeoples through classroom discussion and research. Pupils processed theethical truths inherent in these stories through identifying the quality orattribute conveyed in the story, relating personal experiences, makingconnections in written literature, and describing the lesson to be learned.This integrated approach taught pupils new knowledge of the indigenouspeople of the world, new understandings of our history, and new meaningand value inherent in the stories to their daily lives.



T h e U g l y D u c k l i n g : a s t o r y o f p r e j u d i c e a n d e x c l u s i o n(ages 5–9)

Children’s literature is a widely used teaching aid for all the learningobjectives of education for peace. Here is a classic children’s story by HansChristian Andersen which can be used for teaching the experience ofprejudice and exclusion. It is used in elementary schools in Spain.2

A young hatchling refused to depart from the family home. All the othernewly born ducklings went out to paddle in the stream, but this one, whowas ugly and brown, would not leave his mother’s side. Finally, growingmore and more impatient, the mother made him go out and join the others.But they told him, ‘Go away. You’re ugly and you’re spoiling our fun; goaway if you know what’s good for you.’

All the ducklings ignored him and made him feel like an outcast.Nobody tried to defend him. The poor duckling didn’t know what to door where to hide. He felt disgraced because his colour had alienated himfrom the other members of the group. With every passing day, each wasworse than the last. His own brothers and sisters told him, ‘Why don’tyou just scram?’

Becoming sad and depressed, the ugly duckling swam away up thestream. He believed that he was so ugly that no one would ever want tobe his friend. One day as he continued his journey, the ugly duckling cameacross a house where there lived a lady, a cat and a hen. He finally feltunderstood and accepted. A band of swans arrived that seemed a beautifuland wonderful sight to him, but again, although they tolerated his company,the ugly duckling felt sad because he believed that he would never be likethem.

When the first morning of spring arrived, the duckling felt muchhappier because he could see the flowers starting to bloom, and he couldhear the birds singing in the trees. When he went outside and began toswim, another bird remarked how magnificent he looked and what a

2. Adapted from Sobre Tolerancia, Unidade Didactica No. 11. Developed by José Tuvillaand Calo Iglesias. Published by Seminario Permanente de Educación para la Paz,Galicia, Spain, 1990. Story translated from Galician to English by Carmela Salzano andMaria Victoria Garcia-Benauides.


beautiful swan he was. Without even realizing it, the ugly duckling hadbeen transformed into a magnificent creature.

That day he went back to the area where he had been born. Notrecognizing him, the ducklings who had previously scorned and rejectedhim were suddenly enraptured. ‘How magnificent you are,’ they said. ‘Yourfeathers are so beautiful.’ But the ugly duckling, although extremely happy,did not become vain because he had a big heart, and he realized theshallowness of his friends.

Learning activitiesActivities are proposed around five concepts that are fundamental andessential to education for living with diversity.

1. With or without reasonExplain the reasons why nobody likes the ugly duckling and he comesunder attack from the others.

Do you think that these reasons are just and well-founded?Do you think that human beings in general are discriminatory in their

dealings with one another? Give some concrete examples of cases whereyou know that discrimination has taken place.

The following questions are designed to make the children reflect on thetext and think about the wider issues.

2. EthnocentrismDo you believe it possible for people of different backgrounds to livealongside one another? If so, how do they benefit, and what do they learn?What problems arise when people discriminate against those who aredifferent?

3. Self-esteemPeople who are scorned and rejected often develop an inferiority complexwhich affects their self-esteem. Choose phrases from the text which reflectthe ugly duckling’s loss of self-esteem. How can we help each other to feelgood about ourselves? Can we feel good about others when we don’t feelgood about ourselves?

4. Conflict resolutionThe children engage in role plays. The object is to transfer the tale of theugly duckling to real-life situations in the family and community context.


Themes such as stereotyping are explored. The children, through role play,experience how it feels to be outcast. They could also speculate on otherways the ducklings could have resolved the differences resulting from therejection of the ugly duckling.

5. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the Declaration on the Rights of the Child

A number of articles are quoted in simple language and the children areasked to find pieces in the text which could be seen as honouring orviolating these rights. (See Appendices 1 and 2.)


H u m a n s i m i l a r i t i e s a n d d i f f e r e n c e s(ages 6–10)

Understanding that human beings have many common characteristics andmany differences is part of learning to develop an identity as a member ofhumanity and as a unique individual human being. The following exercisesfrom Teaching Tolerance3 are intended to contribute towards that under-standing.

Begin each session by setting rules for speaking and listening.1. We listen to and respect one another’s thoughts, ideas and feelings.2. We share, when comfortable, our own ideas, thoughts and feelings.3. Anyone can pass a turn if they wish. Provide a supportive environment so

that the pupils will leave the session feeling good about being like some oftheir classmates while also feeling good about being different from others.

Activity 1Bring in three clear bowls, one containing salt, the second yellow corn meal,and the third flour. Do not tell the pupils the contents of the containers.Ask the children to describe how each substance looks in turn. Then placethe words ‘same’ and ‘different’ on the blackboard and write down howthe contents are similar to each other and how different. Now have themdo the same exercise, but this time focus on how the contents feel.

Summarize the discussion and ask the pupils what other things theyknow about that are the same and different. Ask them to think of things

3. Teaching Tolerance, op. cit., Vol. 4, No. 1, 1995, pp. 24–5.


that are the same and that are different for the next scheduled session. (Forexample, foods all nurture our bodies but have many different tastes;clothes keep us warm but are made in different styles and colours.)

Activity 2Hold a discussion reviewing Activity 1. Ask the pupils to share some ofthe things they discovered to be the same and different. Have pairs ofchildren take turns in front of the class making believe that it is after schooland they are chatting about an imaginary new classmate. How is that childsimilar to them and how is he or she different? Discuss how sameness anddifference affect the children’s descriptions of their new classmate.

Activity 3This time, pair the pupils up and have them discuss themselves. Ask themfor three self-descriptions; for example, ‘I am tall; I have a big sister; I liketo read.’ Do the pupils have some traits in common and some that areunique to themselves?

Ask the pupils how they felt about being different from each otherand how they felt about being the same. Encourage pupils to remember atime when they felt like they were different from others and ask them todescribe their feelings. Ask them how they get along with classmates theyperceive as the same and as different.

Activity 4Have the pupils tell how they are going to show their appreciation of thosestudents whom they see as different from themselves. They may resolveto invite them to play in their game or to share in some discussion.

These activities should help the pupils understand how sameness anddifference are part of life, and that all people are the same in some waysand different in others. In our diversity we have strength as a community.


R e s p e c t a n d a w a r e n e s s : t h e f o u n d a t i o n s o f t o l e r a n c e(ages 6–10)

Self-esteemSelf-esteem and respect for others are essential qualities of the tolerantperson. So, too, self-awareness and awareness of human differences are


qualities of the responsible person capable of living in harmony withdiversity. Tolerance and responsibility in their turn are qualities essentialto a just and peaceful society. This complex of qualities should infuse alllearning objectives in education for peace, human rights and democracy.While the complexity and interrelationships of the qualities should not bereduced or simplified, there are nonetheless very effective learning deviceswhich can be simply described and carried out even by those educatorswho have not yet become fully aware of all the complexities. What isimmediately important is to recognize the essential nature of the qualitiesand to introduce them into teaching from the very beginning of any peaceeducation modules or curricula.

Teachers, their attitudes towards pupils, and the way they address andrelate to them, can have a significant influence on the self-esteem and senseof human worth of their pupils. One teacher in Ukraine4 develops the self-esteem of the pupils in elementary English classes. She also works on theirsense of social responsibility.

The lesson starts with the teacher’s greeting. ‘How are you?’ ‘Fine,O.K., great, happy.’ ‘Oh, good.’ The teacher repeats the verb ‘to be’ invarious forms. ‘I am happy, he is happy’, etc.

‘Who are we? We are parachutes.When do we work? When we are open.’

Teacher and children take hands and send to one another in a chain themessage ‘I am open to you’. A song is sung to reinforce the students’ senseof community and responsibility: ‘The more we get together’. . . .

‘What can we do if we are together?We can save the Earth.(Here we repeat the pledge.)The Earth is my home.’I promise to keep it healthy and beautiful.I will love the land, the air, the water and all living creatures.I will be a defender of my planet.United with friendsI will save the Earth.’

The ‘lacquer box’ activityThe teacher presents a small lacquer box and suggests that the pupils openit to see what it has for them today, usually a statement to be discussed.‘Joy is not in things. It’s in us.’ ‘There are toys for all ages.’ The class

4. Tatanya Tatchenko, an English teacher in Ternople, Ukraine.


discusses the statement. What philosophical depths can sometimes bereached! Pupils are encouraged to express their own viewpoints (they arealways taught to express their own ideas rather than to repeat the view ofthe author of a textbook or the teacher). Now they know they are uniqueand special, that they have ideas and can think deeply, and most especially,that the teacher respects them for their willingness to learn and riskmistakes, so they can learn together with everyone contributing all theycan.


U s i n g a r t s a n d c r a f t s f o r c o m m u n i t y - b u i l d i n g(ages 7–11)

Tolerance of others takes many forms. At its core is respect for others’right to be themselves and be accepted by their communities. Such accept-ance is important to a feeling of self-worth and to experience one’s humandignity. The need for respect and acceptance is a human universal thatapplies to all ages and all cultures. The cultivation of these qualities is animportant attribute of community-building that should be integrated intochildren’s earliest education. These exercises from Education for MutualUnderstanding5 use arts and crafts to teach capacities for community, co-operation and care. These activities can lay the foundation for theacceptance of others and the gender equality so essential to peaceful, just,and democratic communities.

Togetherness: building a sense of solidarity

Activity 1: Children singing and dancing togetherTeachers can teach lively songs for the children to sing and inventmovements to, such as joining hands together and moving with the samesteps. Through these activities, children feel closer to each other. One canalways use a cassette if the teacher does not know how to sing or play aninstrument. (N.B. It is generally acknowledged that group singing is bothan expression and a creator of solidarity.)

5. Full version available from the Foundation for International Studies, University ofMalta, Valletta.


Activity 2: Groups of four children create a collage togetherThis activity helps them learn to share and co-ordinate work. All thegroups can form a whole picture in cases where co-ordination really works.Leaders in each group can be chosen and children should be left to co-ordinate things on their own. But before all this can be done, teachersshould give a great amount of practice.

Activity 3: Cross-gender crafts collaborationTo create more ‘togetherness’ there should be no discrimination betweenboys and girls. Whether simple sewing or woodwork, all the childrenshould have equal opportunities. Have children work together in mixedgroups of boys and girls: some on woodwork, some on sewing. In a futureproject, change tasks so that sewers do woodwork and vice versa.


I d e n t i t y a n d d i v e r s i t y(ages 7–11)

Tolerance is generally extended without reservation to those with whomwe identify, those we perceive to be ‘like us’. Thus education for tolerancefrequently emphasizes human commonalities. However, in addition tobuilding knowledge of commonalities between groups, education fortolerance needs also to develop knowledge of the diversity within groupsand individuals. Each human being and every group has manycharacteristics that identify them. Many persons and groups may in facthave characteristics and attributes in common with others whom theyperceive to be very different from them. By exploring the many facets ofidentity and personality, we can begin to find bases for friendship, andsolidarity in the midst of human diversity. The following exercise issuggested by the work of Julio Rodriguez, an American cultural-diversitytrainer.

Step 1: Who am I?Ask the pupils to make lists of human categories that describe themselves.Then ask what categories they noted and write a list on the blackboard.They are likely to have included different attributes. This fact can bediscussed later, but during this step, establish a common list for all. Someof the attributes that should be on the list are:


First nameAgeSexHeightNumber of sistersNumber of brothersColour of eyesColour of hairEthnic origin or originsReligionFavourite sportFavourite musicFavourite foodFavourite school subjectOther categories can be added, and if there is no interest in some of

the categories here, they can be omitted. Emphasize the variety of attributesthat identify us all. Observe commonalities starting with food and music.

