Index
Philosophy of the UUA Peace and Social Justice Curriculum Team
Resources for Children and Families:
Education
Social Action
Worship
Pastoral Care
Talking to Children about War and Terrorism: 20 Tips for Parents
By David Fassler, M.D.
Philosophy -- UUA Peace and Social Justice Curriculum Team
Working with the UUA Peace and Social Justice Curriculum Team in the 1980s, I gathered with other Unitarian Universalist educators deeply committed to the causes of peace and justice. We struggled with the age-old problems of violence, exploitation, and oppression and with our cherished principles of human rights, freedom, and equality in the face of those problems. We developed In Our Hands, a life-span curriculum series of contemporary and realistic learning activities for children, youth, and adults. Our team articulated a philosophical centerpiece which informed the development of our curricula. The core of that philosophy is offered below to help you understand the current crisis and the foundations of our faith in response to these issues.
The Present Crisis
The most serious issues facing the world today are issues of peace and justice. Weapons of mass destruction, tyranny, terrorism, hunger, poverty, abuse, torture, even pollution, and the depletion of the world's resources are all problems of peace and justice. Although the magnitude and urgency of these problems today is unprecedented in human history, issues of peace and justice have always been central concerns of human beings.
Linking Peace and Justice
Peace and justice are necessarily interdependent. Real peace is not possible without justice. As long as individuals or groups are engaged in threats or acts of aggression, others are deprived of basic human rights, including freedom, equality, and life itself. Peace is achieving justice, cooperation, and nonviolence. True justice is not possible without peace. Injustice is the result of violence, which is often institutionalized as exploitation and oppression. Injustice is also a cause of violence in the form of criminal behavior, rebellion, reprisal, and repression. Justice is the realization of peace, freedom, and equality. Both peace and justice are necessary conditions for human fulfillment.
Ends and Means, Ideals and Realities
Peace and justice are at once ideal goals and actual processes. The vision of a just and peaceful world offers a stimulus for action and a standard by which to judge our efforts. As an actual process, peace and justice are always partial and never complete realizations of the ideal goal. Peace and justice are also integral parts of the process by which the goals are sought. The means for achieving peace and justice must be congruent with the ends of peace and justice.
A just and peaceful world will not be without disagreement and conflict or the exercise of power. The realization of peace and justice thus requires the nonviolent resolution of disagreement and conflict. It also requires an exercise of power by individuals and institutions that is characterized by and in the service of the ideals of peace and justice.
Peace and Justice Relationships
The ideal of peace and justice is dependent on the four kinds of interrelated relationships:
- Intrapersonal -- among the various parts of the individual's psyche;
- Interpersonal -- between and among people;
- Inter-institutional -- between and among institutions of government and religious faith; and
- Global -- between each individual and ecology or nature;
Peace and justice education engages people by stimulating and encouraging their development as makers of peace and justice: within their own psyches, in their relationships with others, in their roles as citizens of a nation and members of a religious community, and in their identification as humans living on the earth.
Sources of Authority
Unitarian Universalists derive their authority for peace-and-justice making from several sources:
- Their individual commitments to helping create peace and justice on this planet;
- Their reverence for life;
- The Principles and Purposes of our Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.
Resources for Children and Families
The following list of resources for children and families is organized around our experiences and relationships to peace and justice in various contexts in our congregational life, including education, social action, worship, and pastoral care.
EDUCATION:
UUA publications and Web resources
In Our Hands: A Peace and Social Justice Program
Grades 1-3 and Grades 4-6 programs available from UUA Bookstore; Junior High, Senior High, Adult programs (out-of-print) available from Lifespan Faith Development (LFD) Loan Library.
UUA Lifespan Faith Development staff group's "Faith Works" and "Reach"
publications:
Current resources for community building, curriculum and learning, leadership development, social justice, and worship.
UUA Family Matters Task Force : Click on different categories of faith-based family resources and Family Matters Task Force endeavors.
Teaching for Change
is a Washington, DC-based not-for-profit organization that promotes social and economic justice through public education.
Click on Online Catalog of resources, including these recommended resources:
Making the Peace: A 15-Session Violence Prevention Curriculum for Young People by
Paul Kivel and Allan Creighton. (Hunter House Publishers, 1997) Helps young people understand the social and economic roots of violence, heal from violence, and come together as a community to make peace.
Hidden Wars of Desert Storm video documentary on the true story behind the Gulf War
and the devastating impact the war and sanctions have had on Iraq.
Educators for Social Responsibility helps educators create safe, caring, respectful, and productive learning environments. ESR publications provide high-quality curricula and resources on conflict resolution, concepts of peace, diversity, and democracy for people working with young children, elementary school children, middle school children, and high school students.
- Read about their "Keeping Peace in the Family" workshops.
- Click on ESR Store and browse their print and video resources.
Highly recommended resources for children include:
Teaching Young Children in Violent Times: A Preschool-Grade 3 Violence Prevention and Conflict Resolution Guide by Diane Levin
Elementary Perspective: Teaching Concepts of Peace and Conflict (Grades K-6)
by William Kriedler
Teaching Conflict Resolution Through Literature by William Kreidler
Southern Poverty Law Center is a nonprofit organization that combats hate, intolerance, and discrimination through education and litigation. Programs include Teaching Tolerance and Tolerance.org.
