GCERF – Teach Peace Build Peace Movement

Peace Education Leadership Towards a Peaceable School

Dr. Azcayah Sacar, Principal of Barimbingan Central Elementary School, has always strived to excel as a mother and as a leader, in the school, she is leading. As a person who always strives to give what is best for her family, she also continues to aspire to be a good leader to the school community.

Challenges have always been there, but Ma’am Azcayah shared that this pandemic has made connection difficult, not just with the learners but also with the school community including the parents and the different stakeholders. During module distributions, attendance of parents is inconsistent and schedules are not being followed and in some instances, teachers who reach out to the parents to assist the learners face the challenge of being unwelcomed by the parents because of the risk of getting COVID-19. These made her more determined to bring about a solution to these challenges and to make the school feel more like a close-knit community.

Joining the Peace Education Leadership Formation Course for Educators, Ma’am Azcayah shared that the most impactful session for her was the session on understanding bullying. This has reshaped her perception of making a school safe from all kinds of violence and handling it proactively. Bullying is a kind of violence that should not be taken lightly because it is one of the associated risks in terms of recruitment in violent groups because for the victim, a study entitled When Kids Hurt Other Kids: Bullying in Philippine Schools by Margaret S. Sanapo, a common reaction is being angry with their bullies and this is a motivation to seek retaliation and for the bully who seeks to have power over those who seem weaker. These vulnerabilities increase the likelihood of children being enticed by groups with ideologies of inflicting violence and harm towards another person. In the same study, it was said that teachers’ interventions are short-term.

Having an Anti-Bullying Policy increases accountability among the school community. This also makes the students aware of the school’s efforts and with this, they will also know how to interact with their peers in school and who to go to for conflict resolution and conflict transformation.

Before the Peace Education Leadership Formation Course, her understanding of excellence in leadership was about accomplishing all requirements and compliances. But upon learning about Peace Education, another lens was introduced. It has added the component of fostering relationships with the community. Ma’am Azcayah emphasized that she now makes it part of her goal to establish a deeper relationship with the stakeholders in her school community. Learn to process with them and peacefully negotiate when necessary.

This is now her definition of a Peaceable School. A school where people do not just get along but we’re striving for the safety and well-being of children are prime. This is what gave a growing desire to establish strong Anti-Bullying policies in school that promote Peace Heroism with the children. She shared that there was no Anti-Bullying Policy in their school before. This endeavor is a milestone for the school in strengthening measures and making sure the whole school is part of making the school community more peaceable for the learners, teachers, parents, and other members of the school community.

While many forms of conflict do exist and it is inevitable, this is a step towards making meaningful relationships within the school community. Safety for the learners also means establishing a deeper and ever-growing relationship between the parents, who are key to the learners’ ability to learn especially now when physical connections are limited. This is a strong start to their journey as a school and Ma’am Azcayah is determined to strengthen the commitment through Peace Education Leadership.

September 30, 2021 / by MICAH EMILLE VERZOLA

Empowered Peace Educator, Proactive Learners and Peace Champions

Teacher Ommo Hani, from Maharlika Integrated School, has experienced living in diverse communities. Having spent her childhood years in Manila, spent her college years in Marawi City and presently living in and teaching in a school in an interfaith community in Taguig, where most of the members of the community are Muslims.

With her exposure to several kinds of conflict growing up, including armed conflict, violences relating to religious beliefs, discrimination, and community conflicts such as RIDO, her understanding of conflict and peace has been shaped by those experiences – viewing peace as the absence of such conflicts and violences inflicted towards other people.

Taking pride in being an educator, she sees and understands her role in shaping the minds of children not just from learning in the classroom but also the way they relate with them. Admittedly, she mentions employing discipline methods in the classroom that are, in her words, “old fashioned.” When getting mad at her students for certain misbehavior, she did not know how to handle some situations in a calm manner which she says affects her physical health and mental well-being sometimes. Learning from the Peace Education Leadership Formation Course, she shared that she learned how to refrain from being mad as a reflex response whenever her students misbehave and that Peaceful Classroom management not only affects what’s inside the classroom but also life outside the classroom.