Step 2: Who are we?How are we the same?How are we different?• Organize the pupils into groups based on their favourite sport or game.Try to have each group consist of four to seven pupils. If necessary, makeseveral groups on the same game.• Ask them to list as many different reasons for liking the game as theycan think of and note how many liked the game for each reason.• Discuss the reasons presented by all the groups. Note the differencesbetween and within the groups, and highlight the idea of diversity as acomplement to unity and commonality.• Ask how they would describe themselves in this category (for example,a football fan, a track and field fan, a tennis fan, etc.). Then ask them toshare with each other the names of their favourite teams and players orany professional, national or local teams they may follow. How does thisattribute further define the identity, for example, of a fan of the TokyoGiants among those who may follow baseball, or of Conchita Martinezfor those who follow tennis, and so on?

Step 3: Discuss: what makes ‘me’ a part of ‘us’?How do they feel in the company of those who have this same attribute?Would we feel differently towards a fellow baseball fan than towards astranger who did something we disapproved of, for instance, made a


thoughtless remark or pushed in front of a queue, behaviour that may beessentially lacking in consideration?

How would you regard a fellow baseball fan from a group or countryyou believed to be a rival of your own? How do you feel about fans ofother teams? Then discuss prejudice and how reasonable or unreasonableit may prove to be. How would you speak to each one about the inci-dent?

Step 4Here, if possible, show a film or video on the theme of how commonelements of identity can overcome differences to build tolerance, evenrespect. One such example is the Israeli film, The Final Cup, about afriendship that develops between an Israeli soldier and his Arab captor onthe basis of their being football fans; another is Mr Baseball, an Americanfilm about an American baseball player and the manager of the Japaneseteam he plays for and how they overcome their cultural differences.

Discuss how the film describes the discovery and development of anelement of common identity.

Step 5For a summary discussion, put forth the theme ‘unity in diversity’.Introduce the following elements of identity and discuss how individualsare alike and different with respect to them: gender, religion, ethnicity,nationality and humanity/human species.

How are people of different identity groups brought together to feeltheir commonality? For example, although men and women are differentand sometimes have different interests, they can identify as commonmembers of all the other groups – ethnic, religious or national.

Note that in some countries, people of different religions live intolerance in a single ethnic group, and people of the same religion feel acommon identity and empathy with people of different ethnic groups. Askfor examples. Ask also for examples of ethnic groups living together asmembers of one nation.

Why does it seem so difficult for the nations and ethnic groups of theworld to identify as members of one species and acknowledge theircommon humanity?



E n c o u n t e r o f c u l t u r e s : l e a r n i n g f r o m a n d a b o u t o t h e r s(ages 9–13)

Many people today experience their acquaintance with other cultures as afirst time event. In spite of the communication media which haveacquainted millions with the sights and sounds of other parts of the world,not many people are truly familiar with other peoples of the world, howthey live, what they value and the way they see the world. Yet culturalinterchange is as old as the wheel or the sail. When people had the meansto venture beyond their own natural environments, many did so in searchof new homes, or partners for trade, or just to discover the world.

To many, the peoples on the other side of the world are not at allfamiliar in human terms, and when they meet each other today, it is oftenas ‘strangers’ or ‘foreigners’; they must begin a process of learning abouteach other which seems to be a completely new beginning. However, thereis a long and ancient history of encounters and exchanges between thepeoples of Asia and Europe. They have influenced each other’s historiesand cultures in ways that affect their lives today, what they know, whatthey wear and certainly what they eat! If they can rediscover these ancientcontacts, the peoples of Europe and Asia will learn that they have neverbeen totally separate from each other, and that there is a historicalfoundation from which mutually derived aspects of a common future ontheir common planet can be developed.

This lesson is a step towards that rediscovery. It is based on UNESCO’sIntegral Study of the Silk Roads, a trade route that linked Asia and Europefrom the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries.6

The many roads of the Silk RouteAs we have seen, the Silk Route consisted of more than just one singleroad linking East and West. At certain points it divided into a number ofside routes. It split to avoid the hazards of the Taklamakan Desert. Itcrossed the Pamir Mountains by a number of different passes and followedseveral distinct routes across Western Turkestan. And at the western end

6. Any of the four books in the series ‘The Silk and Spice Routes’ can be purchased fromUNESCO.


it forked into different routes: to the eastern Mediterranean shore, overlandthrough Anatolia (in modern Turkey), and up to the shores of the BlackSea. These alternative routes would wax and wane in importance dependingupon which was safest, or who held power in the regions they crossed.

The overall title ‘The Silk Route’ also includes such important tribu-taries as the Eurasian Steppe Route. This route crossed central Asia throughthe vast Steppe lands to the north of the Tian Shan Mountains, which lieon the northern edge of the Tarim Basin. Joining the main route briefly inWestern Turkestan, it then headed north-west across what used to be thesouthern Soviet Union. It passed north of the Aral and Caspian Seas andarrived on the northern shores of the Black Sea.

The Silk Route incorporated part of an even older overland route, thePersian Royal Road. This was established at the turn of the fifth centuryB.C. by the Persian Emperor Darius. This road travelled over 1,000 milesbetween Darius’ capital Susa in Persia and Anatolia, and Darius encouragedtrade to pass along it. In 331 B.C., the route found a different use: Alexanderthe Great and his Greek army travelled over stretches of it on their longmarch of conquest into Asia.

The Silk Route also linked up with several other great trading routes.The Indian Grand Road brought spices up from the Punjab over theHindu Kush to join the Silk Route at Bactra. The Incense Road, carryingoriental perfumes, led up from the southern shore of Arabia to join theSilk Route at Damascus. Here in the Syrian heartland the Silk Route wasalso joined by a branch of the Spice Route. This was largely a sea route,which led down the Red Sea, across the Indian Ocean to India, and beyondto the south coast of China. This was the Silk Route’s main alternative intrade with the East. During the periods when the Silk Route was toodangerous for traders, silk would often come from China by ship alongthis much longer (but often much safer) route.P. Strathern, Exploration by Land, pp. 12–13, London/Paris, Belitha Press/UNESCOPublishing, 1993.

Procedures• Begin the lesson by briefly explaining the foregoing text from theUNESCO series in as much detail and with as much elaboration as isappropriate to the students and the time available for the study of the topicof Encounters of Cultures.• Having posted or made available to all pupils the map of The ManyRoads of the Silk Route from the UNESCO publication, tell the studentsabout the silk trade and ask them what they know of the peoples, languages


and religions of the areas shown. Point out that peoples of all of thesereligions and cultures had to co-operate in order to carry out the silk trade.• Ask for and then list (on the black board or on paper) areas in whichthere is still evidence today of this contact. Think of these areas of humanendeavour: cooking, clothing, science, art, transportation.• Note that cultural encounters have produced both conflict and suffering,but also great rewards and new knowledge for those involved, and for mostof the world’s peoples. Then ask the pupils to reflect upon what kinds ofbehaviour in cross-cultural encounters is likely to lead to conflict, and whatkind to co-operation. List each category on the board. Use in whateverways are appropriate to these categories the concepts defined earlier in theguide as signs of tolerance (pp. 17–18) or symptoms of intolerance(pp. 14–15) to explore their ideas further.

D i v e r s i t yS e l e c t i o n 1 0

J u s t i c e a n d e q u a l i t y : p r i n c i p l e s o f t o l e r a n c e(ages 9–13)

Many peace educators assert that social responsibility can be developedthrough education in fundamental human and social values such as thoseenshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Two of thosevalues are justice and equality. A tolerant person or society strives torealize these values and to resolve conflicts so as to assure them. While theparticular forms the values take may vary from culture to culture, the inten-tion is the same for all – respect for the full human dignity of all persons.A lesson adapted from Jordanian curricula uses a traditional story toencourage students to think about this principle. It begins with instructionabout tolerance and the qualities of a tolerant person. The followingexcerpts could be read or distributed to the pupils.

ToleranceA tolerant person is one who accepts the opinions and beliefs of othersand doesn’t force his or her own opinion on others. A tolerant person isdifferent from the fanatic who does not tolerate the ideas and opinions ofothers. The latter often attacks and undermines the ideas or opinions ofothers.

So long as people have different roots and cultures and different reli-gious beliefs, and grow up in different environments, they will probably


have different ideas and opinions about any problem and phenomenonin life. A tolerant person accepts this diversity with a positive attitudeand presents his of her own position with a respectful attitude. Resortingto force or violence to impose one’s opinions on others leads to destructiveconflict and harm, not only to the individuals but also to society.

Importance of toleranceTolerance creates strong bonds, paves the road to closer co-operation andstrengthens unity among people. Tolerance helps to overcome clashes,disputes, violence and malice among people, and creates feelings of securityin society.

A tolerant person respects an opponent’s opinion and has the capacityto forgive. When you forgive others when you have the power to do so,others are more likely to forgive you when the occasion arises.

Tolerance means accepting others’ opinions without exerting unduepressure to make them change their opinions, so long as their opinionsdo not cause harm. A tolerant person explores differences throughdialogue and seeks to resolve disputes through discussion and reason.

Q U E S T I O N S F O R D I S C U S S I O N◗ What are the characteristics of a tolerant person?◗ How do tolerant people settle their differences?◗ How do fanatic people often respond to differences and disputes?◗ Why is tolerance important to the society?

Read the following story to the class:

Jablah Bin Al-Ayham, the last Arab King of Al-Ghasa Seneh’, announcedhis adherence to Islam during the reign of the Just Caliph Omar Bin AlKhattab. King Jablah travelled to Medina [the holy city of Islam to whichMuslims seek to make pilgrimage] with a magnificent procession, wearinga crown with jewels and pearls on his head, his horses adorned with goldnecklaces. While he sojourned at Al Kaabeh, a man stepped on his robe.Jablah was angry with him and struck him with his fist. The man who waspoor and weak complained to the Caliph Omar.

The Caliph Omar asked Jablah about this complaint. Jablah confessed.Omar said ‘Well then, give this poor, weak man his rights.’ Jablah replied

Conflict


in astonishment. ‘How could this be? I am a king and he is but one of thecommon people.’

Omar said, ‘Islam holds all people as equal. No one is better than othersunless he proves himself to be a better Muslim.’

During the night Jablah and his folk departed from Medina secretlyto Constantinople where he spent the remainder of his life as a strangeraway from his homeland and his tribe [no longer adhering to Islam].

Q U E S T I O N S F O R D I S C U S S I O N◗ Why should we treat people equally, irrespective of their social rank?◗ From the story above, explain the following statement: ‘Justice is a basic

principle for a successful society.’◗ Why did Caliph Omar insist on respecting the right of the commoner though

he may have known that King Jablah would give up his adherance to Islam?◗ What would Jablah have done in this situation had he been tolerant? What

could the poor man have done other than complain to the Caliph? Couldthis situation have been resolved so that all would have felt justice wasserved? If so, how?

5 . 2 . D e a l i n g w i t h c o n f l i c t : s k i l l s a n d v a l u e sConflict is everywhere in most human societies and in many structures inthe natural order. It can be said that conflict is a condition of life. Mostpeople experience conflict both at first-hand in their own lives and asobservers of others’ conflicts, in contexts ranging from minor interpersonaldisagreements to major armed conflicts and devastating wars. The conse-quences of conflict also cover a broad range from constructive change ina problematic situation, to massive, sometimes irreversible, damage tohuman life and the material and environmental resources that sustain alllife. The difference between constructive and destructive conflict isdetermined by two essential factors, a commitment to do no unnecessaryharm to others or to the resources and environment we share, and evenmore significantly to the skills in dealing with conflict. It is thus imperativethat education should impart the values of non-violence based on afundamental reverence for life and should develop the skills and capacitiesfor dealing with conflict in a constructive manner.

Destructive conflict is the most serious global problem because of the


damage it causes and because it is an obstacle to the resolution of otherworld problems. Conflict is a normal part of life which need not bedestructive or violent. Violence is not a normal condition of life; it is thedestroyer of life. These principles were validated in the Seville Statementon Violence7 signed by outstanding scientists from all over the world.

