Making Peace Means Teaching Skills

Q: “Why are we violent, but not illiterate?”

A: The answer is agonizingly obvious: “We’re taught to read!”

CKCPJ’s education project, LexingtonUnited, is guided by this insight, articulated by author Robert C. Koehler (no relation to the author of this article!), from a question originally posed by the writer Colman McCarthy.  In fact, we benefit from the rich tradition of nonviolence and teaching the skills of peace in countless ways.  

When we lead cooperative games, whether at the Carnegie Center’s “Create Peace” Family Fun Learning Night in observance of the International Day of Peace in September, or at the Lexington Farmer’s Market during the summer, we see children immediately grasp the deep wisdom of playing together in a spirit of fairness and equality.

Our 2014 Spring Break camp for middle school aged youth is in its planning stages, and we continue to pursue grant opportunities.  Peacemaking skills take time to practice.  This fall, LexingtonUnited is currently responding to requests to teach as “special guests” in university and college classes as well as fulfilling specific training sessions.   We appreciate every opportunity to introduce conflict resolution skills to new audiences.  

We also remain dedicated to longer-term trainings that allow time to create and share a series of small—albeit temporary—mini-communities focused on cultivating alternatives to conflict where real practice can take place over time.

 To this point all of our activities have been provided by our staff as volunteers; however, to grow our programming further and expand our trainer pool, we need to be able to pay for time dedicated to this important work.  

 

We express a most sincere thank you to every one of the CKCPJ donors who have helped support this growing effort.  You can follow us on Facebook, where we provide frequent updates, news, and links to conflict resolution and nonviolence resources (www.facebook.com/LexingtonUnited).

 

(by Gail Koehler, LexingtonUnited Trainer.  Note: a version of this article will appear in the November issue of our Peaceways newsletter).