Peace First’s partner schools experience
an average reduction of 60 percent in incidences
of violence and 50 percent fewer weapons brought to school, plus a 70
to 80 percent increase in observed student peacemaking.
help teach students peacemaking skills. The nonprofit is based on the premise that children have a natural aptitude for it and peacemaking can be taught, just like other subjects; their curriculum teaches and reinforces core social/emotional skills in communication, creative conflict resolution, courage, cooperation, empa- thy and civic engagement. A New York City student remarks,
“Peace First teaches that even if you don’t like someone, it shouldn’t affect how you work together to accomplish something... [putting] peace first makes my heart beat lovelier.”
Good for Us and Others
The International Forgiveness Institute (IFI) (
InternationalForgiveness.com), in Madison, Wisconsin, has added its support to the anti-bullying move- ment. Stemming from the research of IFI founder Robert Enright, Ph.D., and his colleagues, the institute works to forward forgiveness for personal, group and soci- etal renewal. It attests that in forgiving a hurtful person, a personal transformation begins that can enhance self-esteem and hopefulness. Enright’s scientific studies further demonstrate that when children learn about forgiveness, feelings of anger, depression and anxiety are reduced. “We believe that forgiveness is a
choice,” explains Enright. “When you forgive, you may benefit the person you forgive, but you benefit yourself far more.”
Enright recalls his experiences
working with incarcerated men that were serving life sentences. “The first thing the assigned therapists asked
natural awakenings February 2013 29
the group to do was to tell me their story; tell me about the hurts that had been perpetrated on them. One man began to cry, saying that no one had ever asked for his story.” The therapists listened to a tale of the cruel disciplin- ary measures he had endured at home as a child and recognized a correlation with the crime he had committed. “I’m not justifying his actions, but we can see that he was an extremely wounded man. Many bullies in school have a story, and we need to take the time to hear their story.
“Because those that engage in bullying are often filled with rage from having been bullied themselves, they get to a point that they don’t care about the consequences of their actions, including detention,” Enright continues. Instead of focusing on the prevention of unwanted behaviors, he says, “Our program is meant to take the anger out of the heart of those that bully, so they bully no more.”
An elementary school-age partici-
pant in the Forgiveness Program con- cludes, “Sometimes it is hard to forgive someone straight away if they really hurt your feelings. It might take longer to see their worth and show them real forgive- ness… but it is worth it in the end.”
Meredith Montgomery is the publisher of Natural Awakenings Mobile/Baldwin, AL (
HealthyLivingHealthyPlanet.com).
Peace in Action
When a first-grader returned to class shaken up after being accosted by a fourth-grader in the restroom, his teacher stepped back to see how the class would use Peace First prin- ciples. The boy was immediately embraced by his classmates, who quickly concluded that it was every student’s right, not a luxury, to feel safe, and thereafter implemented a restroom buddy system. The offending fourth-grader was
then invited into their classroom to hear how each of the first-graders felt personally affected by the incident. He was also required to spend recess with the first-graders for the next two weeks. It became a transformative experience for everyone involved. The older student was recast from victimizer to a responsible, caring in- dividual. He has continued to display improved behavior, volunteering to help in the classroom and foregoing lunch periods with friends to support the first-graders and their teacher. “There’s a misconception that peacemaking is holding hands and singing songs,” says Peace First President Eric D. Dawson. “It’s more a set of skills that’s nurturing human development. It’s working together to solve a problem.”
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