In a world of cultural and ideological diversity, conflict is ever morefrequent. In today’s world, this diversity has been seen as the source ofviolent conflict, an interpretation that stems from lack of knowledge andunderstanding of alternatives to violence as well as a limited capacity to livewith diversity. The practice of tolerance can be facilitated by knowledge ofalternatives to violence and skills in dealing with conflict non-violently,managing them constructively and resolving them fairly. Conflict resolution,a fundamental peace-making skill, is central to many peace educationprogrammes. It is seen as a basic social skill necessary for achieving peaceand for living a meaningful life characterized by strong and honestrelationships. It has become one of the fundamental life skills that manyeducators advocate to be included in all schools and curricula as fundamentalto living and learning as are the basic literacy and numeracy skills.

Conflict skills can be taught at all educational levels from pre-schoolto further education. Indeed, conflict resolution is a subject now studiedand researched by scholars in graduate schools and research institutions.It is included here as essential to tolerance. Frustration is the enemy oftolerance and co-operation. Those who do not know how to dealconstructively with conflict are likely in their frustration to resort to theintolerance and violence that makes conflict destructive.

C o n f l i c tS e l e c t i o n 1

C o n f r o n t i n g t h e c o n f l i c t s o f y o u n g c h i l d r e n (ages 4–8)

Children, especially those in conflictual and contentious cultures, beginearly to have their own rivalries and conflicts. If we are to develop a societyin which conflict can be managed constructively, we must begin at an earlystage to provide opportunities for children to understand what conflictsare and to conceive that there are many ways to handle them. But how dowe start?

7. The Statement is available from UNESCO’s Culture of Peace Programme.


Children’s acts of intolerance and incidents of destructive conflictbehaviour represent a challenge, even a dilemma, to the teacher. Shouldthe teacher intervene at all? If so, how? What are the most constructiveand instructive ways for teachers to handle children’s intolerance andconflicts? A French nursery school suggests one way.8

Conflicts in the classroom and the playgroundLike all human beings, children are capable of loving and of making otherpeople happy, but also of being destructive and doing harm.

Children experience this spontaneously in their own way and at theirown level.

Conflicts do exist between children, and such conflicts abound in thenursery school.

Point of departureThe children’s everyday experience. Their conflicts in the classroom andthe playground.

The adult’s intentions, and teaching objectivesShould the teacher who witnesses aggressive behaviour, violence and fightsintervene, or let things take their course?

With class of 5-year-olds, the teacher soon had to stop asking myselfthis question, trying, instead, to find solutions because the conflicts startedso early on, flared up so quickly and became such a common occurrence,mostly at playtimes and in between classes. Not a day would go by withouttears, fights and a child being attacked and hurt.

Duration: two weeks• Observing the children and determining the causes of the conflicts.• Dialogue between the adult and the children.• Exploring action to be taken with the children: trial solutions.

Observing the children and determining the causes of the conflicts• Desire for the same object, leading to jealousy, envy and, consequently,fights to gain possession of it.• Rivalry between gangs of children: wanting to dominate, to be theleader, the one who is looked up to by the others, the person in command.

8. Source: Enfance et partage, Paris, Centre Départemental de Documentation Pédagogiquedu Val-de-Marne (Departmental Documentation Centre for Teachers, Val-de-Marne),1985.


• The difficulties some children experience in establishing relationships:they will attack a child with whom they would like to play as a way ofcatching the other’s attention.• Rejection: some children are targeted by others because they aredefenceless or have some distinguishing feature (e.g. race, disability).• The (to our adult minds) ‘gratuitously’ aggressive behaviour of somechildren who will kick other children or pull their hair for no reason.• The antagonistic relationship between some children and their parents,lack of affection at home.

Dialogue between the adult and the childrenOne morning the teacher started a discussion with the children, sharingwith them my concern about the increasing number of conflicts and makingthem realize that life in the classroom was becoming impossible. Here’swhat they said:‘I like starting fights.’‘It’s good to be the one to start, you show who’s strongest.’‘My daddy says that if I’m attacked, I must defend myself.’‘Other people attack me, so I attack them.’These were their reactions. By talking it over from different angles, thechildren tried to discover different ways of settling their conflicts and, littleby little, arrived at the concepts of respect for others and happiness.

Exploring action to be taken with the children: trial solutions• Self-expression through movement: becoming aware of aggressivenessby acting it out. The class simulated fights and wrestling bouts. In between,we had periods of peace and quiet, listening to stories and soft music.• Recreation: together we thought up a list of possible games.• The Christmas party: we decided we would all ‘be friends with eachother’. The children came up with a number of ideas on how to go aboutthis: exchanging kisses, dressing up, putting on make-up, putting on acheerful face, acting the clown.

Further developmentsIntroduction of a new aid: the story of Tistou, the Boy with the GreenThumbs, a little boy who was able to make flowers grow on poverty, evil,weapons, etc.

Difficulties encounteredThe fact of raising the question of conflicts caused conflicts to increase innumber. During the first fortnight of work, attention was focused onviolence and aggressive behaviour.


Building peaceful relationships between children is a daily process inthe lives of the little ones, the life of the school and the life of theschoolmistress who has to think about the consistency between her ownapproach and the objective to be attained.

Conclusion‘What if we became a class of flowers . . .’

Flowers, kisses, games, being friends, red noses, clowns – these werethe ways in which the 5-year-olds responded to their own problems andconflicts.

Sowing the seeds is what is important.


P e e r m e d i a t i o n(ages 4–8)

Bullying as a manifestation of being intolerant to difference is a seriousproblem and a source of conflict in today’s schools in many countries. Itinspired this learning programme devised at the Downtown AlternativeSchool in Toronto, Canada. The ‘Children as Peacemakers’ project involvesthe development of conflict resolution and peace-making skills in a primaryschool (junior kindergarten to Grade 3). Children learn to articulate andlisten to the differing points of view involved in a conflict situation andthen attempt to mediate solutions with the help of peers who act aspeacemakers. They develop the language and social skills needed to solveproblems which in turn allow them to become increasingly able to workand learn. As the children develop and refine the language of negotiation,teachers have access to a significant window through which to observe themas makers of meaning, users of language and as problem-solvers who aredeveloping social skills of co-operation.

The objectives of this project include:1. Helping children learn to live with and respect difference.2. Helping children develop strong language and negotiation skills so that

they can live and work productively within a multicultural and diversepopulation.

3. Ensuring that the children are literate and that they develop their ownvoices in discussion and in their writing.

4. Encouraging children to participate in solving problems and in definingpossible solutions as they become more able to take responsibility for theirown actions and for the community within the school.


5. Helping children grow up to be socially and emotionally literate peoplewho understand that they have some responsibility for the world in whichthey live.Downtown Alternative School staff and parents believe that it is importantfor children to develop a positive attitude towards learning and an eagernessto learn from and interact with their environment. The programmeencourages self-confidence and the development of self-esteem.

ProceduresChildren who feel ‘ready’ declare themselves to be ‘peacemakers’. Theirrole is to intervene in conflict situations between other children and ask aseries of formal questions which have been developed over time by thechildren themselves.

(The peace-making rules go approximately like this, though they tendto vary:

Do you want to try to solve this problem? Do you want to solve it with us or with a teacher? Do you agree to listen? No interruptions? No running away? No name calling? Tell the truth.)When the children in conflict have agreed to solve their problem and

to follow the rules, the peacemakers engage them in a formal ‘peace-making’ exercise in which each participant has a chance to put his or herviewpoint into words and to be listened to.

Following this, suggestions for solutions are asked for until one is foundthat all can agree on. Everyone shakes hands and asks, ‘Is everyone OK?’This process requires clear articulation, careful listening and a willingnessto entertain more than one point of view. Two books entitled Peaceosaurusand The Food Fight – Ta Daa! have been published by the schoolcommunity, both written by primary-school children.

They are proud of their ability to recognize and confront problems.They are supportive and caring with one another. Two important changeshave been noticed across the curriculum. The first is that the children tendto work well together in partnerships in small groups and as a whole class,because they are learning to live with difference as they work to resolveconflicts that arise. The other is that they seem to have developed morethan the ordinary ability to use and develop language because they arediscussing their environment and their relationships and their worldunderstandings on a regular basis.


When teachers and children are developing skills for dealing produc-tively within the natural arena of human conflict, those problems will serveas opportunities for learning rather than terrifying moments from whichto withdraw to hide or to arm ourselves. The media are filled with storiesand fears related to increasing violence in our schools generally. TheDowntown Alternative Peace-making programme is proving that veryyoung children can become fluent users of a language of negotiation andthat they can develop choices in their speech and their behaviour. Childrendo not have to be frozen into traditional patterns of aggression or silenceas their only responses to pain and frustration. They can develop andeffectively use forms of language that contribute to the establishment ofsafe classrooms in which they can be dignified and nurtured. This mustbecome our focus and our hope if the threats of illiteracy and violence thatare beginning to hold our schools and our world hostage are to beovercome.Esther L. Fine, Ann Lacey, Joan Baer and Barbara Rother, Downtown Alternative School,Toronto, Ontario (Canada).


Fa c e s : a n e x e r c i s e i n p o s i t i n g a l t e r n a t i v e s(ages 5–9)

The capacity to conceptualize and assess alternative courses of action iscentral to the exercise of responsible decision-making. It is equally essentialto effective problem-solving and to achieving constructive resolution ofconflicts. It should be cultivated in education for citizenship and commun-ity building. Teachers should emphasize the formulation of alternativepossibilities in presenting all tasks and problems, especially those relatedto conflict. The following learning exercise9 was developed by the UnitedNations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to teach about alternative solutionsand the concept of ‘win/win’ outcomes acceptable to all parties in a conflict.

ObjectivesTo help pupils evaluate alternative solutions to conflict and to see thatsometimes solutions are possible that will satisfy both parties in a conflict.Before the role play, explain to the children that a conflict is a situation in

9. Susan Fountain, Education for Development, a Teacher’s Resource for Global Education,pp. 212–14, produced by UNICEF/Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1995.


which people or countries think that the other is hurting or maybe willhurt them in some way or take something they need or want. Lots ofconflicts are over things, like toys or space, or place in a queue, or landnear water. We need to learn how to work out such problems so no onegets hurt.

MaterialsPaper and pencils.

ProcedureStep 1. Two pupils are asked to briefly role play this situation in front ofthe class, without coming to a solution:

It is recess time and the class is going to the playground. There is onefootball in the playground. Two pupils run to get it; they get there at thesame time and both grab it. The first one says, ‘It’s mine! I got here first!’The second says, ‘I had it first, and now you’re trying to take it from me!Give it back!’ They struggle with the ball.Step 2. As a class, the rest of the pupils brainstorm possible solutions tothis conflict. These can be listed on chart paper. They should attempt tothink of as many options as possible, without evaluating or judging them.Step 3. Together, the pupils classify the solutions into four groups:• solutions in which they decide to play with the ball together;• solutions in which each person gets what he or she wants or needs; forexample, one person uses it for ten minutes, and then the other uses it forten minutes;• solutions in which only one person gets what he or she wants or needs;for example, one person hits the other and runs away with the ball;• solutions in which neither person gets what he or she wants or needs;for example, the teacher takes the ball away and tells them both to findsomething else to do.Each solution should be given a number and evaluated. The children candraw and cut out smiling faces and sad faces. Make a chart with columnswide enough for two faces. Across the top, write the numbers of thesolution. As each solution is evaluated, put the appropriate faces in thecolumns.

The two smiling faces represent solutions in which each person getswhat he or she wants or needs. The one smiling and one sad face representsolutions in which only one person gets what he or she wants or needs.The two sad faces represent solutions in which neither person gets whathe or she wants or needs.Step 4. As a class, pupils then discuss the types of solutions. Which onesseem to be the best? What makes one solution better than another? The


activity can be repeated with different conflict situations: personal, localand global. Pupils should consider:• Are solutions in which both parties get their needs met always possible?• Are they always preferable?• How important is it to think of as many solutions as possible?• Can violence ever result in a solution in which both parties get theirneeds met? • What usually happens when violence is used?• What kind of solutions are likely to last the longest time?

VariationOlder pupils can evaluate possible solutions by using a similar chart, butsubstituting a plus symbol (+) for the smiling face and a minus symbol (–)for the sad face.

