September 11th revisited: The call for Montessori partnerships with civil society

Montessori Life, Spring 2003 by Coe, Besty, Jankowski, Tom, McFarland, Sonnie, Yonka, Patricia

NEWS FROM THE UN

Killing is an unspeakable act. Yet, by the time you read this article, the United States and its allies may be at war with Iraq. As a society of people wearing the hats of teacher educator, school administrator, classroom teacher, assistant, and/ or parent, we are called to model for our children so that they can live a more peaceful coexistence with other inhabitants of this planet. How can we do this in the face of war?

From September 9-11, 2002, 12 Montessori representatives attended the 55th annual DPI/NGO Conference at the United Nations as members of the American Montessori Society NGO (nongovernmental organization) delegation. The conference, Rebuilding Societies Emerging from Conflict-A Shared Responsibility, explored the role of the international community-the UN, its agencies, governments, and civil society organizations-in supporting societies like Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Afghanistan, etc. as they transition from war to peace and stability. More than 2,600 participants, representing 650 NGO's from 85 countries, spent 3 days in discussions centering on the state of the peoples of the world. Montessori representatives included the writers of this article as well as Eileen Ast, Ruth Selman, Lynn Carberry, John T. Martin, Louise Bogart, Marie Dugan, Lesley Nan Haberman, and Elaine Tory.

A Giant Leap

Montessori education took a giant leap into the arena of networking and outreach on an international level with AMS partnering with the Hague Appeal for Peace to stage a standing-room only workshop entitled "Making Peace Last: Teaching Peace, Human Rights, and Gender Equality." The panel included: Eileen Ast, Executive Director of AMS; Ruth Selman, NGO Representative to the UN; Betty Burkes, Hague Appeal for Peace Project Director of the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs; Meg Gardinier, Hague Appeal for Peace Global Campaign for Peace Education Coordinator; and Betty Reardon, Director of Peace Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. The President of the Hague Appeal for Peace, Cora Weiss, was moderator.

Our presentation focused on the importance of the environment, which is something we take for granted in our classrooms. We also shared peace songs and the four areas of a comprehensive peace education model, which include self, community, cultural, and environmental awarenesses. The lotus flowers attached to the peace education model brochure were made by Montessori school children and adults from Montessori teacher education programs. Ast and Selman spoke clearly about the fact that to educate children for peace, children must experience peace in their environments. They pointed out five major aspects that make up a peaceable society and demonstrated how these occur in Montessori classrooms: Freedom and Movement, Safety and Order, Choice and Independence, Clear Limits, and Conflict Resolution.

What We Learned

From this conference, we learned that a peace treaty or cease-fire agreement is only the beginning of the long, difficult process of rebuilding infrastructure, organization, and relationships in war-torn lands. As we have all seen recently, without substantial support from members of the international community, post-conflict societies are likely to lapse into conflict or serve as fertile grounds for the emergence of radical fringe groups who press their agenda by using violent tactics, like terrorism. As established strategies for accomplishing disarmament, providing health services, and reintegration and reconciliation of conflicting parties in post-conflict societies were presented and discussed at the conference, the hard question looming for AMS and many (if not all) other NGOs present was: "What can our organizations do?"

The need for peace education and general schooling was addressed at most of the sessions attended. The reestablishment of schools in post- conflict societies is the number one requested intervention, even in areas of starvation and disease. Recent peace accords have written children's needs-including education-- into the agreements, something that was unusual prior to 1991. So for AMS the goal is clear: establishing global peace education by supporting the growth of Montessori schools. However, peace education must exist within a context that has already established respect for basic human rights. It is very clear that in order to provide peace education curricula, we must first meet the basic needs of people as stated in The Declaration of Human Rights and The Rights of the Child. In lands lacking these frameworks, education is a secondary action.

9/11 Memorial Service

Many UN and NGO delegates attended the annual UN Interfaith Service of Commitment to the Work of the United Nations on September 11. Held at St. Bartholomew Episcopalian Church, the theme was Celebration of Remembrance and Hope Dedicated to the Victims of Violence Everywhere. Kofi Annan, UN secretary-general, and Jan Kavan, 57th president of the UN General Assembly, were speakers. The service included prayers from the 12 major religions of the world. The many rituals, such as blowing of the conch shell as the call to worship, as well as the traditional dress and the messages of peace by all were very moving. In the church a quilt with 9 X 11" squares was hung, listing the first and last names of all victims of September 11. This quilt was created by the Muslim women of Los Angeles and sent to New York.