“It is important to draw wisdom from my different places. If we take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole… It is the combination of the four elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful.”
– Book 2: Bitter Work
It may sound strange to a Canadian or an American, but some countries of the world actually have to have subjects like ‘Education for Peace’ in their national or regional curriculums. A subject that can start as early as Elementary School.
Yes. Countries whose situations have actually created a need to teach their children about peaceful relationships because the actual violence that surrounds them has actually permeated the way people relate to each other and the way they learn to solve conflicts.
Colombia, for example, is not only the country where I grew up in but it is also one of those countries who sees the need to teach work hard on Peace Education topics like: Democracy, Conflict Resolution and Human Rights. We have spent the last 100 years moving from conflict to conflict. The last 60 in particular have been specially bad. We actually call it “La Violencia” (The Violence) and you can find it in history books in schools. The official date of the start is the 9th of April, 1949. And even though some books say it is a period that officially ended 10 years later, the truth is that the ending in 1959 coincides with the beginning of the armed guerrilla forces that still plague our country to the day. Their name changes, their political orientation blends lines of undefinable convenience, but they remain a constant of our reality. And the violence that has been a constant in our ways of life has become almost hereditary. Hate and pain transcend generations. Gabriel García Marquez’s Nobel prize winner One Hundred Years of Solitude are sadly really One Hundred Years of Violence. Ok, dear reader, I think this is enough about Colombia for now. I am 100% sure that it will come up again in future posts.
However Peace Education classes (In Colombia or elsewhere) tend to be very similar in every institution and like many other school subjects, tend to fall behind in their ability to captivate. Not many people are out there creating educational content that is peace-focused and also exciting. Content that caters to the needs of 21st century children.
And it is here where media plays an incredibly important role. The power of media to influence the minds and behaviours of viewers has been proved once and once again. So much so that the CRTC regulation recognizes “that programs designed specifically for children reach impressionable minds and influence social attitudes and aptitudes.” Applying the same philosophy and using media to teach Peace Education makes sense.
No matter what kind of content we create, this influencing aspect of media still remains. And that is why as content creators we want to make sure that the overall message of the stories we are telling are relevant and positive. Messages that reflect the kind of world we want to live in, and the kind of world we dream for our children.
AVATAR, The Last Airbender
Aang, the main character of Avatar: The Last Airbender, is a wonderful ray of light in a world full of dramatic, angst-burdened heroes. He represents what it means to be emotionally intelligent, balanced, tenacious and ethically guided as a human being.
The whole story is so beautiful and so inspirational for everybody who watches it. I have yet to meet the first person who has disliked it. My 70 year old parents love it and watch it with my nieces. My teenage students loved it as much as the pre-teens.
The show is full of teachings about life, relationships and conflict resolution. All of which could be incredibly useful tools during class time and in life. If you don’t know it yet I recommend you watch it. The show is available on Shomi. and it is totally worth it.
The following are a series of quotes that happen in the show and that are great openings or tips for discussions about conflict resolution:
“If you listen hard enough, you can hear every living thing breathing together, you can feel everything growing. We’re all living together, even if most folks don’t act like it. We all have the same roots, and we are all branches of the same tree.” -Huu
Active Listening is one of the most important elements in conflict resolution.
Preparing for listening includes elements that are similar to an Airbender’s preparation for any meditative practice. It allows you to connect to everything that is around you and start building empathy.
- Take a deep, purifying breath and relax
- Remove distractions.
- Face the other person with an open and welcoming body language.
- Think that listening is your first priority in the conversation instead of talking.
“It is important to draw wisdom from many different places. If we take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Understanding others, the other elements, and the other nations will help you become whole.” – Iroh
“Remember this Zuko. No matter how things may seem to change, never forget who you are.” –Ursa
Know Yourself
Self-awareness is essential in conflict management. The more you are aware of your own triggers and biases the more you can prepare yourself to respond in a the way that you want.
Having contact with people from different places in the world allows you to understand all the options that humans have for living their lives. There is not just one way, there are many ways to reach the same goals.
Empathy grows when you know yourself and you try to really get to know the people that are different to you.
- Understand your own perceptions, assumption-making, biases and triggers.
- Create a personally affirming environment.
Turning On The Lights 