Follow-upPupils look for examples of conflict situations in the news. How often arethe solutions ones in which both parties have their needs met? How doyou account for this?

In the curriculumThe activity develops skills in generating alternatives, evaluating,classifying, and making decisions. It can be used in English or humanities,to consider solutions to conflicts in stories or in history.


A p r o c e s s f o r r e s o l v i n g c o n f l i c t s(ages 8–12)

There are various approaches to reasoned, non-violent conflict resolution.By including conflict skills at all levels of schooling, educators could assurethat all school-leavers would have at least some skills for dealing cons-tructively with conflict, not to mention that others would acquire a rangeof skills and alternative approaches to apply to their own conflicts, to helpothers in conflict situations and as a basis for advocating supporting oropposing particular policies in regard to social, political or economicconflict.

One of the approaches most widely taught in schools at all levels isthe six-step process which has been developed and adapted into various


forms. The version here is intended for younger learners and personalconflicts, but can also be adapted to secondary-school classes and to groupconflict. It is presented as a series of questions. Teachers may want toreword the questions to suit the development level of the particular childreninvolved.

Six steps to resolve a conflictStep 1. What do I want that got me into this conflict? What does the other

person with whom I am in conflict want?Step 2. What is the conflict about? Do we both want to have the same

thing? Or do we want different things to happen at the same time, forexample, is the dispute over a soccer ball or over what game to playduring sports period, or over what programme to watch on television?

Step 3. Can I think of ways in which we could both get what we want?How many different ways can I think of? How many ways can myopponent and I think of? How many ways can our classmates help usthink of?

Step 4. Which of these ways would be best? In each case, what mighthappen if we tried that way? Would I be satisfied with those results?Would my opponent be satisfied?

Step 5. Which ways are most likely to satisfy us both? Which one wouldwe both agree to? Would we stick to this agreement?

Step 6. How can we get started on trying this way and how can we makesure it is working? Will it last over time?

ActivitiesIt would be useful to present these questions to children soon after theteacher or other pupils have intervened to stop the conflictual behaviour,whether it is a fist-fight or some lesser physical skirmish, verbal squabble,name-calling, etc. Here are some steps the teacher may use to get theconflicting pupils into the process and then for introducing the process tothe class.

Phase 1• Give the squabbling pupils some time to cool off.• Then ask them to talk with you for a short while to see if you can helpthem solve the problem. Don’t ask for explanations or descriptions of whathappened. Simply observe that a conflict exists and that it is important tothe class that it be resolved.• Next explain that there are various ways to resolve conflicts and oneway is to find out what the problem is, then think of as many solutions


as possible and of what would happen if some of them were tried, andthen pick the outcome that both or all parties in the conflict would agreeupon.• Give each pupil the list of questions. Read them over and discuss themto make sure they understand each question.• Each must promise not to start the squabble again during their ‘thinkingtime’. If they have to stay away from each other to do so, then they shouldbe separated or other classmates should be asked to help by keeping thembusy at playtime or after school.• Ask them to think about the questions, to work out some answers andcome up with as many solutions as possible to suggest at the next talk (atlunch time, the end of the day or the next day).• Meet with them a second time. Have each reply to the first two questionsand try to get them to agree on what the problem is that has caused theconflict.• Ask each to suggest a few solutions that they think could work. Askeach to say which if any of the opponent’s solutions they think would workand have them both decide which one to try. Point out that this processby which they are deciding on a solution is called ‘negotiation’.• If they themselves cannot make a short list or decide on one solutionto try first, ask if they would be willing to let you or the class ‘arbitrate’,that is make a suggestion that they both agree to try. ‘Arbitration’ is theresolution process in which the conflicting parties agree to observe aresolution proposed by persons or agents they respect. Or would they wantto have you or another pupil or small team of students help them reach asolution? Point out that this kind of help is called ‘mediation’. The peoplewho help conflicting parties to achieve a resolution are mediators.• Tell the children that whatever solution they reach, they must do theirbest to carry it out. If it doesn’t work, others will be tried until a solutionis reached. If they start with a negotiated agreement and it doesn’t work,they can try mediation and/or arbitration. However, they will not be ableto be together until there is ‘resolution’ of their conflict. The peace of theclass should not be disturbed by their conflict. When it is resolved, thenall will help them with ‘reconciliation’ – becoming friends again.

Phase 2• If the formerly conflicting children are willing, have them present theirexperience to the class and let them help in introducing the ‘six-step con-flict resolution process’ to the class.• Posit the idea of establishing a mediation team and/or an arbitrationboard through which the pupils could resolve their own conflicts. Ask for


volunteers. If there are more than needed, decide on a rotation schedule,letting students take turns on the team and the board. It is desirable tohave all students have a turn at one or both.• Explain the three processes of negotiation (disputants reach their ownresolution); mediation (a third party helps the disputants achieve a resolu-tion); arbitration (a third party decides on a resolution that disputants haveagreed in advance to try).• Hold periodic ‘community-building meetings’ to review how solutionsare working and discuss any other class problems that the pupils couldaddress and resolve as a community.


R e c o n c i l i a t i o n t h r o u g h a f f i r m a t i o n (ages 8–12)

Among the selections on diversity, some emphasis was placed on self-esteem as important to the development of respect for others and a rangeof capacities for tolerance. Self-esteem is also essential to those aspects ofreconciliation that require accepting responsibility for harmful actions andpardoning those who have done harm. Teachers should bear in mind thata major goal and purpose of education for constructive conflict and recon-ciliation and peace-making are the development of the capacity to takeresponsibility for one’s actions and to take responsibility to act on behalfof one’s community, be that the classroom or the world.

In this regard, teachers should try to avoid affixing blame or makingpupils feel guilty. Guilt erodes self-esteem and blocks reconciliation. Norshould pupils be called upon to blame each other. What we would hopefor is genuine responsibility in admitting to harm-doing, showing contri-tion in regretting the harm done and the authentic pardoning on the partof the harmed who forgives the harm-doer once responsibility is taken andrecompense made. Also important is the recognition of mutual harm-doing. In most pupil conflicts, it is not so simple to determine the harmedand the harm-doer as their disputes usually involve reciprocal harm-doing.With pupils, as with other disputants, it should be kept in mind thatauthentic peace-making requires that resolutions be just. While justice callsfor responsibility, repentance, recompense and restitution, retribution isnot required. Rather, relationships are to be healed and reconstituted.Revenge and retribution serve to perpetuate the cycle of conflict andviolence. Only reconciliation can end it.


People with a strong sense of self-esteem and personal regard areusually more able to take responsibility for wrong-doing, and to forgiveand reconcile, as well as being more capable of tolerance and respect forothers. Since self-esteem can be built through affirmation, so too theprocess of reconciliation can be built through affirmation.

Activities1. The teacher or pupil mediators meet with pupils who have recently resolved

a dispute and offer to help them reconcile and form a good relationship.2. Each of the former disputants is to think of something positive about the

other and, on the following day, in the presence of the mediators, tell eachother what that nice or good thing is.

3. On the third day, they are to exchange two positive or affirmativestatements. They will need to observe each other, remember past good timesand they can even ask the other’s friends to make suggestions.

4. On the fourth day, the pupils should have time alone to exchange affir-mations and talk about whatever they want.

5. On the fifth day, they report to the mediators their feelings about how thereconciliation is going. Together, the pupils and the mediator decide if theyneed to continue the process and if the pupils can continue on their ownor still need the help of the mediators.

6. If the two pupils are willing, the rest of the class could participate in theprocess through a session in which every class member offers an affirmation(says something nice) about each of the reconciling pupils.

Some teachers hold regular affirmation sessions, making sure that allpupils are affirmed by their classmates and made to feel as valued membersof the community. When there is such feeling in a class, conflicts may stillerupt, but they are more likely to be resolved more constructively andreconciled more easily.

Neither this nor any other process suggested to deal with conflict,facilitate resolution and promote reconciliation works in all situations.Teachers need to have a variety of techniques for handling conflict andfor teaching pupils how to deal constructively with it. As with alleducational strategies and instructional methods, these processes shouldbe amended and adapted to the particular circumstances of the learners tobe served.



R e c o n c i l i a t i o n t h r o u g h c o - o p e r a t i o n(ages 9–13)

Intolerance is a barrier to constructive conflict and to effectivereconciliation after a conflict is resolved. This factor applies to interpersonaland intergroup conflict, including wars and serious human-rightsviolations. In a post-conflict situation, tolerance is necessary to open theway to the taking of responsibility for injury or harm caused by theconflict, to making and accepting recompense and reparations, and tooffering forgiveness or pardon.

The profound significance of responsibility and forgiveness is beingrecognized in significant post-conflict situations such as South Africa,where a Truth Commission has been investigating crimes and rightsviolations under apartheid and during the violence of the immediate post-apartheid period. Persons who confess their crimes publicly are to bepardoned; those who do not will be investigated, prosecuted and punished.

Most important in South Africa is the dedication to building a newdemocratic society in which the human rights of all are respected. Thistask requires that the former adversaries co-operate. After the SecondWorld War, the defeated and the victorious countries co-operated toreconstruct what had been destroyed. They are now on friendly terms andnot likely to go to war with each other. They have a common interest inmaintaining what they have built together. This model for peace-makingis one that can be applied to many situations, including conflict betweenchildren and classroom discipline.

In opening a discussion of post-conflict peace-making, teachers couldtell children about the South African case, particularly how PresidentMandela, who was imprisoned for over thirty years, did not seek revengefor his suffering, but rather strove to heal and reconcile his divided countryinto one healthy society with the different races living in harmony. Tellthem that this is a very difficult task requiring the three Rs: responsibility,recompense and reconciliation. Point out that where there is no reconcili-ation work, conflicts often return and sometimes violence and wars startagain, as in former Yugoslavia.

Activities1. Form groups of five or six pupils and ask them to recall a conflict or fight

that occurred among them or in their class or school.


• Who was involved in the conflict?• What was the conflict about?• How did the conflict end? Did it end with a good resolution?

2. Ask the groups to report the conflicts they remembered, and select onethat did not end with a good resolution for the group to discuss after thestory is told.• Why was this ending not a good one?• What happened after the conflict or fight was stopped?• What would have been a good ending?

3. Next, the ‘good endings’ are discussed and one is chosen so the groupscan discuss tolerance and reconciliation. Explain that tolerance is acknow-ledging the rights of others and not interfering with the enjoyment of theirrights or being themselves. Ask them to agree on answers to these questions:• Why is tolerance important after a conflict? How do people showtolerance after there has been a fight or a quarrel?• What should people do after their conflict has been resolved? Whoshould accept responsibility for a conflict? How could they do so? (Explainhow Germany made recompense to Holocaust victims; how Pope JohnPaul forgave the man who shot him.) Ask them to think also about whoshould forgive. What should be forgiven? How can those who were inconflict make up?• What could they do together that could help them to become friends?Ask students to suggest some projects and tell them how the disputantswould work together. How would the co-operation between the formeropponents help the whole class? Would tolerance be important in theirworking together? How so?

4. Take a recent real conflict that has occurred in the class. With the permissionof the disputants, ask the children to discuss each of the followingquestions:• Did they both apologize and forgive each other?• How did they feel after that? Did they admit to each other how theyhad hurt or harmed the other? Did they do anything to make up for thisharm? What could each do to provide ‘recompense to the other’ for havingmade her or him feel bad?• What could they do together now to learn to know each other betterand to try to be friends? Why would it be better for the whole class ifthey were friends? Can they think of some common tasks from which eachwould benefit? Can they think of some that would benefit the whole class?

Note: When thinking of co-operative actions, it is important to choose sometask that would benefit the whole class such as picking up papers, putting


away supplies, etc. Another type of task would be something of mutualbenefit to the disputants, helping each other with homework or the likethat could strengthen positive relations between them.

Tell the children other stories of how co-operation has overcomeconflicts and other obstacles to happy communities.


