By ~ Dr. Jyotsna Bhattacharjee
The question is: what is education for peace and how can it be taught? The idea of peace education emerged in countries which had been ravaged by chronic war and ethnic violence for several years. The educationists in India have suggested different approaches to ethics education with every revision of the curriculum. NCERT’s Nation Curriculum Framework (2005) suggested and designed peace education for Indian school-goers. This plan gives importance to the ethical development of young people along with values, attitudes and skills required for living with harmony with others, with one’s self and with nature. It also includes the joy of living and respect for human rights, justice, cultural and religious diversity, cooperation and social responsibility. Only with this kind of education a child can grow up to be a responsible citizen of the country
The curriculum also includes commitment to democratic values and non-violent resolution of conflicts. This kind of education is necessary for the school children to understand and to identify the various issues, discuss the reasons and causes and seek solution to potentially disruptive events and the undercurrents of disaffection. Hence education for peace should receive serious attention.
Many teachers might object the introduction of peace education in the curriculum, saying that they hardly have time to complete the scheduled portions in all the subjects, and hence they would not have time for a new subject like peace education. This kind of attitude demonstrates the indifference of the educators to a very important aspect of education, which is essential for a happy and healthy life.
Peace education is not a luxury option. It is indispensable for the character formation of a child. If he does not know about the values of life, he would grow up with all wrong ideas and may even turn into an anti-social element, which would cause great harm to society and the country at large. Peace or value education must be seen as a basic need for the future health of the nation.
Maria Montessori had remarked that “All education is for peace”. If we look at some of our ‘educated’ citizens and notice their behaviour and attitude towards life, we would clearly notice that our education system is somewhere falling short of its goals. If our children continue to be exposed to aggression, tension and pressure they would grow up to be unhealthy people, exhibiting dysfunctional behaviour, nervousness and anxiety. Hence they must be given value education to restore their emotional balance. The students must learn the value of love and compassion.
From early life the students should learn to resolve conflicts – they should know the skills for making peace. They should be taught to develop good communication and cooperative skills – they should learn to relax and solve conflicts logically and also to forgive the wrongdoers. Only then they would become better human beings in the future.
There are many forms of violence. Many factors – hunger, poverty, lack of basic amenities – may lead to economic violence. The misuse of power, denial of justice to others is also a form of violence. The future citizens of the country should learn the essential of social equity, gender justice and their own rights and responsibilities towards their fellow citizens. For ensuring prosperity with peace, education is indispensable. This kind of education has a moral dimension.
Tolerance is also another component of peace education. India is a land of multi-religious beliefs and practices have a great influence on the lifestyles of the citizens and they are very much vulnerable to the poison of intolerance. India has witnessed diverse kinds of religious conflicts among the various communities. Hence young children should be taught the value of tolerance and teachers should promote mutual respect for all religions among the young learners to ensure inter-faith harmony. This kind of peace education will go a long way to ensure absence of conflicts and it will also enrich every child’s life with a uniquely rich heritage.
Peace education also ensures endless possibilities for innovation. The teachers may grab the opportunity to hold a child’s interest on Gandhi by referring to the film Munnabhai. They might hold classes on peace and hold discussion on the Gandhian approach to non-violence. Children may get bored with textbooks – but they may enjoy the film. The teaching may then be more effective.
Another central feature of peace education is the concept of ‘ethics’. It goes beyond the usual moral science ideas of ‘good’ or ‘bad’, ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. The purpose of peace education is to teach the children that all situations cannot be categorized into ‘black’ and white’. The child should be taught to analyses the ‘grey areas’, which remain between the black and the white. The teacher should train the child to consciously strive for harmonious solutions to potentially divisive situations. They have to know about conflicts which divide the society and only peace education can give them some ideas as to how to resolve conflicts. For a holistic development of a human being the necessary factors are – intellectual implication, emotional sensitivity, integrity and honourable behaviour. Only peace education will be able to give adequate guidance to the children to lead the society to prosperity and happiness. The purpose of peace education is to revive humanity in human beings.
