Educating for Democracy in the 21^st Century:

Civic Learning and Project PEACE in Interesting Times

By David Keller Trevaskis

Co-Authored by Amy Niedzalkoski, Esquire

Robert F. Kennedy once said, “There is a Chinese curse which says, ‘May he live in interesting times.’  Like it or not, we live in interesting times…”  We still live in interesting times. The litany of events that make these times so interesting underscores why the ancient Chinese would make such a curse, but rather than rail against the curse, the job of educators today is to teach our children how to handle all of the conflicts that arise in creative and constructive ways.  Too many forces in our culture reinforce the opposite message, that conflict is somehow bad and something that we must avoid.  It is not that we, as Americans, dislike conflict.  Indeed, every weekend, from “Friday Night Lights” to “Any Given Sunday,” millions across the United States revel in the violent conflict of Americans’ version of football.  Yet, many of these same people fail to vote, serve on juries or get involved in local civic activities, often citing distaste for conflict as their reason for such inaction. Although we must recognize that mere participation in the democratic process without the development of effective democratic skills may actually make people less inclined to have future involvement, educators must consider ways to teach children to handle conflict more effectively than just avoiding it if we wish to have our young people grow up to be involved participants in our representative democracy. The nexus between conflict resolution education and the civic mission of our schools will be discussed below, with an emphasis on how one program—Project PEACE—offers a chance for our young people to find their voice in their schools, communities and nation.

In The Civic Mission of Schools (CMS), the consensus goal of civic education was identified as helping students gain and apply citizenship skills, knowledge and attitudes.  This is also the goal of public education in Pennsylvania as outlined in the Public School Act of 1949.  CMS recognized the need to provide resources and encouragement to ensure that all students may become the kind of competent and responsible citizens who are informed and thoughtful; involved in their communities; active politically; and concerned for the rights and welfare of others.

CMS offered six promising approaches for civic education.  Although conflict resolution education was not a specific prescription of the CMS report, the approaches of the report outlined below provide a strong framework for connecting conflict resolution education and civic learning:

1.  Provide instruction in government, history, law and democracy.  Formal instruction in U.S. government, history, and democracy increases civic knowledge.  This is a valuable goal in itself and may also contribute to young people’s tendency to engage in civic and political activities over the long term.  However, schools should avoid teaching only rote facts about dry procedures, which is unlikely to benefit students and may actually alienate them from politics.  History is full of conflict and the many ways conflict is dealt with in history—from war to peace—provides ample opportunity to teach about handling conflict in such instruction. Creative teachers have for years excited their students and informed their teaching by freezing historic events at certain points in time and then exploring how historic figures might respond if certain dispute resolution techniques were employed.  A mock trial of Columbus for crimes against Native Americans might provide special insight into the cultural clashes of the past and present.  Similarly, a mock mediation between Ben Franklin and Charles Pickney at the Constitutional Convention might allow students to better understand the conflict over slavery that led to the major compromises in the Constitution.

2.  Incorporate discussion of current local, national, and international issues and events into the classroom, particularly those that young people view as important to their own lives.  When young people have opportunities to discuss current issues in a classroom setting, they tend to have greater interest in politics, improved critical thinking and communications skills, more civic knowledge, and more interest in discussing public affairs out of school.  Conversations, however, should be carefully moderated so that students feel welcome to speak from a variety of perspectives.  Both students and teachers need support in broaching controversial issues in classrooms since they may risk criticism or sanctions if they do so.  Here is an obvious place for conflict resolution education.  As politicians and others bemoan the lack of civility in our society, there are great opportunities in such discussions for students to learn how to disagree without being disagreeable, learning to give “I” statements instead of “You” statements.

3.  Design and implement programs that provide students with the opportunity to apply what they learn through performing community service that is linked to the formal curriculum and classroom instruction.  Service programs are now common in K-12 schools.  The ones that best develop engaged citizens are linked to the curriculum; consciously pursue civic outcomes, rather than seek only to improve academic performance or to promote higher self-esteem; allow students to engage in meaningful work on serious public issues; give students a role in choosing and designing their projects; provide students with opportunities to reflect on the service work; allow students – especially older ones – to pursue political responses to problems consistent with laws that require public schools to be nonpartisan; and see service-learning as part of a broader philosophy of education, not just a program that is adopted for a finite period in a particular course.  Some school service programs involve the creation of mediation programs for the school or for the larger community; other programs involve cross-age teaching of conflict resolution skills.  Whatever the service program, working in the community requires the ability to handle conflict and thus reinforces the need for and the value of such education.