Click on Teaching Tolerance to order Teaching Tolerance magazine and download 101 Tools For Tolerance booklet and other resources.
Highly recommended resource:
Starting Small: Teaching Tolerance in Preschool and the Early Grades, a video-and-text teacher training kit for early childhood educators.
Rethinking Schools is a nonprofit, independent publisher of educational materials, with a strong emphasis on issues of equity and social justice.
Click on Tools for Teaching About Iraq.
Highly recommended resource:
Rethinking Globalization Teaching for Justice in an Unjust World, edited by Bill Bigelow and Bob Peterson
Search Institute is an independent, nonprofit, nonsectarian organization whose mission is to advance the well-being of adolescents and children and their families by generating knowledge and promoting its application. The heart of the Institute's work is the framework of 40 development assets, which are positive experiences, relationships, opportunities, and personal qualities that young people need to grow up healthy, caring, and responsible.
Click on Research/Communities/Community and Social Change/Families and read their articles on "Building Strong Families."
Click on Catalog and search for resources for children and families.
SOCIAL ACTION:
Early Childhood Equity Alliance is a national anti-oppressions network that nurtures and connects people engaged in racial and social justice education and action with and for children, families, and communities.
Click on Focus on Identity and read articles on the "Issue
Pages" on Identity and Language, Identity and Communities of
Color, Identity and White Communities, and/or Resources for
an Overview of Identity.
Click on Resources to search their database.
American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization which includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service. Its work is based on the belief in the worth of every person and faith in the power of love to overcome violence and injustice.
Click on Iraq Resource Guide and download appropriate resources for teachers and families, such as Understanding the U.S.-Iraq Crisis: A Primer by Phyllis Bennis from the Institute for Policy Studies website.
Click on the following activist resources:
- Iraq Peace Pledge
- Health Kits for Iraqi families
- One Million Postcards: This video tells the story of two sisters with an American mother and an Iraqi father who organized a campaign in their grade school in San Pedro, CA to collect and send one million postcards to President Clinton to protest sanctions against Iraq.
- Greetings from Missile Street: This video tells the story of members of Voices in the Wilderness and their campaign to stop sanctions against Iraq. Committing an act of civil disobedience, they went to live with families in Basra, Iraq and witnessed the hardships that Iraqi families face due to U.S. economic sanctions against Iraq.
Click on Especially for Teachers and download the following resources:
- Fostering Friendships Study Guide
- Teacher Resources about Iraq: Books, Videos, Journals, and Reports from the American Library Association's Book Links website.
Highly recommended resources:
- The House of Wisdom, by Florence Heide and Judith Heide (Grades 3-8), tells the story of Bagdad's famous library.
- Sami and the Time of Troubles, by Florence Heide and Judith Heide (Grades 3-8), offers an intimate view of the life of a child (Sami) during the war in Beruit, Lebanon and includes a strong affirmation of universal rights and needs of children.
- Sitti's Secrets, by Naomi Nye (Grades 1-6), tells the story of an American girl who visits her Palestinian grandmother (sitti) and when she returns home writes a letter to the President calling for peace.
- Children of Israel, Children of Palestine: Our Own True Stories, edited by Laurel Holliday (Grades 7 and up). Thirty-five Israeli and Palestinian children of all ages speak frankly about the intertwined and separate lives of the two peoples. Part of Children of Conflict series.
Institute for Peace and Justice and its Parenting for Peace and Justice Network is an independent, interfaith nonprofit educational organization, developing resources, programs, and advocacy in response to the realities of war, racism, and global economic injustice.
Click on Resources for schools, families and faith communities to order these new resources: Raising Kids Who Will Make a Difference, If Only Today You Knew…The Things That Make for Peace (Grades K-8), and If Only Today You Knew …The Things That Make for Peace (High Schools and Youth Groups)
Click on FAVAN (Families Against Violence Advocacy Network) and download many resources and prayerful reflections, especially the Family Pledge of Nonviolence and many other groups.
Children's Defense Fund is an advocacy and educational organization that has resources for talking with children about tragedy and violence as well as advocacy strategies for Leave No Child Behind legislation initiatives.
Click on Issues for information and resources on National Observance of Children's Sabbaths.
Click on Parent Resource Network and download their resources, such as 10 Ways Parents Can Stand For Children Every Day, CDF's Tips for Parents, and 30 Simple Things Parents Can Do to Help Keep Children Safe From Violence.
Amnesty International is a worldwide, voluntary, activist organization that works impartially to prevent violations of people's fundamental human rights, and it offers a special children's section.
Browse the Amnesty International USA Children's Human Rights Network that strives to increase awareness of, and response to, violations of children's human rights. This network brings a children's focus to AI campaigns and builds grassroots support for United States ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. And then click on the following sites:
- Take Action Now!
