The Development of a Culture of Peace

In the article The Development of a Culture of Peace, the author outlines the
need for a more peaceful existence that nurtures non-violence, justice, sharing,
compassion and living in harmony with the Earth. It is my belief that this philosophy is
not only extremely important, but that it is crucial if humanity is ever going to be socially
and ecological sustainable.

This article brings my own thoughts and impressions into light and makes me
question my own grasp of what it actually means to educate for peace. I have struggled
internally with what my role is in creating a more ecologically and socially peaceful
world for a long time, and I decided years ago that the field of education would be the
most promising place to start. To narrow such broad terms and say that I advocate one
view of peace and social education is an extremely difficult task at best. I believe that in
order to achieve a true culture of peace that civil society needs to foster, appreciate, and
advocate the importance of the human experience. We need to move away from the
factory style of education as well as from the current disconnected form of citizenship
that I believe is nearly inevitable in our increasingly capitalist world. By teaching
students to strive for personal peace instead of large pay checks and by asking them to
look at the world from a variety of different perspectives I hope to be able to foster their
respect towards themselves, towards their planet and towards each other.

I believe that moral responsibility plays a major role in educating towards a

more peaceful society. It is impossible to envision a peaceful world without first
addressing what I believe to be one of the most fundamental problems, but it is also a
very difficult and perhaps even an impossible task to teach another human being how to
be moral. According to Epictetus, In a word, neither death, nor exile, nor pain, nor
anything of this kind is the real cause of our doing or not doing any action, but our
inward opinions and principles. Following in the footsteps of Socrates, Epictetus held
that our aim was to be masters of our own lives and he aspired and encouraged others to
live virtuously, in accordance with reason and in accordance with the "nature of things".
The ideal world would obviously be one in which every human strived to be a moral
citizen, but this does not seem to be a plausible ideal in our increasingly capitalist world.
It seems to me that we are striving to become more like machines than moral and
participatory citizens.

According to Educating Towards a Culture of Peace, Modern schooling in

almost all societies is rooted in the ideology of intense competition and individualism
modern schools are very effective at socializing future adults to compete excessively and
egoistically. In my opinion this statement emphasizes the importance of advocating a
more holistic approach to education. The western style of education has become the most
sought after because of its ability to transform children into productive economic
contributors, but we have certainly left behind some of our fundamentally human values
and beliefs in our attempts to become more economically successful or

stable. We need to not only look at the potential earning abilities of students and begin to
look at a students ability to be human. Do they understand their responsibilities towards
themselves, towards each other, and towards their Earth? These questions do not appear
on any report cards and it is impossible to assess these criteria. Does that make them less
important than a childs ability to complete a math problem? I would argue that it is more
important to be a morally motivated person than it is to be an academically motivated
person. I would also argue that education which is rooted in the practice of producing
students rather than fostering their inner peace is in itself fundamentally flawed.

One of the goals of holistic education is for each child to learn through their own
experiences how to reach their own human potential. As described in a parable told over
thousands of years, a Taoist story involves a traveling carpenter who notices a herd of
cattle resting under an ancient trees shadow. Taking its size into account, the carpenter
dreams of the money to be made from selling the wood. On closer inspection, however,
he finds that the tree is unusable, noting its knotted wood, bitter leaves, and lack of fruit.
Considered worthless, the tree was left to grow in its own way, uncultivated by human
needs. The moral is that so-called worthlessness can be a great resource. In Taoist
philosophy, unusable things often come to have hidden value in this case providing
sanctuary from the sun. (Adbusters, Sowing the Seeds of Change, July/ August 2005)
It is my opinion that a holistic education is one that teaches students to question the roles
and importance of everything in their world and not just the roles and importance of those
things that are seen as valuable. Some people believe that education has become a

product which is geared not toward the needs or desires of students, but to the
improvement of test scores. It is holistic education which aims to de-emphasize the
factory model of education while emphasizing the importance of the human experience. I
believe that it is necessary to cultivate a holistic philosophy in education and that the
implications for the future of our world rest in our ability to revolutionize our societal and
global goals.

In a world that is driven by bottom lines and economic wealth, it almost seems
impossible to impose morality on people, because that is just how it would be perceivedas being imposed and those who control educational structures are likely those who are
not intrinsically motivated to be moral citizens because it conflicts with the current
undertones in todays political and economical climate. It is difficult once we start to
immerse ourselves in the philosophical and ethical arguments encountered when
attempting to envision a peaceful future.