(The writer is a former Head of the Department of Philosophy, Cotton College, Guwahati)
The question is: what is education for peace and how can it be taught? The idea of peace education emerged in countries which had been ravaged by chronic war and ethnic violence for several years. The educationists in India have suggested different approaches to ethics education with every revision of the curriculum. NCERT’s Nation Curriculum Framework (2005) suggested and designed peace education for Indian school-goers. This plan gives importance to the ethical development of young people along with values, attitudes and skills required for living with harmony with others, with one’s self and with nature. It also includes the joy of living and respect for human rights, justice, cultural and religious diversity, cooperation and social responsibility. Only with this kind of education a child can grow up to be a responsible citizen of the country
The curriculum also includes commitment to democratic values and non-violent resolution of conflicts. This kind of education is necessary for the school children to understand and to identify the various issues, discuss the reasons and causes and seek solution to potentially disruptive events and the undercurrents of disaffection. Hence education for peace should receive serious attention.
Many teachers might object the introduction of peace education in the curriculum, saying that they hardly have time to complete the scheduled portions in all the subjects, and hence they would not have time for a new subject like peace education. This kind of attitude demonstrates the indifference of the educators to a very important aspect of education, which is essential for a happy and healthy life.
Peace education is not a luxury option. It is indispensable for the character formation of a child. If he does not know about the values of life, he would grow up with all wrong ideas and may even turn into an anti-social element, which would cause great harm to society and the country at large. Peace or value education must be seen as a basic need for the future health of the nation.
Maria Montessori had remarked that “All education is for peace”. If we look at some of our ‘educated’ citizens and notice their behaviour and attitude towards life, we would clearly notice that our education system is somewhere falling short of its goals. If our children continue to be exposed to aggression, tension and pressure they would grow up to be unhealthy people, exhibiting dysfunctional behaviour, nervousness and anxiety. Hence they must be given value education to restore their emotional balance. The students must learn the value of love and compassion.
From early life the students should learn to resolve conflicts – they should know the skills for making peace. They should be taught to develop good communication and cooperative skills – they should learn to relax and solve conflicts logically and also to forgive the wrongdoers. Only then they would become better human beings in the future.
There are many forms of violence. Many factors – hunger, poverty, lack of basic amenities – may lead to economic violence. The misuse of power, denial of justice to others is also a form of violence. The future citizens of the country should learn the essential of social equity, gender justice and their own rights and responsibilities towards their fellow citizens. For ensuring prosperity with peace, education is indispensable. This kind of education has a moral dimension.
Tolerance is also another component of peace education. India is a land of multi-religious beliefs and practices have a great influence on the lifestyles of the citizens and they are very much vulnerable to the poison of intolerance. India has witnessed diverse kinds of religious conflicts among the various communities. Hence young children should be taught the value of tolerance and teachers should promote mutual respect for all religions among the young learners to ensure inter-faith harmony. This kind of peace education will go a long way to ensure absence of conflicts and it will also enrich every child’s life with a uniquely rich heritage.
Peace education also ensures endless possibilities for innovation. The teachers may grab the opportunity to hold a child’s interest on Gandhi by referring to the film Munnabhai. They might hold classes on peace and hold discussion on the Gandhian approach to non-violence. Children may get bored with textbooks – but they may enjoy the film. The teaching may then be more effective.
Another central feature of peace education is the concept of ‘ethics’. It goes beyond the usual moral science ideas of ‘good’ or ‘bad’, ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. The purpose of peace education is to teach the children that all situations cannot be categorized into ‘black’ and white’. The child should be taught to analyses the ‘grey areas’, which remain between the black and the white. The teacher should train the child to consciously strive for harmonious solutions to potentially divisive situations. They have to know about conflicts which divide the society and only peace education can give them some ideas as to how to resolve conflicts. For a holistic development of a human being the necessary factors are – intellectual implication, emotional sensitivity, integrity and honourable behaviour. Only peace education will be able to give adequate guidance to the children to lead the society to prosperity and happiness. The purpose of peace education is to revive humanity in human beings.
(The writer is a former Head of the Department of Philosophy, Cotton College, Guwahati)
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