Click here to listen to this week’s JAM – Give Peace a Chance.
Yesterday morning I had the opportunity to tag along with two different groups of 1st graders as they headed over to the JK/K classrooms. The children were inviting the JK/K students to join their Peace Tree project. The students confidently explained the project: “Every student in the school will fill out a leaf that tells how you will show peace at Hillbrook.” They held up the paper leaf, showing the prompt and then the space that the children could use to fill it in. They were quick to note that in JK they could draw a picture instead of writing. Later one of the adults clarified that the children would be able to cut out their own leaf as well.
“What does peace look like?” asked first grade resident teacher Noah Huebner, aka Mr. H. “Quiet and calm,” “not disturbing others,” “be kind and respectful,” and “be fair and safe” were some of the answers shared across the classrooms.
“What does peace smell like?” asked Ms. Cov Cov in KB.
“Yummy like apples,” said one child.
“Yes, like apple pie!” added another.
The Peace Tree project is the inspiration of the 1st grade teaching team, led by Ms. Aguirre, Ms. Matthews, and Mr. H. The project emerged from the study of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr during Reach Beyond Block, a weekly block of time created to focus on interdisciplinary explorations of social impact and social entrepreneurship. As children were learning about Dr. King and his efforts to bring about justice and peace, they became inspired to see how they and other children could create peace and justice at Hillbrook. They decided to create a peace tree that will be in the main office, and to ask every member of our community to fill out a leaf describing how they will show peace in our community.
1st graders are visiting every classroom, including those of our Middle School students. I asked one of the students what it was like visiting the 5th grade and he said, “It was great.” He was clearly not phased by having presented to students several years older than he was. Did they ask any questions? Yes, they wanted to know when it was due. February 17, for those who are wondering. We welcome any and all submissions.
I’m proud that our 1st graders are leading the way to thinking about how we create a world that has peace. Their work has roots in our school’s earliest history, when founder Mary Orem had students build the Village of Friendly Relations, a set of small houses that still sit at the heart of our campus. She believed by having students design, go into town to purchase the materials, and build a working village, including a store, a tea house, and a bank, they would learn to work together and create the conditions for world peace. It was the late 1930s, a time of global unrest and anxiety – right on the cusp of World War II, and I have always been inspired by the audacity of her vision.
While Mary went big with her vision, my sense is that anyone who takes the time to reflect and answer the 1st graders question in a meaningful way – whether that is big or small – moves the Hillbrook community – and, dare I say, the world – in the right direction. How will you show peace?