B u l l y p r o o f : p r e v e n t i n g v i o l e n c e(ages 9–13, for English classes or where English is the medium of instruction)10

Conflict, when it becomes destructive, frequently becomes violent. Indeed,the main images of conflict that the young are subject to in most culturesconvey violence as the main, if not the only, way of conducting conflictsor avoiding being harmed. Today’s children are surrounded by the imagesand reality of violence as the inevitable result of intolerance. Equally asdamaging to the potential growth of their capacities and propensities tobe peacemakers is their being surrounded by the notion that intoleranceis natural and violence inevitable. A major task of education for peace,human rights and democracy is to demonstrate to children and youngpeople the benefits of tolerance and to instruct them in practical alternativesto violence.

The years of late childhood and early adolescence are those in whichchildren’s conflicts frequently lead to violence. Bullying, physical fightsand even lethal attacks are not unknown in the schools and streets of manycommunities. Responding to those crises of violence among children andyouth, Arthur Kanegis designed an instructional kit entitled ‘Bullyproof’;one component is a rap song children can sing and think about. The lyricscontain significant concepts related to conflict and non-violence. Importantamong them is the idea that it is wiser to walk away from a fight than tohurt someone or be hurt yourself.

Provide the pupils with copies of the lyrics, project them on anoverhead or write them on the blackboard, and ask that they read themover and start to think about them.

10. Teachers using other languages could adapt this exercise to make the same points bywriting or having pupils write their own ‘raps’ on non-violence and conflict resolution.


Bullyproof yourselfB reak away from the current fray,When tempers cool, then make your play.Why try to ram right through the middle?When an end-run could solve your riddle.

U nderstand what makes a bully tick.Your brain is better than a big ol’ stick.Understand that inside the bullyAre fears and hopes you don’t know fully.

L isten with your heart, as well as your ears,Behind loud anger, hear doubts and fears.When little things don’t get heard,They build ’n build ’til it gets absurd!You gotta be BULLYPROOF!

RefrainWe’ve got a better way than fight or flightWe’ve got the power rooted in what’s rightTuned to channel insight!Flashing inner-lightWe’re the rap dudes withThe dyna-kinda ‘might’

L ove the doer, but not the deed,Look for the good, the inner seed.All are born with a seed of genius,A buried core, free of meanness.

Y es and no, boy and girl,Balance inside us in a Yin Yang whirl.Opportunity springs from crisis,Opposites: they energize us.

P lay a game of pretending:Picture your own happy ending.Everything begins with thought.Create a vision of the way things ought.

R espect bullies, yourself, and Mother Earth,In each of these you’ll find great worth.


We all need love and recognition –Power from above – that’s ammunition!You gotta be BULLYPROOF!

(Refrain)

O riginate a win/win way.Don’t make a loser or we’ll all pay.Step outside old, dull solutions,Create bright love revolutions!

O versee the chaotic fray,From a wider vision, a wiser way:Rise above wrong or right,Wield the power of a higher sight.

F earless, strong, way aboveboard,Stand tall, heroic, without weapon or sword.We know that fear attracts attack,Now our shield can turn it back!A. Kanegis, Bullyproof, Sante Fe, Future Wave, Inc., 1987–93.

Activities1. Organize the children into three groups and give them time to rehearse

reciting the verses to a rap beat or an actual rap song they know.2. Group 1 will recite the first three verses, then all recite the refrain together.

Group 2 recites the next four verses and all recite the refrain together.Group 3 recites the last three verses, then all recite the refrain.

3. The children may enjoy making cassette recordings of their recitation toplay when ever they want or to share with families and friends or toexchange with English pupils in other countries.

4. Assign one verse each to groups of three or four students and ask them toprepare a presentation on what the verse means and to give examples ofhow it would actually work. What does the verse advise them to do in casesof fights and bullying? Do they think it is good advice? Why or why not?

5. As the groups present their reports, be sure to place emphasis on thefollowing points as the reports are presented:Verse 1: It is better to deal with a conflict when people are calm, not inthe heat of an argument. When possible, there should be a cooling-offperiod. It is really a good idea to walk away rather than start a physicalfight which will result in people being hurt.

Responsibility


Verse 2: Bear in mind that many people who threaten or attack others arereally fearful. Try to think about how the bully is feeling as you think aboutwhat to do.Verse 3: Try to understand as much as you can about what people in afight really want, what they hope for and what they fear.Verse 4: Don’t accept bad behaviour or violence, but remember people whodo bad things are human beings too. See if you can find something positiveas a start to ‘break through’ to the bully.Verse 5: Keep in mind that we all have the potential to do good or bad.We are the ones who decide. When a serious situation happens, we havea chance to make things better.Verse 6: Imagination is our great gift. We can think of many positiveoutcomes for most conflicts. Then we can think about how to achieve thebest one we thought of.Verse 7: Respect is very important in all of our relationships. If we respectothers, they are more likely to respect us. We are better able to respectothers when we respect ourselves, so we should behave in a way that givesus self-respect.Verse 8: With respect and lots of positive ideas about ways the conflictcould end, we can find a way where everybody wins. When both sides ofa dispute are happy with an outcome, we call it a ‘win/win solution’.Verse 9: Try to take a broad view of the situation, not just one side. Tryto see the whole problem from all points of view. This way helps to finda win/win solution.Verse 10: It is far braver to refuse to be violent. If we are brave enough wecan stop part of the violence; for if we strike back, the other will strikeagain and the cycle of violence will continue. Many brave people find theirprotection is non-violence.

Note: Teachers might want to follow up with study of some of the greatheroes of non-violence (see p. 79 et seq.).

5 . 3 E x e r c i s i n g r e s p o n s i b i l i t yThe selections here are intended to indicate the significance of particularcapacities, skills and values to the development of active, responsible globalcitizens who practise tolerance and vigorously pursue peace. Such pursuitdepends upon the capacities to understand and assume personal and socialresponsibility. This in turn requires the capacity for moral reflection andethical decision-making, and the search for meaning in personal and social


life, the goals sought in programmes of philosophy for children describedin Unit 1 of this set of resources.

Offered here are a few selections to encourage such reflection andaction, to enable children to begin to assess consequences, as was recom-mended in the previous two sections. These selections also encourageholistic or ecological thinking. Opportunities for taking responsibility forthe health of the environment are offered, and trees are featured both as amaterial reality of the natural environment and as a metaphor for livingsystems, including systems of human relations.

R e s p o n s i b i l i t yS e l e c t i o n 1

S h a r i n g c i r c l e s : l e a r n i n g t o l i v e i n a c o m m u n i t y 1 1

(ages 4–8)

Acquaintance with others is the proving ground for the practice of toleranceand a significant step in the social development of the child, essential toestablishing the relationships in which social responsibility is to be carriedout.

Understanding human differences and appreciation of the uniquenessof each person are among the most significant learning realms in anyprocess of teaching children to practise tolerance and uphold human rights.Co-operative learning or working in groups, a most effective route to theseobjectives, is also widely practised as a means of developing senses ofcommunity and social responsibility.

In many areas, co-operative learning begins with ‘sharing circles’,having the students sit together in circles so that all can see and hear eachother clearly and directly. Such circles can be used with children from theearliest years of school. They can serve as an introduction to democraticdiscussion and community-building. As children grow older, they can sittogether for longer periods, discuss more complex topics and engage inmore complex common learning tasks. At the younger ages, circles areuseful to establish a friendly and co-operative atmosphere in the class. Oneof the first such circles to be held in any class could be devoted to

1. Adapted from John Buckland, Audrey Jones and Yvonne Duncan (eds.), PeaceEducation: The Aotearoa/New Zealand Way, Auckland, Teaching Resource Centre,Auckland College of Education, 1989.


acquaintance and affirmation such as in the following process suggestedby peace educators in New Zealand. This activity is also useful indeveloping the acquaintance realm of learning from the process approach.It might be used in conjunction with ‘Classroom Rights and Responsi-bilities’, Selection 2 in Section 5.3 on Exercising Responsibility, alsodeveloped in New Zealand, or with ‘The Ugly Duckling’, Selection 4 inthe Diversity section (5.1), to teach the importance of affirmation to self-esteem and positive human relations.

‘Getting to know you’Formation: Children and instructor sit on chairs in a circle. Explain that

an interview is a series of questions to learn what people think aboutcertain things.

Method: Tell the children they will be given about four minutes to‘interview’ the person next to them in order to find out three piecesof information about that person apart from their name, for example,‘What do you enjoy doing most in your spare time?’ or ‘Do you havea pet?’ or ‘What is your favourite story?’ Each partner will have a turnat interviewing and will, when asked, stand, introduce their partnerand tell what they have learned from the interview.

Remember to make an affirming comment about each speaker. If anyoneinterrupts or does not listen, stress from the beginning that each person isimportant and must be listened to. Everyone has a chance to speak and aturn to listen. Be positive: ‘I see . . . is listening really well.’ When everyonehas had a turn, commend the group for participating.

This same process can be applied to various other purposes and learningtasks, and for holding discussions about curricular topics and issues relatedto the community life of the classroom. It is especially appropriate forintroductory lessons in conflict resolution and other forms of problem-solving.

Another introduction to diversity topics could be: What is yourfavourite holiday? What do you and your family do on that day? Is it aholiday of your religion or celebrating a historical event? Share as muchas you know about the holiday.

What languages are spoken in your family, by your neighbours orpeople you know or know about far away? If you know people who knowmore than one language, tell why they know the other languages. Whatare some good things about knowing other languages?



E s t a b l i s h i n g c l a s s r o o m r i g h t s a n d r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s (ages 5–9)

The realms of learning involved in the process for achieving toleranceintroduced in Unit 1 (and adapted in this unit as a learning process) callfor intentional efforts to cultivate realms of tolerance ranging from basictolerance and acquaintance through a culture of peace or the convivialcommunity. In the context of formal learning settings, a culture of peacecan be described as a classroom culture in which the teachers and pupilsactively support and facilitate the maximum possible intellectual and humandevelopment for all in the class – an authentic learning community.

Such a process can be initiated by negotiating an agreement among thepupils to accord fundamental tolerance to all others in the class. As definedin the process outline, tolerance is ‘acknowledgement of others’ rights tolive and be’. In the classroom, this means that each pupil acknowledgesthe rights of all other pupils to be a part of the classroom community andto have equal opportunity for learning in that community. Once thisagreement is established, teachers can move on to the other more sociallycomplex realms. It is important to keep in mind that the communal andco-operative approach to learning manifest in the ‘sharing circles’ is mostconducive to effective teaching in these realms.

The following ‘Covenant’ used in New Zealand can serve as the meansto lay the foundation of tolerance as the basis of the fuller, deeper processof developing a truly peaceful classroom. It also serves to introduce theconcept of rights as guidelines for social responsibility in the classroomand other communities where the pupils participate.

Our Classroom Covenant• I have a right to be happy, and to be treated with kindness in this

room.This means that no one will laugh at me, ignore me, or hurt myfeelings.

• I have a right to be myself in this room.This means that no one will treat me unfairly because I am fat orthin, fast or slow, boy or girl.

• I have a right to be safe in this room.This means that no one will hit me, kick me, push me or pinch me.


• I have a right to hear and be heard in this room.This means that no one will yell, scream or shout, and my opinionsand desires will be considered in any plans we make.

• I have a right to learn about myself in this room.This means that I will be free to express my feelings and opinionswithout being interrupted or punished.

Buckland et al., op. cit., Vol. I, p. 17.

Learning activities1. Post the Covenant in the classroom or learning space and read it over once

in full.2. Read each statement separately and discuss its meaning, drawing from the

children their own interpretations and examples of fulfilment or violationof the right, assuring that they understand the behaviour required forequality, tolerance and social responsibility.

3. Ask the children to think about the Covenant as much as they can untilthe next day by reflecting on this question: ‘If each one has these rights,then what behaviour is required from us all?’

4. Next day, ask them to respond to the question in Step 3. After discussingthe expectations, ask the class if they think they can truly follow theCovenant. Will they have problems? How can they help each other toovercome the problems? How can they help each other to be tolerant?Then call for the adoption of the Covenant.


T h e f u n d a m e n t a l e t h i c s o f h u m a n r e l a t i o n s (ages 6–10)

Effective and consistent socially responsible behaviour requires moralchoice-making. This in turn depends upon knowledge and understandingof ethical principles and practice in the reflective reasoning of applyingthem to actual behaviour and decisions. For generations, instruction inreligious principles has been practised to provide these essential learnings.

