Teachers Teaching Peace

When Professor Geoffrey Tabakin stood in front of a group of 30 educators - teachers, principals, administrators - scattered about a classroom in the Kibbutz Ruchama Seminar Center, where the group stayed in July, 1999, and began oinking like a pig, the aim of his antics were more serious than one might first suspect.

The St. Cloud University educator from Minnesota (USA) was out to prove a point, in fact two points. The pig noises were designed to illustrate that languages different peoples assign to animals are different sounds. In America a pig may go oink-oink, but in Vietnam one would say utt-utt. Pointing a finger at the class, Tabakin "milked" his proteges for input: What does a cow in Ireland say? (moo). And a cow in Holland? (boo). In Tunisia? (meh).

Then he went on to note, in a live demonstration that sent those present into peals of laughter, that once one actually listens to a real pig closely, they all sound the same, but the actual squeal is very different from the sounds we assign them. There was a double point at stake behind the "pigtale": One - Tabakin sought to graphically illustrate that our perceptions of the "other" are not always true-blue and may change if we bother to listen closely to what they are saying. Two - educators can use play as a much more effective tool than book-learning to nurture new ways of looking at others in societies rift with ethnic or religious tensions.

Knocking down common concepts among all too many teachers, that play is "just getting sweaty and out of control," Professor Tabakin said that "play" means any material or tool that tickles the imagination and generates creative work and gets children excitingly involved in the learning process while communicating with one another - be it a poem, story-telling, a song. He went on to fill another two hours with graphic examples of how one can animate and activate children and at the same time create a peaceful, harmonious democratic classroom as a learning experience in peaceful coexistence and genuine communication.

Animated and open class discussion throughout the session provided some tips from participants on how to "sell" play to conservative powers-that-be - for instance: bring in a groups of "experts" in child psychology to explain to supervisors and principals that this is good for children's development. "One must understand the needs and the fears of supervisors and help them understand why this is not a threat, but a boon," concluded Tabakin, one of four facilitators who played pivotal roles in conduct of the three-week seminar devoted to "Teachers Teaching Peace."

The idea of a special program for teaching educators how to "teach peace" grew out of a successful series of nine leadership training programs for Palestinians and a number of other training programs for persons from Central European countries like Bosnia, already held under the auspices of MASHAV.

The Teachers Teaching Peace Seminar brought together MASHAV and the expertise and support of three NGOs - two Israeli, one from the USA - devoted to conflict resolution: The first - the two-year-old Negev Institute for Studies of Peace and Development (NISPED) at the Shaar Negev College, just down the road from Kibbutz Ruchama, whose founder, Dr. Yehuda Paz, is a former director of the International Institute. The second - the 75-year-old Institute of World Affairs in Washington DC that provided some of the funding and one of the key facilitators, the organization's president American University Professor Hrach Gregorian. The third element - and one of the initiating agents behind the seminar - was the Meir Yaari Association for Progressive Education whose director, Amos Davidowitz, formulated the curriculum and served as course coordinator.

Not only the four facilitators, Tabakin, Gregorian, Paz and Davidowitz, come from different backgrounds, so do the 30 participants, although all hail from societies faced by tensions tied to ethnic conflicts, including Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs from Israel and the Palestinian Authority; French of Flemish and North African parentage; Greeks and Turks; and Cypriots from each of the two ethnic communities - Turks from the north and Greeks from the south, as well as one participant from Northern Ireland and two Americans. While ethnically diverse, all are engaged in education and all are individuals already involved to enhancing harmony in their communities, whose participation is, for the most part, sponsored by teachers' unions, school systems and NGOs in their respective countries that are involved in enhancing dialogue and understanding.

Geoffrey Tabakin, an expert in elementary school education with an affinity for "out-of-the-box" pedagogy, led sessions on "Conflict Resolution and the Individual" and "Cultural Aspects of Peace Education." As an expert in curriculum development on a university level, one of his core roles at the seminar was, after hearing all the examples of final projects participants were doing, to help teams turn the input into a lesson plan for a school system or a non-formal activity that an NGO could carry out. Hrach Gregorian defined his colleague as "the individual who tries to weave it all together as an 'organizing intellect,' to understand what is going on."

