A Peaceful Tomorrow

Grade Level: 10-12

Academic Areas: Social Studies

Duration of service: Semester-Long

Character Virtues: Civic Virtue and Citizenship, Justice and Fairness

Service Areas: Education/Tutoring

Service Learning Project:

A Peaceful Tomorrow is a character education service learning initiative in conflict resolution and non-violent action. Students engage in the fundamental practices of service learning by studying historical world events while applying non-violent principles to everyday situations. This project aims to increase our student’s civic engagement and focus on the virtues of justice and fairness. Our mission is to emphasize the understanding that every action causes a reaction, but ultimately the outcome of such actions is determined by our choice, behavior and mindset.
Students study US and Global History as well as historical events and outcomes. Participating students examine the practice of non-violence as means to conflict resolution, and create lesson plans to teach a course to students that have been identified with behavioral problems. The high school students stress the virtues of peaceful conflict resolution as they teach middle school students to manage anger and aggression. Students will learn how to control emotions by listening, absorbing information, and deliberating consequences before reacting. A Peaceful Tomorrow builds on student’s knowledge of US History and Global History and enhances the way they interpret historical events.

Goals and Objectives

Academic

Learning Goal: Students will gain in-depth knowledge of US & Global History and create lesson plans for a middle school class. A few topics to be covered include the American Revolution, Mexican-American War, World War II, Civil Rights Movement, and Colonialism.

Standard: Social Studies Standard #2

Learning Goal: Students will become knowledgeable in conflict resolution principles and understand the definition of a responsible citizen.   The staff and students have created social studies lesson plans using their current classroom textbooks.

Standard: Social Studies Standard #5

Service

Community need: The middle school students need to demonstrate tolerance for their peers, this project will teach them how to interact in a responsible manner in their community.   The middle school in consideration has shown interest in dealing with misbehaving students in an alternative method rather than the more traditional methods of detention and suspensions.

Possible Community Partners: The Tolerance Center

Objective: The project will create an open dialogue between students with regards to cultural awareness and to promote tolerance within their neighborhoods.  

Objective: Assist middle school students to appropriately deal with conflict in their daily lives.

Character

Virtue: Civic Virtue and Citizenship

Objective: Students will have a clear understanding of how to be a responsible citizen and exhibit respect and fairness with their fellow students and community members.

Virtue: Justice and Fairness

Objective: Students will learn to interact with peers and community members in a positive manner by promoting peace and tolerance.

Key Activities

Key Planning Activities

1. The character education instructor will assist high school students to develop history lesson plans that will serve as open forum topics intertwined with conflict resolution principles.
2. Each student will be assigned to a group of three middle school students to serve as a mentor to that group. Each group mentor will learn how to interact with his or her younger peers.

Key Service Activities

1. Students will conduct classes discussing history lessons while applying conflict resolution principles to historic events and how the same principles can be applied to their own lives.
2. Student mentors will keep progress reports on their students and track any progress made in their attitudes.

Key Reflection Activities

1. (oral) Student mentors will break the class into smaller groups and discuss choices that people throughout history have made and whether or not they agree or disagree with these choices.
2. (written) All project participants will be asked to take ten minutes at the end of each session to free write their feelings about how they feel empowered or changed as a result of the discussions.
3. (performance) Students will share how they would have handled certain situation by role-playing historical figures.

Celebration Activity

In a public ceremony/forum, the high school students will present their curriculum to teachers, parents, community members, and students. Students are asked to comment on the process, and reward their middle school students with certificates acknowledging the completion of the program and encouraged to attend a group visit to The Tolerance Center.