A great tragedy of this and other periods of history is that religion,intended to help people find meaning in life and guide them towardsmorally responsible behaviour, has been misused and transformed to serveas the basis of animosity and violent conflict. The authentic religious


principle, often distorted in order to inflame hatred and intolerance, is thatthe essence of tolerance is the respect for the human dignity and intrinsicworth of the other. Children should know that every religious tradition,major philosophy and ethical system has set forth a fundamental principlecalling believers to practise respect and tolerance. Point out to the childrenthat while the words vary somewhat, the message is essentially the same,as can be seen in the following moral principles.

Teachers can present these statements from ten of the world’s religionsto their pupils as a way of introducing them to religious diversity anduniversal ethical principles. They can inform the pupils that the UnitedNations has created an entire system of guidelines for human dignitybased on these same principles. These guidelines are human rightsdeclarations and conventions which need to be taken into considerationin making choices and taking actions. Some teachers may wish to use thesereligious teachings as an introduction to the study of human rights.

Buddhism:‘In five ways should a clansman minister to his friends and familiars – bygenerosity, courtesy and benevolence, by treating them as he treats himself;and by being as good as his word.’Confucianism:‘Do not unto others what you would not they should do unto you.’Christianity:‘All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye evenso to them.’Hinduism:‘Do not to others, which if done to thee, would cause thee pain.’Islam:‘No one of you is a believer until he loves for his brother what he lovesfor himself.’Jainism:‘In happiness and suffering, in joy and grief, we should regard all creaturesas we regard our own self.’Judaism:‘What is hurtful to yourself, do not to your fellow man.’Sikhism:‘As thou deemest thyself so deem others. Then shalt thou become a partnerin heaven.’Taoism:‘Regard your neighbour’s gain as your own gain and regard yourneighbour’s loss as your own loss.’


Zoroastrianism:‘That nature only is good when it shall not do unto another whatever isnot good for its own self.’These quotations appeared in circular distributed by Edward Prim, Citizens for a Strong UnitedNations, San Francisco, 1995.

Learning activities1. Read the quotations aloud to the class and ask them to think of what

common message they all try to convey.2. Organize the class into small working groups of three to six children

(depending on the size of the class). Give each group one of the statements.3. Ask each group to try to say these same things in their own words. Each

member of the group should give an example of how the principle statedin the religious teaching has or could be applied to their own behaviouror that of others.

4. After the groups share their definitions, work with the class until they haveagreed on a statement of the same principle which could be their classprinciple or message about mutual respect as the basic rule of humanrelations.

5. Next, have a sharing of the examples. With each example, ask the groupsto state a rule for the classroom that would assure behaviour that honoursand upholds human dignity.

6. Write the rules on the board and discuss them until you have agreementon a short list of rules which can be the class’s own ‘Rules for Tolerance,Dignity and Human Rights’.These activities could be followed by an introduction to world religionsas outlined in the next activity.


L e a r n i n g r e l i g i o u s t o l e r a n c e a n d r e s p e c t f o r d i v e r s i t y(ages 6–10)

The religious intolerance that has caused so much hatred and sufferingamong people, even those who otherwise have much in common, includinglanguage, race and basic cultural values, is usually enabled to fester intooutbreaks of violence by profound ignorance about the religious beliefsand practices of others. In many countries, the danger posed by this


ignorance is confronted and education about religious is offered in theschools. The following learning activities12, originally conceived by theBahá’i community in Hawaii, are included here to encourage teachers totake steps to teach religious tolerance, and to enable children to takeresponsibility for respecting the religious beliefs of others.

Chart for Learning About World Religions

The faith Hinduism Buddhism Islam

Its holy bookWhen it was founded as a religionWhere it originatedFounder/prophetWhere it is practised todayNames of important festivals/holy days and what

they commemorateHow some festivals and holy days are observed

or celebratedFundamental beliefs and codes of behaviour

Note: Teachers are advised to add to this chart as many religions as maybe relevant to their students; for example, all those noted in Selection 3.

Learning activities1. Provide children with the Chart for Learning About World Religions.

Assign a research project in which they interview each other, family andolder friends of various faiths, and record the information on the charts.Share the results in class.

2. Ask visitors representing faiths of which there are no adherents in the classto come and tell about their beliefs and festivals.

3. ‘Friends of Many Faiths.’ Have the children first make lists of their friendsand their faiths, and then make themselves a greeting reminder calendarof their friends’ religious festivals, so they can extend special greetings onthe appropriate days. Make an appropriate greeting card for each one. Makea list of all the faiths to which they have some connection through friendsand families.

12. Adapted from Educating for Human Dignity, Philadelphia, University of PennsylvaniaPress, 1995.



N o n - v i o l e n c e t o o p p o s e i n j u s t i c e(ages 6–10)

The more fully involved learners are in any educational process, the moremeaningful it will be; the earlier in the process, the more effective theinvolvement. Such involvement also contributes towards the capacity toparticipate and the development of a sense of responsibility, essentialattributes of the active citizenship that maintains democracy. Someeducators begin this involvement by having students create or work withthe completion of the learning materials. In the latter secondary years, thiscan be done through research. Simple methods such as drawing andcolouring can be employed in the elementary grades as in the case of theGandhi Colouring Book, produced by one of UNESCO’s AssociatedSchools. Teachers could have their own pupils create similar books ofdrawings and texts about the heroes of peace and tolerance they mostadmire or stories of groups of people who have made importantcontributions. These can serve as the basis for some of the activitiessuggested below.

Colour, reflect, act in favour of toleranceDear pupils,In learning and colouring about the life of Mahatma Gandhi, we hope thatyou will get new ideas on how you too can contribute to promotingtolerance. In addition to colouring, you might also want to make some‘collages’; paste things on some of the pages. . . . We have also includedsome empty pages so that you can do your own drawing about the scenesyou like the most or about a woman or a man in your country who hasalso contributed to promoting tolerance. We hope that you will make thebest of this book and share it with your classmates.Gandhi Colouring Book, UNESCO Associated Schools Project.

As children are helped to understand what violence is and learn ofalternative ways to express anger and conduct disputes, they can beintroduced to the concept of non-violence and the achievements of thosewho have advocated and practised non-violence as a strategy in the strugglefor social justice and a method of conflict resolution. The lives and worksof such leaders as Gandhi could form the basis of study of non-violence.The following extract from the Gandhi Colouring Book is an example ofan event from one life used to initiate such instruction.


To struggle against the injustices that the South African Whites imposedon the Indians, Gandhi organized a demonstration during which theyburned the permits which the Government had made for the Indians.Gandhi initiated ‘Satyagraha’, which means the non-violent method todisobey English laws. He stayed in South Africa until 1914 and becameknown for his success in obtaining the elimination of some unjust practicesthere.Ibid.

ActivitiesAfter telling the story of Gandhi and how he began to use non-violentmethods to oppose injustice in South Africa, the teacher should ask thefollowing questions, encouraging the children to give their own ideas.• What is violence?• What happens to people and places when violence is used?• Why do you think Gandhi opposed violence and refused to use it?• What does ‘resistance’ mean? ‘Opposition’?• Who do you think is the bravest, one who uses violence to achieve goalsor one who tries non-violent resistance and opposition?• What is ‘persuasion’? Which method is most persuasive, violence or non-violence?• Can you think of non-violent ways you yourself could persuade othersto act differently?


T h e r i g h t s o f t h e c h i l d : r e s p o n s i b i l i t y a n d r e l a t i o n s h i p s(ages 7–11)

This selection introduces the Convention on the Rights of the Child andprovides an opportunity to demonstrate how human-rights issues relateto responsibility for other world problems such as the health of theenvironment. It shows how symbols and folk art can express humanexperience and meaning. The Tree of Life is a wonderful metaphor for usein education for tolerance and social responsibility. Metaphors of livingsystems also help to introduce learners to ecological or holistic thinking.This selection also emphasizes relationships between people, family, friends


and community, and between humans and the environment. It was designedby Susan Lechter, a Canadian graduate of Harvard University and TeachersCollege, Columbia University.13 She prefaces the activity with this state-ment: ‘This curriculum focuses on the rights of children all over the planet,drawing examples from the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Thegoal is to provide children with an awareness of human rights as they relateto them personally as well as to others. Thus, the intention is to build withinthe child a moral framework and to foster an understanding of his/her placein the world. Further, the child should become aware of those in vulnerablecircumstances and develop an appreciation for the necessity of theConvention on the Rights of the Child and an understanding of how it isintended to serve children all over the world.’

Learning objectives for the entire unit:Children will:• acquire information about children’s rights through study of specificarticles from the Convention. They will also be introduced to informationabout some obstacles to the fulfilment of these rights;• recognize some denials of the human rights of children and participatein a group project aimed at helping to overcome these denials;• develop a sense of their own individual places in their world, developrespect and concern for others around them and for children who arevictims of unfortunate and dire circumstances.Each theme elaborates on two or three articles of the Convention. Twoimportant elements are stressed. First, each provision should be explainedin very simple terms so children can grasp the basic nature of the issue,directed at cognitive processing. Second, the activities in which the childrencan actively participate are a fundamental component to the learningexperience, because they contribute to the affective development of thestudents. The activities bring out the emotional and affective componentsimplied in human rights and related injustices, and they further involvethe behaviour and skills crucial to relating to others, to perceiving injusticesand to exercising responsibility on behalf of human rights.

Note: It is essential that teachers be thoroughly familiar with the Con-vention on the Rights of the Child. They are urged to review other materialsabout it such as those published by UNICEF and to study the abbreviatedversion offered in Appendix 3 (p. 94 et seq.).

13. The three lessons describes below are excerpted from Educating for Human Dignity,Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1995.


Learning sequence

Lesson 1. The convention is essential to the lives of children

MaterialsA large piece of cardboard, assorted markers, coloured construction paper.

Step 1. Discussion about what the children need to be happy and healthy.Write on the blackboard two columns – ‘wants’ and ‘needs’ – and listelements under each. Compare and contrast these, and distinguish personalfrom universal needs. ‘Wants’ are what makes us happy. ‘Needs’ are whatmakes us healthy.Step 2. Draw the Tree of Life on a large piece of cardboard and have pupilscolour it. The roots can represent the four basic needs of children outlinedin the convention. The tree will not survive without its basic needs fulfilledand protected, and children are the same. Ask what trees need to surviveand grow. Note why trees are important to our life and the life of the planet.The future of the earth depends a good deal on healthy trees and livingforests. It also depends on healthy children and peaceful communities. Askwhat children need to survive and grow. A theme to stress is that unlessthe children’s needs are met they cannot grow, learn or develop.

The branches may represent the basic principles of the Convention onthe Rights of the Child. Explain that principles are ideas about what isgood and that the Convention extends these ideas out into the world forall to know as the branches extend the tree and its leaves into the air, helpingto provide us with oxygen, just as the Convention helps to provide childrenwith a good life. When children enjoy health and well-being the wholecommunity is better off; just as we have a healthier environment whenthere are lots of healthy trees.

Twigs representing particular articles of the Convention can be attachedto the branches. The teacher can select an appropriate number of thearticles most relevant to the topics to be emphasized as the basis of someof the lessons suggested here. Leaves can be added to the twigs. Each leafmay represent a child in the class, one leaf to be made by every pupil duringLesson 2. This Tree of Life will be a symbol to draw upon throughout theclasses to follow.Step 3. On separate pieces of large paper, print the essence of each articleof the Convention selected for class discussion. Divide the children intolearning groups. Each group is to receive the summary of one article. Asyou distribute the articles, read each aloud to the whole class. Then allowa few minutes for the children to discuss the article while you pass outdrawing paper.


Step 4. In groups, students will do drawings representing one article ofthe Convention. Put the number of the article represented on each drawingand place them all around the classroom. The teachers will then put thenumber on a twig on the Tree of Life.Step 5. Announce that they will do drawings of the articles at the end ofeach lesson until all the articles are completed. The teacher should notethat there are more articles in the Convention than they are studying.Repeat this exercise until all articles studied are on the Tree of Life. Note: The children need not try to remember all the articles, but theyshould be discussed so that their purposes are understood.