Gregorian himself, whose Institute has, since 1924, engaged in training programs to enhance professional skills in conflict resolution and infrastructure development, lectured the participants on "Cultural Aspects of Peace Education" and "Peace Education Approaches and Disciplines," while also working with the participants on curriculum development designed to climax in formulation and presentation of individual or group projects at the close of the three-week encounter that applied the principles and techniques presented by the two academicians. For instance, one of the participants, a Greek Cypriot, chose to develop a lesson plan around a poem by a Turkish Cypriot about how the author hates war - the object being not only the message that there are no winners, only losers in war, but also using the poem as a vehicle for engendering a new perception of "the enemy."

Gregorian gave his view of what makes the program special: "I think what is unique is the effort to bring together half a dozen fairly distinct cultures where there are substantial divisions within these cultures between ethnic groups and or religious groups, and have them come to some consensus on curriculums that would be appropriate for their unique situations back in their own cultures. There is a dissembling process where we facilitators present basic concepts and then they come in with their way of dealing with these issues within their culture. Then we share these with one another and try to draw a model that without this kind of cross-fertilization would be difficult to develop working in isolation or within a single culture."

The first step is giving the participants another outlook, a "mirroring process" where people watch each other and there is a period of "revelation" for them, a change that the teachers themselves go through. There is also a sub-text, where teachers are sharing with one another problems they may think are unique to their own situation, but are actually common to others.

He gave the example of a commonality that emerged in the way one deal with one's oppressors. "One will tell a proverb that reveals something about how we deal with the dominant culture in our society and, sure enough, several others pop up with something that is almost identical in their culture, drawn out by examining proverbs: The American "Roll with the punches," the French "Reeds that don't bend with the wind will break," and the Persian "I'll kiss your hand if I can't bend your arm, and then I'll curse you" - all stressing that it is wiser to bend and be flexible than resist head-on.

"Among the techniques discussed were ways of dealing with controversial issues that may be precisely about what you want to instruct the children, but you know will get you in trouble with the authorities," says Gregorian. How can one get around this? "One way is by using myths and metaphor, fantasy, presumably referring to foreign cultures other than your own and letting the kids put two and two together," he said.

Other aspects of the seminar sessions focused on theory, such as avenues for change. Yehuda Paz, for instance, lectured on "Structural Conflict Resolution" and "the Role of Peoples' Organizations in Conflict Resolution." The facilitators present the theory behind the techniques, such as the three basic levels for change: The reformist, the most common, works to alter existing institutions. The structural assumes it's not enough to work with the system as it currently exists; one must make large-scale structural reform of the political, economic structure. The transformative is the formula closest to the spirit of the Teachers Teaching Peace Seminar: "Even if one reforms and changes structure, you still have to transform people, their value-base, their world-view and their very way of looking at things. This is the most cutting edge of the pedagogies that have core implications for teachers," said Gregorian.

Amos Davidowitz, whose NGO engages in developing and applying alternative and innovation teaching techniques, shared his knowledge of non-formal education with participants. The seminar does not, however, revolve solely around the facilitators; group discussion and group dynamics are a fundamental element of the "people-to-people" format that sees communication as a crucial tool, he said, citing the dynamic nature of classroom presentations as well as a number of sessions that were devoted to presentations by seminar participants who have already developed successful people-to-people projects in their own communities.

Moreover, although very intense and only three weeks long, the seminar was dotted with field trips, which not only include "musts" such as the holy site of Bethlehem and Holocaust museum Yad va-Shem, but also places like Neve Shalom, a small experimental village of Jews and Palestinian Arab families outside Jerusalem who seek to live together in an integrated bicultural community including a school where village children study in Hebrew and Arabic - rather than side-by-side, the dominant pattern in Israel's cultural mosaic. The group also visited various institutions devoted to nurturing harmony, such as the Environmental Center in the Arab village of Sachnin in the Galilee that uses environment to nurture coexistence around a common cause.

