Action Alerts!
Re-Unite Immigrant Families!
There still are well over 800 children who were torn away from their undocumented families recently and have been put in detention all over the U.S., with no push by the Government to get them back together again. The Government needs to compensate these families for the disruption it caused, including bringing the deported parents back to their children, paying for therapy for the families whose rights were violated, and accelerating the search for parents who haven’t yet been found. This reunification is all the more urgent as we learn from the ACLU that children are being abused in detention. Please click the following for the ACLU’s alert.. https://action.aclu.org/
Connect with your Representative and Senators while they’re back home in August.
Share with them all that matters to you about their work, especially as to young children and peace. Invite them to your early childhood program and show them what good quality child care looks like and costs. Specifically, please ask your Senators and Representative to fulfill the promise of the bipartisan budget deal to continue in the FY19 Appropriations for FY 2019 the agreed-upon amount of $2.9 billion for CCDBG funding and continue the increase in Head Start funding.
Register and VOTE in your Primary and November 6 elections!
Volunteer to help your favorite candidates. Please support candidates who will understand the importance of reducing military budgets and instead support children and families. PLEASE encourage everyone to vote. Child care programs should do what they can to encourage registration and voting among both employees and parents.
News
P.E.A.C.E. joins War Resisters International
by Craig Simpson
For many years, P.E.A.C.E. (and as C.E.A.S.E.) could be considered a small USA early educators organization. Now we are a small early educators organization with ties around the world! In June 2018, the War Resisters International Council voted in favor of P.E.A.C.E. (Peace Educators Allied for Children Everywhere) becoming an associate member of War Resisters International. We are now connected with activists around the world working to end war. WRI is an International anti-militarist organization with 90 affiliates in 40 countries. In the United States there are four WRI affiliates and associates- War Resisters League, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Resource Center for Nonviolence, and now P.EA.C.E.. WRI was founded in 1921 following the heinous World War I experience. The founding pledge of WRI is:
‘War is a crime against humanity. I am therefore determined not to support any kind of war, and to strive for the removal of all causes of war’.
WRI has several programs:
Right to Refuse to Kill- A Campaign to make conscientious objection to war as a human right in every country.
Nonviolence Program- To educate and train organizations and people in the theory and philosophy of nonviolence.
Countering Militarization of Youth- Supporting a world-wide network of peace education and exposing the ways in which the military recruit children for preparation for war.
P.E.A.C.E. works with teachers, parents, and educators working with young children. We can learn from organizations around the world about nonviolence and education of children. In many countries, like Britain, Canada and Australia, affiliates have peace education projects. In countries where there is war or violent conflict WRI groups are involved in nonviolent campaigns. Many of these activists work with older children.
WRI will give us an international perspective on nonviolence and peace education. We will give WRI an understanding of the importance with young children for a nonviolent world. Many teachers know how children learn and how important it is to have a classroom which doesn’t avoid conflict but finds ways to help children grow. We help children become activists and conflict solvers. The classroom is like the world.
PEACE looks forward to our relationship with WRI and other international organizations working for a better world. That’s what teachers do.
P.E.A.C.E. Supports GARDENING IN THE CITY
by Maureen Myers, Hyde Park MA
Focusing on social development and teaching children peaceful ways to solve problems, this project created an opportunity for after school children to take on a leadership role while cooperating with much younger children. They helped them to paint planters, read stories about gardens, and planted flowers and vegetables. The older children learned patience and responsibility by spending time with young children and helping them be successful. The planters we created were built and filled with soil. Children learned about soil and what makes plants grow. We will continue to work together throughout summer to harvest. Older children learned problem solving skills by working out solutions to where the best spot was to plant, how to put together the planters and how to include children who are two. To add another dimension to this project, we are including our elder friends whom we visit at the rehabilitation center. We plan to continue this project.
P.E.A.C.E. Supports STORIES THROUGH SONG
by Karen Kosko, Cambridge MA
The non-profit, Folk New England, a network of musicians and others interested in folk music, used their PEACE project funding to hire professional musicians to work with “Stories through Song,” a program that is helping young children develop and thrive in peace. The curriculum includes songs and music of Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger that helped the Labor Movement succeed and historically helped stop the Vietnam War. Through the “Stories through Song” program students learn how music can inspire and keep people strong through rough times as well as the power of singing as a group.
Moving Forward: You’re Important to Us!
We are eager for new members, and active members. Spread the word and let us know how you would like to be engaged at 1peaceeducators@gmail.com .
If you have a peace education related presentation at the NAEYC Conference in Washington, Nov. 14–17 , P.E.A.C.E. would like to include it in our conference information for members. Let us know the details. Our Interest forum can, also, sponsor such proposals for future conferences. Keep in touch.
Join actforpeace@goooglegroups.com to follow our members recommended actions, and share your own! You can request to sign-up by e-mail at 1peaceeducators@gmail.com or directly through Google Groups. We hope you will spread the word about the actions by forwarding them on to others.
Since we don’t charge dues we count on donations from those who are able to continue our work. Look for a PayPal donation option on our website, or mail your check made out to SEF/P.E.A.C.E. to: 55 Frost St. Cambridge MA
