I am an educator. I began in human rights work and evolved into education because I see the connection. Without opportunity, without access to education, without justice, there can be no peace. For the last 13 years I have lived and worked internationally and I believe in the mission of International Schools. At our schools we bring people together of many races, colors, religions, political beliefs, sexual orientation and we educate them TOGETHER. Recently one of my students stood up in front of our school and gave a Tiny Ted Talk about the issues of brutality being committed against people of Muslim Faith in Europe, especially women. He said, “I am a Muslim. Am I a Terrorist? Of course not.” And the kids giggled, because – OF COURSE NOT. They know him as one of their classmates and friends. The philosophy of International Schools that I embrace is that common experiences are necessary to build understanding and community. Learning to communicate truthfully, directly, and constructively is the only way to build a peaceful community.
In preparation for a Study Tour of Pre-Schools and Infant-Toddler Centers in Reggio-Emilia, I have been reading The Hundred Languages of Children (Edwards, Gandini, Forman, eds. 2012). Just before I sat down to attempt this piece again, and in truth the inspiration for getting me to come back to it, I read the chapter entitled “The Pedagogy of Listening” and it spoke to my heart.
Real listening requires the suspension of judgments and prejudices. The relationship between peace and prejudice concerns the ability or disability to be good listeners. This is where education for peace begins. There is a connection with the pedagogy of listening. Peace is a way of thinking, learning, and listening to others, a way of looking at differences as an element of connection, not separation. Peace is a way of remembering that my point of view is not the best, and I need to hear and understand others’ points of view. Here we find the roots of participation in the school as a place to encounter difference. We must have the courage to share and to agree or disagree. Listening provides the opportunity for professional and human development (236).
This is hard, but powerful and important. It is powerful within our work with young children, which is the context for which it was written, but I think it speaks to the reality we face more broadly. Because, when you paint people into ever smaller and smaller boxes of white, gay, Muslim, immigrant, liberal, racist, feminist, black, and on and on and on, you create nothing more than cartoons in your mind – one dimensional images devoid of the richness of actual human experiences that one could connect to and with whom one could engage in dialogue. Once the possibility of connection and dialogue is severed, only conflict remains. Once we are forced into dichotomous choices that oversimplify complex challenges, constructive conversations are significantly impaired.
So when I see the man who will now be President of the United States mock a person with disabilities, I see someone who does not respect difference. Without respect, how can there be dialogue? When I hear the man who will be President paint cartoon, stereotypes of immigrants, I wonder where is there room to find common ground on a challenge we face as a nation? When I hear he wants to ban all Muslims, I wonder what happened to the Freedom of Religion guaranteed in the Constitution? When I hear him talk disparagingly and abusively of women, I wonder how we face the very real problems of sexual assault on college campuses and gender inequality? How can we face the imminent effects of climate change that will lead to food instability and increased numbers of climate refugees, if the man in charge doesn’t believe in the science that tells us this is coming? Where is our partner in dialogue when this is the man who leads the country?
This is what I have been grieving since the election. - the loss of dialogue. So reading the words above have inspired me to recommit to my work as an educator. Now more than ever we need to be nurturing the development of listeners - listeners who can engage in thoughtful dialogue, respectfully, with others, especially those with whom they disagree.
Which leads me to the last part of the chapter, exploring the idea that both child and teacher are researchers and the second thing that happened last week. “As human beings, we are all researchers of the meaning of life. Yet it is possible to destroy this attitude with quick answers and our sense of certainty” (239). The other very disturbing part of this whole election process was the acceptance that facts just don’t matter. The amount of fake “news” circulating on the internet, reposted on facebook and twitter, even allowed to go unchallenged within “mainstream” media was shocking. Part of this is that we are self-selecting sites and news outlets that echo our beliefs and do not challenge us to consider other interpretations, but part of it is also that there is a lot of false information being circulated. As a population, we seemed to have lost our ability to think critically and evaluate the sources from which information comes.
I have been working with my grade 5 students on developing their research skills. This week, as we explored further how to do quality research, several interesting and import ideas spontaneously emerged in our conversations. First, research is the act of exploring and collecting information from a VARIETY of QUALITY sources. You can’t site something because your mom or friend told you, you just know it from somewhere, or you though you heard it somewhere. You can’t write it down in your research notes if you don’t have a source. And one source isn’t good enough. Second, the information must come from reliable sources. Being critical of where information comes from is the only way to verify its accuracy. Even these 10 and 11 year olds know that Wikipedia is not considered a good source because anyone can change it. This is the type of critical thinking all of us need to being doing about our so-called news, and this is an area where, as an educator, I can have real impact.
So with the synthesis of these ideas here, I have picked myself up off the floor, dusted myself off, and live to fight again, because the hard work continues and we all are important in the fight. Donate to your favorite social justice organizations. Volunteer your time. Stand up to injustice when you see it. Commit yourself to your corner of the world and your passion, whatever that is. Most importantly, talk to those with whom you disagree most. Be the bridge that opens dialogue. Listen. It is perhaps the most radical thing we can do.
Resources:
Edwards, C., Gandini, L., Forman, G., eds. (2012). The Hundred Languages of Children: The Reggio Emilia Experience in Transformation, third edition. California: Praeger.