INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE AT KHALSA

“Peace is what every human being is craving for. And it can be brought about by humanity through the child”
-Maria Montessori

A tireless advocate of peace through education and a two time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize (1949 and 1950), Maria Montessori’s teachings of peace are actively taught at Montessori schools all over the world. It gives us great pride to be part of her greatest aspiration; create a better world by nurturing the spiritual growth of children.

Nurturing the spirit involves cultivating mindfulness, silence and reflection, learning to appreciate the interconnectedness of all things, a true reverence for nature, and cultivating a peaceful spirit that feels empathy, generosity and love.

This year, the United Nations theme “The Right to Peace”, celebrates the 70^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In this document while everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person through Article 3, there isn’t an article for right to peace.

We can be part of the solution by taking small steps daily, even though we live in a relatively peaceful society. The foremost way is to seek peaceful resolution to inter-personal conflicts or conflicts around us. Montessori schools are the only educational institutions that, from a very young age, have the peace curriculum integrated and woven into the classroom all the time. During their time at Khalsa, our students don’t directly realize what a gift they have been given through their daily work of peaceful conflict resolution with other students. When alumni have revisited to share about their middle school and high school experiences, they remark at how adept a Montessori student is at negotiating peer conflict to arrive at win-win solutions.

While staff and students at Khalsa work hard every day to promote peace, we didn’t hesitate to celebrate International Peace Day on Friday, Sept. 21^st. At the elementary campus, the morning started by all the students and staff acknowledging that while it was a special day, peace is a commitment to every moment of our life. Yes, we are all on the road to growth but we embrace the importance of striving for peaceful interactions with one another. The morning assembly concluded with our daily Earth pledge which pledges allegiance to the Earth, other species and the promise to work towards dignity and peace amongst the entire human family. In class, the teachers and students talked about Maria Montessori’s contribution to peace education and ways in which each member of the class community can practice being peaceful everyday. Lower Elementary students made pinwheels for peace and participated in creating a chalk mural for peace with Ms. Caroline in the Virginia parking lot. Upper Elementary East students made peace cranes. Towards the end of the school day, upper elementary students walked to the Virginia campus and participated in a peace walk with the elementary students. At the end of this walk, the pinwheels were exchanged for the peace cranes between levels! At the primary campus, each class community gathered to read a book that stated the message of peace, shared ways they can be peaceful to one another, talked about ways their love light can be brightened and gathered outdoors, either at the peace pole or in the front yard by the sculpture, to release oodles of peace all around the world!

What is unparalleled about Montessori education is its emphasis on providing daily experiences that nurture the spirit along with cognitive growth. From cultivating a sense of wonder about the cosmos and seeing the interdependence of humans with other species & Earth to recognizing and appreciating kind deeds, demonstrating empathy and resolving inter-personal conflicts, students learn to embody respect for self, others and the environment. Students become progressively adept at using the tools and techniques modeled by older peers and adults to become more peaceful. The hallmarks of a collaborative community are members who have peace within, work for peace without and celebrate each member’s uniqueness.