Peace Education
“Establishing lasting peace is the work of education.”
Maria Montessori
A Montessori classroom is much more than an outstanding academic education. Teaching our students about social justice, human rights, and equity prepares them to become global citizens. Through the work of the classroom students began to form a strong sense of who they are and what they want to contribute in life. They come to understand that conflict is an opportunity for growth.
Peace education begins with our youngest students. These students learn to respect their environment, themselves, and others. In our Children’s House classroom the foundations of peace education is built. One important aspect of this foundation is learning to solve conflicts independently. In our Children’s House classrooms students learn to use the Peace Rose when they have a conflict. This process teachers how to express feelings, how to listen to others, and how collaborate to find a solution.
Our elementary students are in a developmental stage where justice and morality are both highly important to them and also still developing. This is an important time in their development to give them time to think about and learn about social justice. With our elementary students we are able to have more detailed lessons and conversations that extend outside conflicts between them and their friends and start to expand to the social justice issues of the greater community.
Adolescence is a pivotal time in a child’s development. They are growing rapidly and eager for more independence and responsibility in the greater world around them. Our middle school students learn to use Daniel Siegle’s Wheel of Awareness to solve conflicts. This encourages a deeper level of introspection during conflict resolution. Our adolescent students are also able to engage in deeper discussions about human rights through their cultural studies and history lessons.