Peace is a conflated issue in Mindanao, everyone that could, has taken a crack at it. There are so many different philosophies and issues that the idea of peace covers that you are left wondering peace according to whom? Because, everyone has their own take on peace, for example every religious faction sees peace differently, the foreign NGOs see it differently, the government sees it differently and even the kids are seeing and understanding it differently. Peace education is one of the key ways that the national government has recommended that the topic be approached. The idea is, that if young people learn and understand the importance of peace from an early age, they will have a greater appreciation for it. However, what exactly is being done to teach peace to the young ones?
From what we gathered, not much. Schools are labeled zones of peace if the administration decides that it wants to be a zone of peace school and there is an unspoken agreement that no violence should take place near or within this school. Schools that are proactive (very few) send their teachers to receive training on peace and reconciliation but we did not hear of any targeted training provided by the government for teachers to teach students about peace. One very curious fact we heard at a school in the city of Columbio was that the students are not actually taught the history of the conflict, but rather the focus is placed on peaceful behavior. I understand that it probably won’t serve a real purpose teaching young children the history of the conflict – may even traumatize them – but in the long run isn’t it better to know what has taken place in your country to understand how important peace really is. The role of the department of education is highly lacking in promoting peace education and providing any substantial help to these schools or teachers. The curriculum is there but hardly any textbooks or teachers prepared to teach the topics mentioned in the curriculum.
These signs can be found in front of schools all over Mindanao
I would like to point out one idea that has been highly successful in teaching students the importance of peace. They are called “peace tables”, they are physical tables allocated to discussing quarrels between students and coming to an understanding and taking responsibility. Peace tables are the shining heroes of the peace education process; teachers gave us examples of how students from very different backgrounds come to an agreement over their differences. I think the idea of children openly stating what is on their minds and discussing why they may think differently is simply brilliant. I believe these techniques would probably even serve them well when they are older because the idea of understanding and appreciating the differences between themselves and others is even more important when they are older. Education in the Philippines and a concrete role played by the department of education requires a lot of work. The government has realized that children are the key to attaining peace in the future, now they just need to get serious about it.
Peace Tables explained