Lesson 2. Names provide identity and dignity

Learning objectivesPupils will:• become aware of their uniqueness and identities as individuals (Articles 7and 8); • recognize the importance of nutrition, clothing and shelter for allchildren (Articles 6 and 27); and• understand the necessity of universal health care (Article 24).

MaterialsGlobe or world map, drawing paper, crayons and/or magic markers, leafcut-outs, pictures of children from various parts of the world, writing paper.

Step 1. The Talking Circle: ‘Our Names’ Pupils sit in a circle and each child talks about his/her name: its origin,what it means, if the name is or was shared by another member of thefamily, how many names they have, and what countries and languages theirnames come from. Ask: ‘Why are names important?’ Consult the worldmap or globe to point out where names come from. The pupils can designpictures by writing their names and making picture posters out of them.Compare stories about celebrations of naming ceremonies, name days andbirthdays, and how they differ from family to family and country tocountry.

Point out that some children do not have names given to them bytheir families, because they have no families. Ask what it might be like tobe called ‘Shoe Shine Boy’ or ‘Hey You’. Ask why people everywherevalue their names. Each child should be given a leaf cut-out and crayonsto print his or her name on one side and the country or countries thenames come from on the other side of the leaf. Ask the children to selectan article of the convention they wish most of all for the children of the


world to enjoy. Attach each of their name leaves to the Tree of Life onthe twigs that represent the respective articles they have each chosen.Announce that it is now their Tree of Life, a symbol of the communityof their classroom and their hopes for other children. They will care fortheir community and each other as they care for all children, all trees andthe whole earth.Step 2. If there are sufficient resources, organize a lunch activity for‘citizens of the world to attend a meal at the Restaurant of the World’.This activity, designed by UNESCO, is fairly extensive. Children pick acard out of a hat; each card has a picture of a child and description withname, age and country from some other part of the world which becomesthat particular student’s identity for that day. Ask them to find their coun-tries on the globe and ask them whether they knew this name before. Tellthem what languages the names represent. The number of cards for eachworld region should correspond proportionately to its percentage of theworld’s population. The children are then invited to a special lunch wherethey sit according to geographic regions. The North American andEuropean ‘representatives’ sit at beautifully set tables; African ‘represen-tatives’ have plenty of space while Asians are overcrowded, etc. There isan unequal distribution of the food with North America, Europe, Australiaand Japan receiving the most, and only those from wealthy countriesreceiving a dessert. The children are asked to react to this experience. Thepost-‘lunch’ discussion about how they felt during the lunch and whetherthey thought it fair is most important. The teacher then explains that this‘game’ represents the real situation of food distribution in the world andasks which rights of the child are being violated by this situation. Whoserights are violated? How should we respond to this situation? Finally, allpupils should be served a dessert as a celebration of the possibilities andhope that all the world’s children will soon have enough food.Step 3. Have the pupils write poems, stories or design pictures on what itmeans to have and/or to be deprived of the basic needs of food, shelter orclothing. Invite them to recite their poems, read their stories and explaintheir pictures.Step 4. Revisit the Tree of Life. Discuss the survival needs of the tree andwhat is needed to keep it alive. Ask what could harm or weaken the tree.Explore the concept of the growth of the tree as dependent upon thefulfilment of needs. You can also talk with the children again about theneeds of the planet – how it needs trees to produce and clean the air, andhow the tree stands for its own life, our lives and the life of planet Earth.


Lesson 3. Children need protection from hurt and harm

Learning objectivesPupils will:• recognize the importance of protecting children, and providing themwith a safe and secure environment (Articles 20, 33, and 36);• understand that all children, regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, refugeestatus or disability, are entitled to protection (Articles 2, 22, 23 and 30);• know that no child should be the victim of cruel treatment or abuse ofany kind, nor should he or she be used as an object and taken advantageof in any way (Articles 36 and 37); and• realize that children need special care and protection to grow intohealthy and responsible adults (Articles 2, 22, 23 and 30). They will thenhave the opportunity to have children of their own to care for, to choosetheir work and be responsible citizens.

MaterialsLists of names of sixth-grade pupils who will participate in a ‘caring buddysystem’, materials for making puppets and drawing materials.

Learning sequenceStep 1. Present a scenario where a child is disabled and thus unable to takepart in a class activity. Children can act out the scene or may dramatize itby making puppets and role-playing the puppet characters. Discussionshould follow on their feelings of exclusion, anger, powerlessness, behav-iour and ability to change the situation.Step 2. Discuss pupils’ thoughts and feelings about refugee children, andthe concepts of having no home and no security.Step 3. A ‘buddy system’ may be implemented in the school between olderand younger classes so that older pupils are to experience a sense ofresponsibility and caring for their ‘siblings’ and younger pupils experiencebeing cared for. This care may be defined in terms of an older ‘buddy’looking out for the best interests of the younger pupil with respect to hisor her adjustment and comfort at school in both the academic and socialarenas. The buddies should be encouraged to meet once a week and workon homework together, or perhaps team up with other buddies forrecreation. Monthly meetings can take place in large groups with theteachers exploring what the children have done and learned in their buddydyads. The children can then divide into groups, the older children in oneand the younger in another. The older pupils can discuss the responsibilityof caring for and looking out for their ‘buddies’. The younger children mayshare their feelings of being cared for or looked out for by the older ones.


Step 4. Revisit the Tree of Life. Write out and decorate the articles coveredin this section and attach them to the tree.Step 5. Choose several different cultures and present them to the class.Describe how the Tree of Life may be different for the children of differentcultures. For example, how the children of the Kung tribe of hunters andgatherers of southern Africa’s Kalahari Desert will have similar anddifferent wants and needs from those in Latin America or Asia. Discussthe universality of the children’s needs.Step 6. Have children draw individual Trees of Life as representations oftheir own lives and what they consider to be important roots, activities andrelationships. The roots can be their basic rights and needs as learned through-out the previous sessions. The branches may represent their interests andgoals. The twigs can be their studies and actions for human rights, and theleaves can be labeled with the names of their families and friends who arehelping them to achieve their goals. All the trees can be the forest of theworld in which they hope to live. When their trees are completed, ask theclass to describe their hopes for the forest, the world and their future.


S t o r y t e l l i n g a s a b a s i s f o r e t h i c a l r e f l e c t i o n(ages 8–12)

The use of stories and parables is one of the oldest and most effective waysof teaching social responsibility, ethics and values. The Heartwood Institutein Pittsburgh, Penn., the United States, produces quality ethics curriculaand useful teachers’ guides based on traditional stories and children’sliterature. The lesson selected for inclusion here is intended to teachenvironmental values together with the moral values of courage and loyalty.The story is one unit of the Heartwood Ethics Curriculum for ElementarySchool Children. It appears in a beautifully illustrated book that willdelight children, accompanied by a guide to assist teachers. Based on aclassic seventeenth-century folktale from Rajasthan, India, it celebrates thecourage of ordinary people whose actions made a difference.

‘The people who hugged trees’In long-ago India, when warrior princes ruled the land, there lived a girlwho loved the trees. Her name was Amrita. Amrita lived in a poor villageof mud houses, on the edge of the great desert. Just outside the villagegrew a forest. . . .


Every day Amrita ran to the forest, her long braid dancing behind her.When she found her favourite tree, she threw her arms around it. ‘Tree,’she cried, ‘you are so tall and your leaves are so green! How could we livewithout you?’ For Amrita knew that the trees shaded her from the hotdesert sun. The trees guarded her from the howling desert sandstorms. Andwhere the trees grew, there was precious water to drink. Before she leftthe forest, Amrita kissed her special tree. Then she whispered, ‘Tree, if youare ever in trouble, I will protect you.’ The tree whispered back with arustle of leaves.

One day just before the monsoon rains, a giant sandstorm whirled infrom the desert. In minutes the sky turned dark as night. Lightning crackedthe sky and wind whipped the trees as Amrita dashed for her house. Frominside, she could hear the sand battering against the shutters. After thestorm ended, there was sand everywhere – in Amrita’s clothes, in her hairand even in her food.

But she was safe and so was her village, because the trees had stoodguard against the worst of the sandstorm.

As Amrita grew, so did her love for the trees. Soon she had her ownchildren, and she took them to the forest with her. ‘These are your brothersand sisters,’ she told them. ‘They shade us from the hot desert sun. Theyguard us from the terrible desert sandstorms. They show us where to findwater to drink,’ she explained. Then Amrita taught her children to hug thetrees as she did. . . .

[The Maharajah, the great and powerful ruler, decided to cut down theforest because it was an obstacle to his plans.]

One morning, Amrita spotted a troop of men armed with heavy axes.They were headed towards the forest. ‘Do not cut down these trees!’ shecried and jumped in front of her tree. ‘Stand back!’ thundered the axeman.‘Please, leave my tree,’ Amrita begged. ‘Chop me instead’. She hugged thetree with all her strength. The axeman shoved her away and swung his blade.

[However, when all the villagers joined Amrita in hugging the trees,the forest was saved.]

Many years have passed since that day, but some people say Amritastill comes to the forest to hug the trees. ‘Trees,’ she whispers, ‘you are sotall and your leaves are so green! How could we live without you?’

For Amrita knows that the trees shade the people from the hot desertsun. The trees guard the people from the howling desert sandstorms. Andwhere the trees grow there is water, and it is a good place for the peopleto live.Heartwood Ethics Curriculum for Elementary School Children, Niwat, Roberts Rinehart Inc.Publishers.


In the original legend, Amrita Devi and several hundred villagers gave uptheir lives while protecting their forest, nearly three centuries ago. TheIndian government has commemorated their sacrifice by naming theRajasthani village of Khejare as India’s first National EnvironmentMemorial.

Today, the people of India still struggle to protect their environment.One of the most dedicated groups is the Chipko (Hug a Tree) Movement,whose members support non-violent resistance to the cutting of trees.

In 1987, the Chipko Movement received the distinguished RightLivelihood Award (the ‘alternative Nobel’) for ‘dedication to the con-servation, restoration, and ecologically responsible use of India’s naturalresources’.

The learning activities that follow are from the Heartwood Teachers’Guide to the book.

Q U E S T I O N S F O R D I S C U S S I O N◗ What motivated Amrita to protect her tree? Why did she love it?◗ How did Amrita feel when the men came to cut down the tree?◗ Amrita set aside her fear and protected the tree with her life. Talk about the

courage that she found to do this.◗ Amrita and the villagers were non-violent. What does that mean? Why is it

an effective strategy? Talk about the courage it takes to solve a problem ina non-violent way.

Learning activities1. Locate India on the world map and place a story pin on it.2. Hug a tree. How does it feel? Can you feel the life of the tree? Write your

answer in your journal.3. Plant a tree seedling and care for it.4. In this story, Amrita grows up loving trees. Construct the timeline of a

tree; of a forest.5. Hold a class meeting to mediate the Maharajah’s point of view and the

villagers’ point of view.6. Hold a class meeting to resolve a classroom problem. If possible, choose

one that relates to the ‘environment’ of the class.

Wrap-up1. ‘Without these trees we cannot survive,’ says Amrita. Complete these

statements in your journal:


Without . . . we cannot survive.Without . . . the community cannot survive.Without . . . the country cannot survive.Without . . . the Earth cannot survive.

2. In your journal, write two ways you can help the Earth.

Extension1. Discuss with your family what your community is doing to survive and

to protect the environment. What are other groups doing to help theenvironment?

2. Walk in the woods or a park; talk about what trees do for your community.3. With your family, plant a tree, a shrub, a rose bush or other plants.

Science1. Environmental issues are prominent in this story. Discuss the Chipko (Hug

a Tree) Movement in India as explained at the end of the story. List theenvironmentally concerned groups in your country. List any worldwideorganizations or movements to protect the Earth that any one in the classmay know about.

2. Outdoor activity: In groups of three, examine a tree and describe whateveryone sees on, in and around it. Each group should examine a differ-ent tree. Do not allow students to break branches or disturb the naturalhabitat.