- The Basics
- Mr. Rights' Letter Writing Guide
- Games and Activities
WORSHIP:
UUA publications and Web resources
UUA Bookstore resources:
The Gift of Faith by Jeanne Nieuwejaar
A Bucketful of Dreams by Christopher Buice
What If Nobody Forgave? edited by Colleen McDonald
From Long Ago and Many Lands edited by Sophia Lyon Fahs
Check the REACH/Faithworks and WorshipWeb sites for additional worship resources.
Highly recommended resources for UU families
PASTORAL CARE:
UUA Web resources
www.uua.org/re/faithworks
Winter/Spring 2003 issue. Click on Leadership and download Critical Conversations: Congregations Responding to Youth & Crisis. This is a primer prepared by Rev. Aaron Payson and the UU Trauma Ministry Team.
Helpful Web sites for parents
Talk With Kids offers resources for parents and teachers to help facilitate communication and health around tough issues, such as the news, violence, crisis, and more.
The Public Conversations Project's guides for parents (Guide to Family Dialogue) and leaders (Guide to Community Dialogue) to help facilitate dialogue about post-September 11th world.
The Parent Center offers many articles and talking tips about terrorism and violence.
Advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics , especially their article on Communicating With Children About Disasters.
The American Psychological Association offers information, including the resource Managing Traumatic Stress - Children.
Information from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, especially their article Helping Children and Adolescents After a Disaster.
Talking to Children about War and Terrorism: 20 Tips for Parents
By David Fassler, M.D.
Once again, parents and teachers are faced with the challenge of explaining war and the threat of terrorism to their children. Although these are understandably difficult conversations, they are
also extremely important. While there's no "right" or "wrong" way to have such discussions, there are some general concepts and suggestions that may be helpful. These include:
1. Create an open and supportive environment where children know they can ask questions. At the same time, it's best not to force children to talk about things until they're ready.
2. Give children honest answers and information. Children will usually know, or eventually find out, if you're "making things up". It may affect their ability to trust you or your reassurances in the future.
3. Use words and concepts children can understand. Gear your explanations to the child's age, language and developmental level.
4. Be prepared to repeat information and explanations several times. Some information may be hard to accept or understand. Asking the same question over and over may also be a way for a child to ask for reassurance.
5. Acknowledge and validate the child's thoughts, feelings and reactions. Let them know that you think questions and concerns are important and appropriate.
6. Be reassuring, but don't make unrealistic promises. It's fine to let children know that they are safe in their house or in their school. But you can't promise children that there won't be a war
or that no one will get hurt.
7. Remember that children tend to personalize situations. For example, they may worry about friends or relatives who live in a city or state directly or indirectly associated with terrorist
incidents.
8. Help children find ways to express themselves. Some children may not want to talk about their thoughts, feelings or fears. They may be more comfortable drawing pictures, playing with
toys, or writing stories or poems.
9. Avoid stereotyping groups of people by country or religion. Use the opportunity to explain prejudice and discrimination and to teach tolerance.
10. Children learn from watching their parents and teachers. Children will be very interested in how you respond to events in the world. They will also notice changes in your routines such as
reducing business travel or modifying vacation plans, and they will learn from listening to your conversations with other adults.
11. Let children know how you're feeling. It's OK for children to know if you are anxious, confused, upset or preoccupied by local or international events. Children will usually pick it up
anyway, and if they don't know the cause, they may think it's their fault. They may worry that they've done something wrong.
12. Don't let children watch lots of TV with violent or upsetting images. Ask local TV stations and newspapers to limit the repetition of particularly disturbing or traumatic scenes. Many media outlets have been receptive to such overtures.
13. Help children establish a predictable routine and schedule. Children are reassured by structure and familiarity. School, sports, birthdays, holidays and group activities all take on added importance.
14. Don't confront your child's defenses. If a child is reassured that things are happening "very far away" it's probably best not to argue or disagree. The child may be telling you that this is
how they need to think about things right now in order to feel safe.
15. Coordinate information between home and school. Parents should know about activities their child's school has planned.
Teachers should know about discussions which take place at home, and about any particular fears, concerns or questions a child may have mentioned.
16. Children who have experienced trauma or losses in the past are particularly vulnerable to prolonged or intense reactions to news of war or heightened fears of possible terrorist attacks. These children may need extra support and attention.
17. Monitor for physical symptoms including headaches and stomachaches. Many children express anxiety through physical aches and pains. An increase in such symptoms without apparent medical cause may be a sign that a child is feeling anxious or overwhelmed.
18. Children who are preoccupied with questions about war, fighting or terrorism should be evaluated by a trained and qualified mental health professional. Other signs that a child may need
additional help include ongoing trouble sleeping, intrusive thoughts, images, or worries, or recurring fears about death, leaving parents or going to school. Ask your child's pediatrician, family practitioner or school counselor to help arrange an appropriate referral.
19. Help children reach out and communicate with others. Some children may want to write to the President or to a State or local official. Other children may want to write a letter to a local
newspaper. Still others may want to send thoughts to soldiers or their families.
20. Let children be children. Although many parents and teachers follow the news and the daily events with close scrutiny, many children just want to be children. They may not want to think about what's happening halfway around the world. They'd rather play ball, climb trees or go sledding.
"Talking to Children about War and Terrorism" is reprinted with permission from the author.