The three-week seminar, revealed Davidowitz, is not a "one-time thing." It is expected to launch a series of workshops over the next few years that will be age-specific, for kids of different ages.

The seminar is part of a relatively new, interdisciplinary field in the humanities, labeled "peace education." The idea is to give people a common language for dialogue and then for each participant to apply what he has learned to his own particular situation to enhance inter-communal tolerance and peaceful coexistence within their respective countries. The seminar is structured so that there is equal input and emphasis on exposure to the expertise of the facilitators and sharing hands-on experience of the participants, all people with practical know-how from their own work in the field. Consequently, the emphasis is less on theory and more on down-to-earth application, how one deals with conflict resolution in actual situations.

Thus, one of the first things that was done was to "provide a common language," explained Davidowitz. "A lot of this reveals different expectations and goals: In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict the goal is coexistence, learning to live side-by-side without killing one another, while in Northern Ireland the ultimate goal is reconciliation, to bring the communities back together. In short, definition of the crux of the problem is a prerequisite that must be clarified between the conflicting sides, how one defines conflict in order to go on to conflict resolution," he said.

One of the first activities split people up into mono-ethnic groups - Greek-speaking, Turkish-speaking. The groups were told: Go out and define what conflict means, explained Davidowitz. "When they came back, they were peeved to have been segregated. After all, this was not the reason they came. The purpose of the exercise, however, was to underscore that the ethnic group is an important group and one cannot simply discount it. Our individual backgrounds bring certain viewpoints."

The philosophy behind the seminar is to serve as a platform. The end product is not only to develop a curriculum manual of hands-on projects, but also to transform the participants, change them as people and as teachers; assist them in forming networks for dialogue between participants from differing camps that did not exist before, as well as taking home ideas that will enhance curriculum or offer alternative ways of teaching, using music, mind-body, a combination of tools in teaching, not just substance, says Davidowitz.

The seminar did not "invent the wheel," he adds in closing: "We are dealing with professionals who are engaged in this kind of work all the time. The purpose of the seminar is merely to clear up another facet on the face of the diamond," he said. "Another angle, another viewpoint."

What Do the Participants Say?

Petroula Petrou, a Greek Cypriot who teaches primary school in the capital Nicosia, said she was struck by the common problems she found between Cyprus and Israelis and Palestinians. One of the techniques brought up in sessions she will be taking back is the possibility of mobilizing "settling conflicts between two children within the class," learning to accept their differences and the world of the "other" and his or her problems without becoming enemies, as a lesson for children vis-a-vis conflicts between two communities. The situational aspect of the classroom, interpersonal relationships, can be used as a teaching opportunity and a learning experience to impact how the children will ultimately act as adults.

Mustafa Onurer, a Turkish Cypriot who teaches primary school in the northern Turkish sector of the island, was impressed by the different teaching culture and dynamic atmosphere presented by the facilitators, in sharp contrast with the way he and his Turkish colleagues have been taught is the way to teach. He came to the conclusion that "an inflexible 'labeling' of things doesn't work."

The situational impact of the seminar, bringing together Greek and Turkish educators, was epitomized by an incident during a field trip to the school of Palestinian participant Fuad Abdallah Giacaman in Bethlehem: One of the Greek Cypriot teachers sat down at the piano and began playing a tune that it turned out Turkish Cypriots knewwith different lyrics. They ended up singing together, each in his or her own language. The "power of play," as Tabakin calls it, was driven home in an unplanned incident that underscored the effectiveness of the techniques the group had encountered in class. Onurer added that he found it ironic, even embarrassing, that a third party had to come in and show

Another participant who found the opportunity to compare her own experience and endeavors with that of others was Toni Bautham, originally from South Africa, who lives and works as a youth officer in Northern Ireland through a cooperative organization that aims to bring Catholics and Protestants together. She said that the seminar had given her a new perspective, a heightened awareness that "we are not only fighting a lone battle in our own country," but others are engaged in combating similar problems elsewhere."

