The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) published an illuminating document by A.S. Balasooriya on peace education. The main point of the document was that peace is not possible unless peaceable and virtuous people are raised up as individuals of good character. The link between peace and good character was articulated: "Peace education...is basically a character building intervention." (A Teacher's Guide to Peace Education, p. 13.)
As part of its peace-building mission, UPF's character education curriculum features the power of story as its main teaching tool: the Discovering the Real Me, Grades 1-12, character education book series. This book series is appropriate for use in schools and in the home.
While UPF advocates a triune focus for effective character education—home, school and community—UPF also recognizes that the family is the core place where social and emotional learning take place. The family is the real starting point of peace—the place where good world citizens are reared. Since the Discovering the Real Me character education series is based upon stories, it is as suitable for home and family use as it is for schools.
Stories have been used in all cultures at all times to pass down values, information, and customs. It is instructive to remember that one of the most influential and enduring moral teachers of all time—Jesus of Nazareth—used stories as his premier teaching device.
Storytelling is not only a time-honored way of imparting moral learning; it is also a natural and effective way to do so. Children respond viscerally to stories, as do most adults. "Let me tell you a story..." generally brings about the human equivalent of a fox pricking up his ears. Stories appeal to the imagination, and thus set in motion ways of incorporating a moral vision that are unavailable through other forms of teaching.
One of the basic elements of plot in a story or novel is the conflict or difficulty the main character faces and the choices made to attempt to resolve or overcome it. As educator Kieran Egan, author of Teaching as Story Telling, said, the parts of narratives that are most understandable and engaging are those involving moral choices. He gives the example of The Lord of the Rings, wherein he says the narrative derives its meaning, action, and interest from conflicts between such moral qualities as loyalty and betrayal, courage and cowardice, honor and selfishness.
Stories have the added bonus of being emotionally evocative; they enter not only the mind but the heart. Thus they foster affective as well as cognitive responses.
The choice of stories is important in moral teaching. In the first four books of the Discovering the Real Me series, classic fables and fairy tales were selected for their moral content.
Imagine sharing with a child this timeless story:
The North Wind and the Sun
One day all the animals in the meadow were listening to a big argument between the North Wind and the Sun.
The North Wind was bragging, "I am stronger than you. You are the weakest."
The Sun said politely, "No, that is not true."
They continued to talk in this manner, and the North Wind began to get louder and louder until the animals had to cover their ears!
Finally, the Sun said in a quiet voice, "Let's put this to a test. See that man over there walking down the road? Let's say that whoever can make him take off his coat first is the stronger one. Do you agree?"
The Wind agreed, and at once he began to howl and blow at the man, almost knocking him over! The blast was so strong that it almost pulled the coat right off him. But the man grabbed his coat and wrapped himself up in it even more tightly than before. The North Wind didn’t give up for a long time, but finally he ran out of breath.
The Sun began to shine. As the man walked down the road, the heat of the sun warmed him and then made him sweat. He undid the top button of his coat. The North Wind groaned. The Sun shone down more on the man. The man unbuttoned all the buttons on his coat, and the coat hung loosely around his shoulders.
"Oh, no!" whined the North Wind.
After about a mile, the man sat down in the shade of a tree and took off his coat! The North Wind retreated in a huff, and the Sun smiled down at the man.
The lessons of peace in this memorable story are clear. "We can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar" is one succinct way to put it: in other words, kindness and persuasiveness are more powerful than force. Sometimes a sunny smile and the warmth of kindness can win someone over far more effectively than blustering at them or shouting them down forcefully. This story is a peace education in itself.
A classic fable like this can be an "Aha!" experience even for an adult. For teenagers, more topical narratives appeal. One teenager found the following story in the Discovering the Real Me series helpful in dealing with anger:
Clara's Story
It took me a long time to realize that I should wait until I cooled down before I talked to someone about something they had said or done to make me angry. I always wanted to get my feelings out right in the moment, but then it always ended up in a worse argument.
Walking away helped. People always seemed to understand when I said, "I want to take a walk and think this out a little bit." Walking would help me cool down. Then, when I talked to the person, I didn't say so many bad things or shout at them. I found I could say many of the same things honestly, but not in such a mean way. Many times the person who had made me angry was already sorry by the time I got back from my walk!
This short vignette tells how one teenage girl learned to de-escalate conflict. Through exercising self-control in the midst of anger, she became, in essence, a peacemaker.
The important element of teaching through story is to consciously draw out the themes through discussions. The best way to do this is to solicit the learner's opinions and reactions. If they come up with a good "moral of the story" themselves, the work is done. If they do not, they might need a little guidance or a suggestion: "Do you think this ('The North Wind and the Sun') might be a good story to remember when we're angry at someone because they don’t do what we want them to do? Maybe we should try being like the Sun in those kinds of situations." For an older child, "Can you remember any recent incidents of anger when it might have helped you to take a breather, like Clara did? Do you think you might want to try that next time you are angry?"
Each story in the Discovering the Real Me series has Questions for Reflection and Exercises at the end of the chapter to help foster moral understanding and incorporation of the lesson into the learner's psyche. There are also accompanying teachers' (or parents') manuals to aid in drawing out the lessons' themes.
Asking questions and drawing out the listeners' responses fits into the true meaning of the word "education"—which is to draw out. If the parent draws out of the children the moral of the story rather than telling it to them, they now "own" it—and the lessons it teaches. It has become a part of them. When and if they use the lesson of the story in a concrete way—in real life— the point of the story will have become part of their character. Utilized over and over again, it will become solidified as a virtue, and the learner will be that much closer to being a person of peace.
A good story can change a person's consciousness on many different levels, sometimes sinking in more deeply as time goes by. With the wide array of stories and teaching instructions available through the Discovering the Real Me series, there is a wealth of opportunities and possibilities for building character and thus contributing to peace.