Notes for Panel Discussion: How Do We Bring About Change?
(note taker: Lauren Majowicz)

Speaker #1: Meg Hirst (UNICEF Canada)
Peace Education needs to:
- be incorporated into all other programs
- focus more explicitly on positive peace
- take a rights based approach
- take a transformational look at peace and violence
- challenge the status quo
- involve kids and youth as ACTIVE and EQUAL participants in the peace (education) process
- involve parents; foster connections between parents and teachers

Speaker #2: Karen Dalkie (CBIE)
Peace Education programs need to:
- be linked to other national and international programs and initiatives
- foster intercultural understanding, communication, co-operation, partnership and exchange
- make global connections
- be aware of what others are doing nationally and internationally
- harness synergy

Speaker #3: Sonia ter Kuile (McMaster Student)
Peace Education needs to:
- be multigenerational (to take the pressure off of youth)
- provide a middle path for students between apathy and total responsibility
- provide a critical understanding of how to APPLY the values of "peace"
- be an ACTIVE discourse
- teach constructive ways to deal with fear

Speaker #4: Randy Kay (OPIRG)
Peace Educators need to:
- question whether we can TEACH peace
- question the structure of the school system and other institutions
- value experience and life as the "best school"
- help students to learn about peace by encouraging them to WORK for peace and to CONFRONT violences
- help create more students who "don't fit in" - who are critical thinkers
- break down the gap between what we teach and how we live
- take a child centered approach that respects the children
- understand the implications of value systems
- shift "peace" from being taught as a theory, to being taught through a practice

Speaker #5: Hannah Newcombe (Peace Research Institute Dundas)
Peace Educators need to:
- be vigorous!
- create change by living as though the change has already occurred
- use metaphors to aid understanding

Speaker #6: Carolyn Langdon (Canadian Voice of Women for Peace)
Peace Educators need to ask:
- How can we be a part of helping to re-craft the changing global agenda
- Why are youth not involved?
- How can we give youth the resources and tools to work for peace?
- How can we counter-act boredom at protests?
- How can we harness the power of creativity and the arts in our peace education initiatives?
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How Do We Bring About Change? Notes from the Town Hall Session-Sunday, Nov. 10

Notetaker: Monica Hau

How do we bring about change-summary of panel speakers by the moderator

• Develop programs that foster positive peace
• Address structural violence
• Facilitate coordination
• Hear children’s voices
• Long-term vision
• Multigenerational
• Understand implications of value systems
• Challenge media/structural ideology of the school system
• Daily realities need to bring about change
• Actions should be principled
• Respect all kinds of worms and draw on metaphors

Q. Born in Iran , left before the revolution and in 4 different educational systems before moving to Canada . There is an exmphasis in North America that builds character, to challenge how the school system is being run, but in Iran , where discipline and authority run, there is more structure, community and mutual respect vs. North America where boundaries are stretched. She did not feel mutual respect in North America . There is a spirit of partnership and love between parents and teachers in Iran . The teachers are like parents and there is a need to respect them. There was no bullying or harsh discipline. In North America , she didn’t feel secure and wasn’t protected from students or teachers. The attitude is that students need freedom. Define freedom.

A. Examine rights. Doesn’t mean freedom in doing whatever we want. Gone from no rights to all rights where it infringes the rights of others. Where do you draw the line?

Q. Curious about the definition of freedom and respect. He is one of the most least democratic teachers because he teaches music. Students feel free to ask questions and have to do their homework. There need to be consensus to be in harmony.

• The impact of teaching children what their rights are, the understanding that rights are not freedoms. A rights-based classroom is run as a democratic classroom, but there are limits from inputs from both teachers and students. Participation in groups/critical thinking. Democratic classroom is defined by rights and mutual respect.
• Am I crossing the lakes onto land? Beat the hell out of it at the beginning. Wear the hat of someone in the educational system and try our best to change. Going back to work and feeling beaten up about the system and looking forward to going back to work. Two kids with a peace campaign and undertaking it for the year. Makes her day. Nonetheless, it is the system. Encourage you to come up with a Peace Education system, because we cannot tear it down.
• Moderator: I hear concern about the hidden curriculum , affected by infrastructure, but have a mindset through which it is filtered and this affects the way that the curriculum is DELIVERED
• A woman’s son challenged teachers and apologized to the vice-principal, but there was no respect. The teacher called Johnny stupid, but the VP wanted to hear what Johnny did. Structural violence is not an attack on teachers. How do you work within the system and learn about rights? Sit in groups and not in rows perhaps.
• Randy: The school system is doing a lot of harm, but there are few examples of alternatives. Don’t send them to school with a teacher who doesn’t have a real interest in individuals. It is counter to their freedom when they want to learn something.
• Do more thinking about schools and alternative schools.
• Observation from a prison psychiatrist-there is not much difference in institutions. Trying to rehabilitate people in jail and bring them to society. Therapeutic community-alternative type prison-we thought we could make some gains. We looked at why they came back and it was because of minor parole violations. We were able to marginally make gains in the system, but still you have to work within the system.
• The idea of mainstreaming peace education from within the system, or work outside the system. There is room for a spectrum of views. The idea of brining people together to learn from each other is the goal of mainstreaming peace education
• There is a sense that teaching children to be peaceful. More to learn from children vs. allowing children the freedom to live peacefully. We have a lot to learn from children.
• In Ontario , we are struggling to protect our public education system. Careful to criticize the system because we could end up with privatization with the freedom to do alternative operation. Really hard to criticize, we want to keep it, but make it better. But have to drive off those who want to privatize
• Canada ’s image as a peacekeeping nation is inaccurate. Ex. The sanctions in Iraq . The UN website has 199 peacekeepers but smaller countries have a greater number. There are more soldiers of war than there are of peace. The mythology of peacekeeping nation, don’t know if that is being taught.
• Teachers in Alberta have a code of ethics. Try to keep programs up to date because you need to know before you critique the system. To know what is being taught.
• Questions: how do we teach peace in a structure that is not peaceful? Make the road by walking it.
• Hannah: general observation of peace courses. Talked a lot about child psychiatry. Strong word about teaching international affairs and about what is appropriate. Children form political objectives around Grade 7 and 8. Not press anything specific on children, but ask them to think about it. Very important part of peace education.
• Catholic high school system teaches dogmatic values about what is right and wrong. University taught critical thinking. Worried about Peace Education. Can’t be dogmatic in that sense to teach what is right and wrong. And more engaging.
• We are trying to teach them to be interdependent. Political issues are not allowed to enter into schools.
• Karen: ask about CBIE-What is the vision for this center? A. Sharing isn’t happening and is the driving force behind this center and how do we move research and agenda forward? Are we doing more harm than good? Network of mechanism to bring people together that can facilitate sharing of resources of resources etc.
• Should be taught independent investigation of truth
• Something very anti-intellectual about our society. If you don’t understand the international situation, you shouldn’t be buggering it up 
• Said very little about kindergarten education. Need to address spanking and violence
• Making to build a climate for conflict resolution.
• Dealt with talking about the nature of schooling