3. Make a diagram of the parts of a tree (crown, trunk, roots). How doeseach part contribute to the environment? Work in groups of three to chartanswers.

4. Discuss why trees are essential to survival.


T h e v o i c e s o f c h i l d r e n : r e s p o n d i n g t o v i o l e n c e(ages 9–13)

Reflecting on problems of intolerance and violence can no longer be con-sidered too harsh a lesson for children; for too many of them, theseconditions actually dominate their lives. It is important that children begiven an opportunity to express their thoughts and feelings. It is equallyimportant that their messages be heard and attended to.

This message is an appeal of the children who participated in the First


International Education Camp of Youth in Piran (Slovenia) where theyengaged in activities on the themes of peace and coexistence.

The children’s plea• Do not let hatred and hostility ruin the childhood of our equals

throughout the world.• Listen to what we’ve been telling you – we need you.• Give us more of your time.• Do not treat us like babies, or we’ll never grow up.• Help us to understand that differences in colour, nationality or

religion are not important.• Use words that we can understand, and don’t get angry when we

don’t.• Do not quarrel, because it makes us suffer.• Do not give us false hopes and promises if you cannot carry them

out.• Do not take away what belongs to us – our childhood.

One child’s plea as a poemIf children were to decide,there would be no hatred in the world,and all the people would agreethat war remained only a word . . .

If children were to decide,no army would exist, nor any weapon,and all the soldiers would agreeto shake hands and live in freedom . . .

But who cares to ask the children!We can’t manage all alone;Do think about it, be reasonable, join us, feel at home.Zljok Sabol (translated by Majda Celik). From a report on the camp submitted to UNESCO byAlenka Askerc Mikeln, headmistress of a UNESCO Associated School in Slovenia.

Activity 11. Read the poem to the class and ask them to comment on it.2. Have the children write their own poems on the same theme.3. Ask for volunteers to read their poems for class discussion.


Activity 21. Tell the pupils about the camp. Read the message to them. Then have them

sit in groups of five to seven for small-group discussions.2. Depending on the number of pupils, assign one or two of the statements

in The Children’s Plea to each group. Ask them to discuss and planresponses to the following questions:• Can you think of examples of experiences of children you know or knowabout which could have caused those children to make such a statement?• How would you express your own thoughts about these conditions?

3. Write on the board the groups’ responses to the second question. Thenreview them and change them as necessary until there is a consensus ontheir own message.

4. Discuss the question of what should be done with the message. Should itbe posted up in the school? Sent to the newspapers? Sent to their parents?Sent to the President or Prime Minister? Sent to leaders of other countries?What kind of reply should they request? Then help the pupils to carry outtheir plans for disseminating their statement.

A p p e n d i c e s

The following annotated and simplified versions of human rightsdocuments are offered to teachers who may wish to use such materials intheir classrooms.

1 . U n i v e r s a l D e c l a r a t i o n o f H u m a n R i g h t s

1. Passages in bold type emphasized by the author.

adopted by the United Nations on 10 December 19481

PreambleWhereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of

all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peacein the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts whichhave outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in whichhuman beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear andwant has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, torebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protectedby the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the development of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith infundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human personand in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promotesocial progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the UnitedNations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rightsand fundamental freedoms,


Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importancefor the full realization of this pledge,

Now, therefore, The General Assembly proclaims this Universal Declaration of HumanRights as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations,to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping thisDeclaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promoterespect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national andinternational, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance,both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples ofterritories under their jurisdiction.

Article 1All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They areendowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in aspirit of brotherhood.

Article 2Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration,without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion,political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political,jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a personbelongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any otherlimitation of sovereignty.

Article 3Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Article 4No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall beprohibited in all their forms.

Article 5No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degradingtreatment or punishment.

Article 6Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.

Article 7All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination toequal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against anydiscrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to suchdiscrimination.

89Appendix 1

2. While ‘everyone’ as employed in the Declaration refers to both men and women, asspecified in the Preamble, only the masculine pronoun is used throughout.

Article 8Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent nationaltribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him2 by theconstitution or by law.

Article 9No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.

Article 10Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by anindependent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights andobligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 111. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent

until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all theguarantees necessary for his defence.

2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act oromission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or internationallaw, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposedthan the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family,home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation.Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference orattacks.

Article 131. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the

borders of each State.2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return

to his country.

Article 141. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from

persecution.2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from

non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of theUnited Nations.


Article 151. Everyone has the right to a nationality.2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to

change his nationality.

Article 161. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or

religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled toequal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intendingspouses.

3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitledto protection by society and the State.

Article 171. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with

others.2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this rightincludes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or incommunity with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or beliefin teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Article 19Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includesfreedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impartinformation and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Article 201. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 211. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly

or through freely chosen representatives.2. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country.3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will

shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universaland equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free votingprocedures.

91Appendix 1

Article 22Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitledto realization, through national effort and international co-operation and inaccordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic,social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free developmentof his personality.

Article 231. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and

favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring

for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, andsupplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.

4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection ofhis interests.

Article 24Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation ofworking hours and periodic holidays with pay.

Article 251. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-

being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medicalcare and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event ofunemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack oflivelihood in circumstances beyond his control.

2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. Allchildren, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same socialprotection.

Article 261. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the

elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory.Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and highereducation shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.

2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personalityand to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racialor religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for themaintenance of peace.

3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given totheir children.


Article 271. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community,

to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests

resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is theauthor.

Article 28Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights andfreedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.

Article 291. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full

development of his personality is possible.2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such

limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing duerecognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meetingthe just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in ademocratic society.

3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposesand principles of the United Nations.

Article 30Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, groupor person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed atthe destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

1. The right to equality, regardless of race, colour, sex, religion, national, or socialorigin.

2. The right to develop physically and mentally in a healthy manner.

3. The right to a name and nationality.

4. The right to adequate nutrition, housing and medical services.

5. The right to special care, if handicapped.

6. The right to love, understanding and protection.

7. The right to free education, to play and recreation.

8. The right to be among the first to receive relief in times of disaster.

9. The right to protection against all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation.

10. The right to be brought up in a spirit of tolerance and peace and as a member ofthe universal human family.

2 . D e c l a r a t i o n o n t h e R i g h t s o f t h e C h i l d ,1 9 5 9

PreambleThe preamble sets the tone in which the fifty-four articles of the Convention willbe interpreted. The major United Nations texts which precede it and which havea direct bearing on children are mentioned, as is the importance of the family forthe harmonious development of the child, the importance of special safeguards andcare, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth, and theimportance of the traditions and cultural values of each people for the child’sdevelopment.

Article 1: Definition of childEvery human being below 18 years unless majority is attained earlier according tothe law applicable to the child.

Article 2: Non-discriminationAll rights must be granted to each child without exception. The State must protectthe child against all forms of discrimination.

Article 3: Best interests of the childIn all actions concerning children, the best interests of the child shall be a majorconsideration.

Article 4: Implementation of rightsThe obligation on the State to ensure that the rights in the Convention areimplemented.

3 . A l o o k a t t h e C o n v e n t i o n o n t h e R i g h t s o f t h e C h i l d ,1 9 8 9 1

1. Adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 20 November 1989.Annoted version established by UNICEF.

95Appendix 3

Article 5: Parents, family, community, rights and responsibilitiesStates are to respect the parents and family in their child-rearing function.

Article 6: Life, survival and developmentThe right of the child to life and the State’s obligation to ensure the child’s survivaland development.

Article 7: Name and nationalityThe right from birth to a name, to acquire a nationality and to know and be caredfor by his or her parents.

Article 8: Preservation of identityThe obligation of the State to assist the child in re-establishing identity if this hasbeen illegally withdrawn.

Article 9: Non-separation from parentsThe right of the child to retain contact with his parents in cases of separation. Ifseparation is the result of detention, imprisonment, or death, the State shall provideinformation to the child or parents about the whereabouts of the missing familymember.

Article 10: Family reunificationRequests to leave or enter a country for family reunification shall be dealt with ina humane manner. A child has the right to maintain regular contacts with bothparents when these live in different States.

Article 11: Illicit transfer and non-return of childrenThe State shall combat child kidnapping by a parent or by a third party.

Article 12: Expression of opinionThe right of the child to express his or her opinion and to have this taken intoconsideration.

Article 13: Freedom of expression and informationThe right to seek, receive and impart information in various forms, includingartistic, printed or writen.

Article 14: Freedom of thought, conscience and religionStates are to respect the rights and duties of parents to provide direction to the childin the exercise of this right in accordance with the child’s evolving capacities.

Article 15: Freedom of associationThe child’s right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly.


Article 16: Privacy, honour, reputation No child shall be subjected to interference with privacy, family, home orcorrespondence.

Article 17: Access to information and mediaThe child shall have access to information from a diversity of sources; due attentionshall be paid to minorities and guidelines to protect children from harmful materialshall be encouraged.

Article 18: Parental responsibilityBoth parents have common responsibilities for the upbringing of the child andassistance shall be given to them in the performance of the parental responsibilities.

Article 19: Abuse and neglect (while in family or care)States have the obligation to protect children from all forms of abuse. Socialprogrammes and support services shall be made available.

Article 20: Alternative care for children in the absence of parentsThe entitlement of the child to alternative care in accordance with national lawsand the obligation on the State to pay due regard to continuity in the child’sreligious, cultural, linguistic or ethnic background in the provision of alternativecare.

Article 21: AdoptionStates are to ensure that only authorized bodies carry out adoption. Intercountryadoption may be considered only if national solutions have been exhausted.

Article 22: Refugee childrenSpecial protection is to be given to refugee children. States shall co-operate withinternational agencies to this end and also to reunite children separated from theirfamilies.

Article 23: Disabled childrenThe right to benefit from special care and education for a fuller life in society.

Article 24: Health careAccess to preventive and curative health care services as well as the gradualabolishing of traditional practices harmful to the child.

Article 25: Periodic reviewThe child who is placed for care, protection or treatment has the right to have theplacement reviewed on a regular basis.

Article 26: Social securityThe child’s right to social security.

97Appendix 3

Article 27: Standard of livingParental responsibility to provide adequate living conditions for the child’sdevelopment even when one of the parents is living in a country other than thechild’s place of residence.

Article 28: EducationThe right to free primary education, the availability of vocational education, andthe need for measures to reduce the drop-out rates.

Article 29: Aims of educationEduction should foster the development of the child’s personality and talents,preparation for a responsible adult life, respect for human rights as well as thecultural and national values of the child’s country and that of others.

Article 30: Children of minorities and indigenous childrenThe right of the child belonging to a minority or indigenous group to enjoy his orher culture, to practice his or her religion and to use his or her own language.

Article 31: Play and recreationThe right of the child to play and recreational activities and to participate incultural and artistic life.

Article 32: Economic exploitationThe right of the child to protection against harmful forms of work and againstexploitation.

Article 33: Narcotic and psychotropic substancesProtection of the child from illicit use of these substances and the utilization of thechild in their production and distribution.

Article 34: Sexual exploitationProtection of the child from sexual exploitation including prostitution and the useof children in pornographic materials.

Article 35: Abduction, sale and traffic State obligation to prevent the abduction, sale of or traffic in children.

Article 36: Other forms of exploitation

Article 37: Torture, capital punishment, deprivation of libertyObligations of the State vis-à-vis children in detention.

Article 38: Armed conflictsChildren under 15 years are not to take a direct part in hostilities. No recruitmentof children under 15.


Article 39: Recovery and reintegrationState obligations for the re-education and social reintegration of child victims ofexploitation, torture or armed conflicts.

Article 40: Juvenile justiceTreatment of child accused of infringing the penal law shall promote the child’ssense of dignity.

Article 41: Rights of the child in other instruments

Article 42: Dissemination of the ConventionThe State’s duty to make the convention known to adults and children.

Article 43–54: ImplementationThese paragraphs provide for a Committee on the Rights of the Child to overseeimplementation of the Convention.

Documents

the threshold of peace toleran - UNESCOunesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001217/121737e.pdf · 12 Tolerance – the threshold of peace ... Similarly, teacher educators will ﬁnd this