Workshop 1: December 8, 2010
Grades 11 and 12 (elective: literary criticism)
The students chose to read Nonviolence: 25 Lessons from the History of A Dangerous Idea, by Mark Kurlansky because there had been violence in their school this year and they were interested in discussing the issue and finding ways to generate change.
During Mr. Kurlansky’s visit, he stated that nonviolence - other than the civil rights movement and
Mahatma Ghandi’s work - is largely ignored and the effort is not appreciated. Responding nonviolently to upsetting circumstances is much more difficult than responding with physical or emotional anger. Mr. Kurlansky emphasized that patience is the key to nonviolence; violence is an act of impatience and demonstrates a lack of discipline.
The class then moved to discuss ways in which they could address violence taking place in their school. Mr. Kurlansky encouraged them to not engage when confronted with people who want to spark a fight. He also emphasized the importance of getting to the root of a problem and not hurting other people’s pride. It is also necessary that one accept that they will not always be successful in resolving conflict peacefully.
The book the class had read contains historical and practical aspects, and Mr. Kurlansky addressed both during the program. He stated that history should be taught differently in schools: when talking about war, teachers should show students who resisted and how they went about this. When studying the American Revolution, students are not taught that there were people who did not want to go to war. Bringing up a historical anecdote, Mr. Kurlansky revealed that the founding fathers at the Continental Congress wanted war and the people that didn’t were taken out of the session. Despite the significance of this fact, it is rarely – if ever – discussed in schools. As a final project, students wrote poems about their feelings towards the violence in their school.
