P.E.A.C.E. Projects 2024
The P.E.A.C.E Projects is an initiative to sponsor and mentor early childhood educators, in promoting Peace Education for young children in the classroom.
Submitted by Karen Kosko and Brian Quinn, Folk New England
This school year we were fortunate to work with Kim Moberg. Kim is a singer/songwriter of the Tlingit Nation, born in Alaska and currently living and performing in Massachusetts. She was able to work with 65 fourth graders and 8 adults at the Graham and Parks School in Cambridge, MA (April 9 and April 23). Her first two sessions were extraordinary as she worked on Social Justice, Culture and Diversity. Her last session was at the Main Library in Cambridge for 63 After School participants (May 22, 2024).
Message from Jocelyn Marshall, Fourth Grade teacher:
Throughout the school year, our 4th graders have been exposed to the wide variety of stories that make up the human experience. They have learned that stories can be told orally, in writing, through art, and even through movement, so hearing Kim Moberg tell her personal stories through song was extremely powerful and engaging for students.
We have also spent a good part of the school year exploring the culture, history, and original homelands of many North American indigenous groups including the Tlingit. My students’ faces lit up when they heard Kim referring to the Tlingit creation myth about raven and the sun. Having read several versions of this Tlingit folktale in the fall, students were thrilled to be able to make this connection to Kim and her culture.
We are forever indebted to Folk New England for funding experiences like Kim Moberg’s visit. We also want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Kim Moberg for sharing her story and music with us, and Karen Kosko for her partnership.
Message from Karen Engels, Fourth Grade teacher:
Kim Moberg provided a wonderful opportunity to the students at Graham and Parks. Her songs about love, peace, and hope were a powerful antidote to the rancor, polarization, and hatred that young people today are unfortunately increasingly accustomed to.
In addition, we study indigenous cultures throughout the year in fourth grade, and one of our key learning objectives is to ensure that students understand that Native Americans are an integral part of the present, not only the past. Hearing from a member of the Tlingit tribe and seeing how she has incorporated aspects of indigenous practice into her contemporary American life was very important for our young learners.
Message from Talia:
It was wonderful to have Kim Moberg visit our school. Her presentation gave students a chance to develop their understanding of the important keywords “diversity,” “culture,” and “justice.” For my class of multilingual students who are newcomer English Learners from around the world, these abstract nouns can be a bit hard to understand. Exploring these themes through Kim’s beautiful music and engaging presentation made the terms easier for my international students to grasp. In addition to their enjoyment of the opportunity to sing along with Kim, my students’ learning about these topics will strengthen their social studies learning. We are grateful to have been able to learn from her through music!
Message from Kim Moberg:
What a pleasure it was to perform 3 concerts for the Folk New England / Peace Educators Social Justice “Stories Through Song” program!
Folk music is a living, breathing art form which is meant to be passed on from person to person and generation to generation. It is my belief that programs like this, programs that provide in-person exchange of music and ideas between our song carriers and youth, are essential in keeping folk music alive.
I love to quote Cindy Blackstone, Executive Director First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada who says “Children are Keepers of the Possible”. Art is a beautiful and positive way to help open the minds of our next generation. Each time we are successful in doing that, we have the opportunity to affect minds for generations to come.
As a Song Carrier, it touched my heart to hear these young students listening to the song origins stories and then singing along to the Folk songs that teach awareness, inclusiveness, tolerance and empathy.
Message from Joy Kim, Deputy Director of Libraries:
Here is some feedback from patrons:
- Requests for this program to happen again.
- Some favorite songs were “Blackbird”, “Yellow Submarine”, “This Little Light of Mine” .
- Kids and adults enjoyed singing along. One kid said he enjoyed dancing.
Staff also enjoyed the program and hoped we might have Kim back in the future. The program worked well for a range of children – we had littles as well as school age kids. Attendees include library patrons who had seen publicity for events as well as two groups from Human Services after school programs. Hope this helps! Please pass along our appreciation to Folk New England and Peace Educators.
We LOVED having you come this year, and the kids have some thank you cards.
Song selections included:
- If I Had A Hammer
- This Land Is Your Land
- The Third Fire – The River (original)
- The Seventh Fire – The Crossroads (original)
- Get Together
- The Raven (original)
- Fast Car
- Yellow Submarine
- This Little Light
- True Colors
