From the Executive Director: War and Peace

—Jerry Odland, Executive Director

Thirty years ago, in response to the Vietnam War and the ever-increasing concerns about nuclear threat during the Cold War, ACEI published Children and War, a position paper written for the Association by Norma R. Law, Director of the Child Study Center at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. ACEI supported the position that "a vital way to prevent war and bring about peace is to raise a generation of children who reject killing as uncivilized and as a barbaric, unproductive way to deal with human conflicts."

It is interesting to note that she makes reference to a 1943 publication, similarly titled War and Children, in which the authors, Anna Freud and Dorothy Burlingame, address the effect that World War II was having on children. Now, 30 years after ACEI's position paper was published, we have military troops in Iraq. I think this situation is profoundly sad and most unfortunate. "War is proof of man's ability to think for himself and lack of ability to think of others. It's easier to hate than to love," said a young student who is quoted in the position paper. As a global society, we know all too well the devastating, long-term effects of war. However, it seems we are very slow to learn from past experiences.

Indeed, children continue to grow up in a world filled with violence and armed conflict. In recent years, we have seen war in such places as Kuwait, Bosnia, Kosovo, Grenada, Sarajevo, Bunia, and Afghanistan, to name a few. According to the United Nations, there is currently fighting in approximately 30 nations, and the vast majority of the victims of modern war (90 percent) are civilians—and half of these are children. As a direct result of war, millions of children have been killed, injured, disabled, become refugees, or joined the ranks of countless children who suffer mental health problems.

Television and other media bring graphic, detailed images of these armed conflicts into our homes daily. "Children are conditioned," Law points out, to believe in the "inevitability of war," just as their parents and teachers were as a result of their own upbringing and education. A study by Trond Alvik (1968) found that "children tend to have fewer ideas about peace as an active process than they do about war." Wallace E. Lambert and Otto Klineberg (1967) concluded, at the end of a 10-year investigation of 6-, 10-, and 14-year-olds, that "early experiences tend to establish basic predispositions toward one's own group and foreign peoples, which continue to manifest themselves throughout life."

These and other more recent studies—such as that by J. H. Tolley (1973), who researched how children acquired their attitudes about the Vietnam War, and by Jane L. Rohrer (1996), who studied children's and schools' responses to televised war—clearly demonstrate the indispensable role that parents, teachers, and other adults, as well as the media, play in shaping the views and opinions that young children and adolescents have about war.

What can be done to educate children for peace? "Peace education," said Law, "must be viewed as more than simply favoring the absence of war. . . . Helping children to build empathy for others calls for teaching about the world as a dynamic, interrelated, global system."

In an article titled "Children of War," from the 2003 Annual Theme Issue of the ACEI Exchange, Aline Stomfay-Stitz and Edyth Wheeler cite various studies that emphasize the importance of education in changing children's attitudes toward war. ACEI's strong stand on the issues of children of war and the use of child soldiers in combat serve to unite ACEI members worldwide as advocates for peace education. The authors call on all members to "consider [peace education] as a natural role in your life as an educator . . . for our children's sake." They conclude by recognizing the vital role that ACEI has played in promoting public awareness of the impact of war on children.

At the Association's 2002 Annual Business Meeting, held during the International Conference in San Diego, California, the following Resolution on Children and War was adopted:

"ACEI members will work to promote peace through local advocacy; promote respect for all human life; place value on the understanding of cultural differences; work to ensure safe and unhindered access to children affected by armed conflict, giving emphasis to education and family reunification; and work to promote a society that supports peaceful existence."

Children and War offers suggestions to classroom teachers, which I believe are still applicable today. To help, teachers should: freely explore their own thoughts and feelings as they build relationships with others, have a positive attitude, carefully listen and respond to children's questions, and be receptive to new ideas and information about peace. Moreover, they need to value other points of view, be willing to confront difficult issues, and openly discuss what is involved in peaceful conflict resolution.

References

Alvik, T. (1968). The development of views on conflict, war and peace among school children: A Norwegian case study. Journal of Peace Research, 5, 171-195.
Freud, A., & Burlingame, D. (1943). War and children. New York: Ernst Willard.
Lambert, W. E., & Klineberg, O. (1967). Children's views of foreign peoples. New York: Meredith Publishing.
Law, N. R. (1973). Children and war. ACEI position paper. Childhood Education, 49, 230-237.
Rohrer, J. C. (1996). We interrupt this program to show you a bombing: Children and schools respond to televised war. Childhood Education, 72, 201-205.
Stomfay-Stitz, A., & Wheeler, E. (2003). Children of war (ACEI Exchange). Childhood Education, 79, 320D-320E.
Tolley H., Jr. (1973). Children and war: Political socialization to international conflict. New York: Teachers College Press.

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