International Day of Peace – September 21

Where does peace begin?  Peace begins at the kitchen table and at the park.  It happens on the playground, in the school bus, in the classroom and on the neighborhood corner.  Every day in these United States:

• 4 children are killed by abuse or neglect
• 7 children or teens are killed by firearms
• 208 children are arrested for violent crimes
• 838 public school students are subjected to corporal punishment.

Source: Children’s Defense Fund

Peace also impacts whole nations and their people, including children.  Did you know that:

• Over 2 million children in Syria are displaced by the war?
• Children- even younger than 10 years old – are forced into armed conflict as soldiers in dozens of countries?
• More than 5.5 million children are trafficked world-wide each year?

Sources:  UNICEF,  Stop Child Soldiers

Take a moment on the International Day of Peace to reflect on how to build peace – at home, in your local school community, or in the international sphere.  Tune into resources from the United Nations, which are on the NEA web site.   Tap the NEA-HIN School Crisis Guide to build a strategy for peace following school-based violence.  Take notice of the Education International guide, International Schools as Safe Sanctuaries, for efforts to make sure that schools are places of peace for students and teachers worldwide.

There are always alternatives to violence.  What will you do?

Peace begins with you and me.