4.  Offer extracurricular activities that provide opportunities for young people to get involved in their schools or communities.  Long-term studies of Americans show that those who participate in extracurricular activities in high school remain more engaged in civics activities than their contemporaries even decades later.  Thus, everyone should have opportunities to join school groups, and such participation should be valued.  Group participation means interaction with peers and others as part of that participation, thus providing real-life conflict resolution exercise.

5.  Encourage student participation in school governance.  A long tradition of research suggests that giving students more opportunities to participate in the management of their own classrooms and schools builds their civic skills and attitudes.  Thus, giving students a voice in school governance is a promising way to encourage all young people to engage civically.  The conflicts associated with school governance often mirror the conflicts found in political life in the larger society and the need for skill development here is vital if the experience for the students is to be positive.  Although a developmentally appropriate approach is needed, there is room at every level for students to participate in school governance, with that level of participation growing as the students mature.

6.  Encourage students’ participation in simulations of democratic processes and procedures.  Recent evidence indicates that simulations of voting, trials, legislative deliberation, and diplomacy in schools can lead to heightened political knowledge and interest.  The data is not conclusive, but these approaches show promise and should be considered when developing programs and Curriculum. Mediation Showcases (CMS) are just one way dispute resolution education can be brought into the schools, providing an interactive connection between conflict resolution education and civic learning.  For many years, the Pennsylvania Statewide Mock Trial Competition has also featured dispute resolution exercises tied to the issues in the case being tried.

           Project PEACE (Peaceful Endings through Attorneys, Children and Educators) is a peer mediation training program implemented in Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA) and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office that follows the approaches outlined in the CMS report to provide, at the elementary school level and up, an education in the skills of conflict resolution that are necessary for civic participation. This public-private partnership introduces dispute resolution techniques to elementary school students throughout the Commonwealth.  Originally brought to Pennsylvania by then Attorney General Mike Fisher in 1999 after the tragedy at Columbine High School, the program has continued to flourish under Attorney Generals Jerry Pappert and Thomas Corbett.  Seven presidents of the PBA have also endorsed the program.  Over the past six years, Project PEACE has brought peer mediation programming and conflict resolution education to 80 Pennsylvania schools directly and another 120 indirectly.  All schools, regardless of socioeconomic status, diversity and location, have been forced by outbreaks of school violence to confront the issue of conflict among school students and with faculty and staff, and to help students address and resolve it before it escalates into violence.  That initial look at tackling the problem of violence has led to a broader look at building involved communities, first at the school level, and then beyond.  Social studies lessons often focus on the local community, using approaches that build and reinforce the sense of community in the class and in the school.  Unfortunately, in this era of high stakes testing, double periods of math and reading are taking the place traditionally reserved for social studies in the early grades.  In such schools, Project PEACE provides a valuable means of providing civic learning in the schools that would otherwise be lost.  It empowers children with the important life-skills that promote constructive communication, problem-solving, critical-thinking and self-esteem.

           During Project PEACE training, school teams - composed of one administrator, one educator, one guidance counselor or second educator, one parent and one attorney - are introduced to the peer mediation and conflict resolution education process through hands-on learning activities.  They receive instruction in such areas as adjudication vs. mediation, diffusing conflict situations and the skills of conflict resolution.  At the end of the training, the schools write their own conflict resolution education and mediation plans, which are introduced to their local schools.  At home, the schools then select and train their student mediators and teach the skills of conflict resolution to all of the school community.  The student mediators then help fellow students resolve disputes peacefully when the students cannot do so on their own.  The schools with the most effective Project PEACE programs recognize that they must do more than train a corps of mediators and send the mediators out into the community to help promote a peaceful school.  Effective Project PEACE programs reach out to teach all members of the community the skills of conflict resolution that are so necessary to have a democratic community.

           The lawyer partner is a unique aspect of Project PEACE.  It provides a partner who is connected to the community beyond the school and who, by nature of professional training, should be grounded in the rule of law and the world of civic engagement.  In addition, by nature of their profession, lawyers deal with conflict on a daily basis, and have developed some expertise in doing so.  Research in why kids and schools succeed, as well as research on school mediation programs, suggests that the partner from the outside community can have a significant impact in improving school climate.  Many lawyer volunteers have helped their schools find speakers for kickoff programs and other meetings or obtain proclamations from local and state elected officials recognizing Project PEACE.  

           In The Quickening of America: Rebuilding our Nation, Remaking our Lives, Francis Moore Lappe and Paul Martin DuBois attack the myths that they say keep people from becoming more involved in solving the problems of our day creatively.  Myth Three is that “public life means ugly conflict.”  The authors argue that “conflict can be healthy and informative, bringing insights about ourselves and new perspectives for solving problems.”