Among the 30 participants were three members of the same organization engaged in popular education for improving ethnic harmony - the Leo Lagrange Society: Bernadette Tetart-Vandenberghe, a senior administrator in the organization engaged in policy-making and top-level organization is of Flemish descent. She hopes, together with Fuad Giacaman and Ariela Meir-Goldman, to arrange for an exchange program of young people between her native France and their Israeli and Palestinian counterparts. The underlying goal is to broaden the circle and give her organization an international scope. Khadiga Ghonari, of North African roots, is a local coordinator in the north who engages in informal adult education in a local Leo Lagrange club, getting different ethnic communities working together on common projects, be it fighting racism through joint demonstrations or making cookies together. Rashid Lounici, a French doctoral student in sociology of Algerian parentage and an associate member of the organization, works with underprivileged children, the majority of North African background. In France, the tension is both an internal tension within the growing child trying to integrate conflicting aspects of his cultural baggage, exposed to both North African and French culture, and the necessity of navigating one's way within mainstream French society. The seminar was not only an opportunity to confront and examine conflicts other than his own, but actually to practice application of techniques taught in the course, the use of play, stories, etc., in the final projects involving working in a multi-cultural framework - in his case Flemish and Algerian French, an Israeli Jew and a Palestinian Moslem. Thus, the project process of finding a common ground and forging a common project by communication, rather than the project content itself (which is really only a vehicle for communication among the children), is the true litmus test, he suggested.

The gathering also facilitated contacts among Israeli Jews and Arabs, and Palestinians living in the Palestinian Autonomy. Fuad Abdallah Giacaman is a Palestinian principal of a high school in Bethlehem in the Palestinian Autonomy and director of the Arab Educational Institute, a teacher training and cultural center. A veteran of many seminars and one of the architects of initiatives to bring Israeli and Palestinian schoolchildren together in common activities and apply a curriculum that employs stories of the three religions (Judaism, Islam, Christianity) as a metaphor for modern-day problem-solving - such as the story of King Solomon and the baby judgement. Yet, the Teachers Teaching Peace Seminar placed Israeli-Palestinian relationships in a new perspective, he said, "providing other conflict models" from places such as Cyprus, where in his estimation, the problem is bigger and the configuration impedes resolution due to the "total separation" between the sides, exacerbated by foreign intervention in the conflict by Greece and Turkey. Giacaman said he came out of the encounter more positive about the prospects for Israelis and Palestinians. Giacaman and Ariela Meir-Goldman, a social studies teacher at the Kibbutz Maabarot Junior-Senior High School in Israel, were on the same team, developing a final project and have crystallized plans to bring Palestinian and Israeli children together around a common theme: environmental studies.

Meir-Goldman was already serving as project head for creating common activities that will bring Jewish-Arab and secular-religious Jewish children together to nurture tolerance and generating communication and had already put in practice a program that took citizenship studies including understanding of minorities' cultures from the book-learning format to team-oriented research projects tied to Arabic studies - with findings shared in the class in the form of plays and other visual presentations on subjects such as Arab customs for reconciliation (the sulcha), designed to prevent blood feuds. Meir-Goldman was one of the movers behind a program - still in the formative "talking stage" between teachers - that was initiated last year, to bring Arab and Jewish children. One of her counterparts was Sa'id Odeh, a Hebrew language and computer teacher from Exsal, an Arab village in the Galilee near Nazareth, who is now a teacher and supervisor in Arab schools in East Jerusalem. The two came to the seminar in order to get more valuable input to take plans for joint projects forward from the "talking" to the "doing" stage. The plan is to initiate joint meetings between the two schools where the Arab students will serve as mentors in improving the Arabic of their Israeli counterparts and vice-versa, maintaining and deepening ties between children who are studying in geographically-distanced locations, via e-mail and chat groups over the internet.