Aside from classroom management challenges before, she has also raised the concern in terms of the increasing vulnerability of children and exposure to many violent narratives. Teacher Ommo Hani shared that some children from Marawi City who experienced the devastating effects of the war have enrolled in Maharlika Integrated School. Being a close-knit Muslim community, Maharlika Village in Taguig was home for Muslims who seeked refuge and home after the Marawi Siege happened where many were displaced and children were greatly affected and vulnerable. Teacher Ommo Hani had some students in her class who were from Marawi City. Knowing and experiencing the cultural differences between Metro Manila and Marawi City, she has observed among the students some adjustment difficulties – she saw that the students felt fear and experienced challenges in connecting with other students. This has resulted in some bullying cases and fights among students in their school. She has seen this as possibly a way for children to defend themselves from feeling like they are “othered” which makes her believe that strategies in handling bullying and banter is not only essential for the school but also for the formation of the child and the child’s response to the difficult situations he/she faces. Teacher Ommo Hani shares her appreciation for Restorative Chat, she says “I’m always thinking about practicing the Restorative Chat ever since I have learned about it from the Peace Education Leadership Formation Course.

“That strategy not only is about resolving conflict but it more importantly empowers the children to resolve conflicts because they can voice out what they want and the resolution comes from them.”

Other than that, she also shared stories where other students can’t afford to go to school. This, Teacher Ommo Hani shares, has opened the opportunity for the children and youth in their community to be recruited by what she has termed “extremist groups” and offer the students money. Presently, she shared that she does not hear active recruitment from violent groups but she believes that anytime, it can happen again and children continue to be at risk especially in a difficult time in this pandemic.

Moving forward, she is motivated to share what she has been learning from the Peace Education Leadership Formation Course. Teacher Ommo Hani is looking at opportunities to immediately apply what she has learned and hopefully other teachers can also experience the formation course. She shares..

“I am thinking of ways how I can integrate my learnings when I teach, and I am ready to even conduct activities even once a month with my learners. And hopefully other teachers can do this too because we all have to be reminded that we need this not only for our school but more importantly, how we engage with the learners for them to also champion peace.”

August 13, 2021 / by MICAH EMILLE VERZOLA

A new peace journey begins..

In March 2021, the Teach Peace Build Peace Movement (TPBPM) through the Peace Heroes Formation Programme conducted interviews with teachers from different schools to gain a better understanding of the schools and communities’ peace and conflict situation in Lanao del Sur. Before the onset of the Programme, TPBPM wants to impart the stories of our Peace Educators as we begin this journey of Peace Education.

Though outside of Marawi City, Ditsaan-Ramain was one of the 20 municipalities affected by the Marawi Siege in 2017. Residents of different barangays (communities) heard the loud explosions that shocked their homes. Azcayah Sacar, 37, the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Principal of Barimbingan Central Elementary School (CES), recalls, “During the Marawi Siege, we experienced violence. Education stopped. We were not able to protect education, even our homes. We did not know where to go. There was no stability. Everything was affected, our mental, emotional, and physical health.” Conflict and violence affected Azcayah, her family, community, and her students at Barimbingan CES.

When there is no peace, different individuals experience the devastating effects of war. Alaina Ampuan, 35, a teacher from Barimbingan CES, described what they went through. She shared, “During the siege, we evacuated. When bombs were crashing to the ground near us, we felt it. We couldn’t bring anything. The explosion was only five minutes away from the school.” The conflict greatly sowed fear among the school and community members. It affected the focus of students and teachers, especially the service they render for the school community.

Alyannah Mamailao Macmod, 35, Division Office Staff at Buayaan Elementary School, added “When there is gunfire, our children cannot go to school, even the economy and lives of people in the community are affected. People feel fear, they do not have peace of mind when there is violence.”

In the current modular learning setup, they faced inner conflicts and challenges relating to the increased workloads and stress, and difficulties in contextualizing the modules, printing, releasing and distributing it to parents and students, as well as evaluating students’ performances in the new normal.

