I started off my journey learning about Peace Education last summer in Costa Rica. Honestly, I decided to take the course because it gave me to opportunity to travel to a country I have never been and also gave me my first stamp in my passport. What I really got out of the trip, was insight on sustainability, specifically in the idea of incorporating the topic into the Biology content. We were able to visit the INBio Parque where we really were able to explore our nature’s real environment and how we live among so many different kinds of living organisms.
My journey to Peace Education continued this semester where I was able to learn about the Peace Education certificate. Since I did not know too much about the topic, I thought this class would be a great stepping-stone in a new adventure at the University of San Diego. The idea of incorporating and teaching peace in the classroom was one that I became interested in. I feel that these important lessons in life are starting to get lost in the midst of our student’s childhoods. We look at peace education to be something that is taught in the children’s homes, but what we are seeing today in our society that there is very little interaction between our students and their parents simply because of conflicting schedule and the need for dual working parents. Therefore, our children are being raised in an environment that is consistently exposed to war, violence, and conflict. These ideas are portrayed in the news, in video games, in books, in schools, etc. Like the book Ian Harris wrote, he states that we as humans do not inherit a violent nature, but are rather taught violence by our surroundings. I think as educators, we need to change this trend and go back to incorporating love and peace. Without this foundation, our students are not going to understand concepts being taught in the classroom, nor are they going to really want to learn because of the lack of connection to our environment and to one another.
I’m really excited to continue my journey in learning more about Peace Education and incorporating the ideas into my curriculum.
