Education is, in one word, peace.
This comment is sure to garner disagreement, but the basic premise is one that is defensible. If I know what peace is, and I am educated in the ways to go about achieving it, then peace is within my grasp. If, however, I am unable or unwilling to learn about peace (both positive and negative) then how am I, or anyone, to bring it into being?
By way of example I wish to bring to your attention The Troubles in Northern Ireland. (For a brief over of what The Troubles are see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles. It’s not a perfect source, but It gets the major parts right.) And specifically to another part of the documentary series by Michael Ignatieff that we viewed in class about the Serbo-Croat conflict. The segment that I am referring to is a documentary on the Unionists in Northern Ireland, and their violent and dangerous form of national identity.
There are many extremely chilling images that I will carry with me for a long time, such a a young (approx. six years old) Irish boy dancing in front of a Bonfire singing joyfully at the top of his lungs a common Unionist song with the in which the lyrics sing of “Good Ulster Men being up to their necks in Fenian Blood.” I again remind you that this child was around six years old.
Can anyone see this and doubt the immense power of education? This poor child was educated (Or “socialized” if you prefer) to have an elemental hatred of Catholic Nationalists in Northern Ireland. Ignatieff later goes on to ask an older boy why he hates “The Catholics” so much and his response was “Well, that’s just the way it is.”
Imagine for a moment a world in which These young boys were educated from an early age that Catholics were people too, and vice versa. If Catholics were educated that the best way of expressing their political discontent was not through violence, but through non-violent resistance and peaceful communication? Perhaps in this world The Troubles would not have been necessary, and people would naturally include all human beings in their definition of “People.” That is what Education can do.
By way of clarification, I do not mean to imply that only those of us privileged enough to go to a Liberal Arts College in the Midwest can become educated, or even that you need a degree to be educated, or to imply that everyone in the world is uneducated because they don’t have these academic luxuries. But rather that when people are taught that everyone is deserving of respect and dignity, peace not only becomes possible, but the only acceptable outcome of a disagreement, because all other outcomes are unconscionable.
I say again. Education is Peace.
I agree with your statement that education can bring about a change in the way that we perceive the “Other” as also being human. But can that realization alone really change the way that people interact with each other? For many people around the world, the fact that someone is a person is not enough to prevent those things that we see as injustices. For example, in many parts of the world, honor killings reign as the best way to dole out justice. It is specifically because a Person has offended someone that these terrible things happen.
I’m not saying that education is useless in our pursuit of a peaceful world. But in order for the “Other” to be perceived not just as a Person but also as a Person worthy of dignity and respect. And that search for convincing all people that all People are deserve respect is a lot harder to achieve than simply raising our children to talk out their problems rather than throwing punches. It would take a global revolution in worldviews, in belief systems and in religions. Simply teaching our children to be nice to each other is not going to solve any global problems.
On the contrary, educating our children for peace could be the start of a global revolution in worldviews. We have to start somewhere, no matter how small. The personal is political. If we cannot raise our children for peace, we cannot expect the world to do it. I would agree, however, that it has to be more than an education to see past otherness. To say that education is peace is a bit misleading, though you explain it well later. Perhaps a better statement would be that “Education for peace will bring peace.”
Thinking of Feminist Perspectives on Peace and Education by Birgit Brock-Utne, schools could teach about all of the successful nonviolent conflict resolutions through history, rather than emphasizing the wars so much. They could have students study the social implications of scientific knowledge and technology, rather than simply looking at science as a field isolated from the humanities. Starting smaller even, parents can teach their children games that encourage cooperation rather than competition (If you like RISK, try Pandemic). I would add that conflict resolution scenarios could be explored through school theater programs. If we cannot educate our children for peace, we are not going to solve any global problems.