In TPBPM’s consultation with teachers in conflict-affected schools in Ditsaan-Ramain, all of them conveyed that there is a lack of training on Peace Education for teachers. They also have not participated in training on cultivating inner peace, conflict transformation, and relationship-building which are essential in coping up with today’s challenges in teaching in the new normal, and in building the resilience of communities highly vulnerable to conflict and violence. Peace Education proved to be even more relevant when interviewed teachers recalled their experiences of teaching during a pandemic. The presentation of the programme and consultation led them to the realization that there is strong hope in the possibility of cultivating change in schools and communities through Peace.

“Peace Education is important because we can achieve what we want with peace; we are in the right direction. We can also aim for quality education because we also have peace in our pupils, teachers, and community,” Monaimah Salic, 35, Principal of Rantian Elementary School shared during the consultation.

For the teachers in Lanao del Sur, Peace Education is important for children to have quality education, nurturing relationships and the resiliency to achieve their goals. A common sentiment they shared is that when there is no peace, teachers experience inner conflict, including the parents and their children. They deeply emphasized that we can only have good quality education for children if we have peace within ourselves and towards others.

Through these consultations and conversations, it has cultivated a sense of hope for schools and communities amidst trying times. While the PHFP with partner schools in Ditsaan-Ramain, Lanao del Sur is at its onset, the teachers and school leadership have already captured the need to teach Peace to schools and communities and the relevance of living Peace as a Way of Life.

May 11, 2021 / by RACQUEL CORREA

Small Steps In Peace: A testimony from little Adzam

“… I throw the trash away, I sweep the floor, and now, my teacher can even ask me to go up the board and answer in front of the class.” This is what Adzam, 12 years old, said when asked about the changes he observed since joining the Teach Peace Build Peace Movement’s peace education sessions. He ignored those simple tasks back when he was still, as he described himself, “stubborn”. But now, Adzam sees himself as more obedient and diligent in and out of their home.

Adzam shared having one particular friend who he partners with to clean their classroom after school. He described his friend as having a good heart telling us about how he would offer to lend his pen during class or share his food with others.

At such a young age, Adzam went beyond just learning the importance of these little acts of peace. He is also putting them into practice. It often gives him positive feelings not for but from doing good deeds.

With joy and pride in his eyes, Adzam recalled how happy his parents were since he started showing positive changes in his behavior and recounted the times he peacefully heeded their guidance. This makes him genuinely happy, both as a son and as a Peace Hero.

“If not for TPBPM, I wouldn’t be a Peace Hero.” Adzam felt that he would not learn about the virtues of doing good if not for the peace education sessions he attended.

Little did he know that peace has always been inside him; the sessions just served as a tool to let the inherent good in him manifest. Adzam’s transformation, together with the other children who have undergone TPBPM’s Peace Education Program, is a testament to how Peace Education has contributed to these children’s cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal skills which in turn, resulted to positive behavioral transformation.

Adzam’s testimony of how transformative peaceful actions can be is truly inspiring. Take it from a child who continuously strives to lead by example.

“I learned to play, draw, and color.” As small as these may be, Adzam went on to learn beyond his years. Next time we think of grand ways to teach our kids peace, we might want to consider starting small. After all, one small step leads to another.

PEACE HEROES FORMATION PROGRAM

The Peace Heroes Formation (PHF) Program provides a holistic approach to Peace Education by incorporating Conflict Prevention, Conflict Transformation, and Proactive Citizenship Peace Building. It was designed to apply creative and innovative ways and approaches in teaching about knowledge, skills, attitudes, values, and behavior towards a Culture of Peace. It aims to bring about behavior change that prevents the transformation of conflict into violence and war. This program also hopes to show the relevance of Peace Education in our society, and be able to contribute to ways on how to institutionalize educating schools and communities on the art of peaceful living. TPBPM utilizes existing social structures such as family, school, and communities as the primary niche in nurturing the heart of a child to be a Peace Hero.

Get to know more about this program:

October 30, 2019 / by TROJAN TROY PABICO

Tag: GCERF

Peace Education Leadership Towards a Peaceable School

Empowered Peace Educator, Proactive Learners and Peace Champions

A new peace journey begins..

Small Steps In Peace: A testimony from little Adzam

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