20 Sep Understanding Peace Education & Why It Matters

The UN’s International Day of Peace is on Tuesday, September 21. As the world heals from the COVID-19 pandemic and faces mounting challenges, the International Day of Peace signifies the potential we all have to create a better world and future.

Our founder, Dr. Maria Montessori, once said:

The child is both the hope and a promise for mankind.

Peace is a core principle in the Montessori curriculum, and it is something we begin teaching children at an early age. What exactly is peace education, and why does it matter?

As a leading private Montessori preschool and kindergarten in Richmond, TX, Meadow Montessori integrates peace education in all that we do. We want to help both enrolled and prospective families understand peace education and how it affects their child’s development. If you’d like to learn more, contact us today or read on!

What is Peace Education?

Peace education strives to teach children how to live in harmony with others and the world around them, as well as themselves. It is present across the Montessori curriculum, from infant programs and preschool through kindergarten.

Here at Meadow Montessori, we offer a range of programs for children between three months to 6 years old. Whether they go on to a Montessori elementary school or the public sector, our graduating kindergartners bring with them a strong understanding of peace, empathy, and a sense of community.

Why Is Peace Education Important?

From war and international tensions to everyday disputes with neighbors and family members, conflict is always present in our world.

By teaching children how to recognize and respond appropriately to conflict, we as educators and parents can nurture and shape them to become respectful individuals who tolerate differences and facilitate peace among those around them.

How do we teach peace in the Montessori classroom? We’ll explore that next!

Peace Education in the Montessori Classroom

Peace education is dynamic and multifaceted, something that takes many forms in the Montessori classroom but is present every day.

Here are some of the ways we nurture peace in the classroom and teach our students how to live in harmony with others and themselves.

Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution fosters independence and self-confidence, simultaneously encouraging children to use their communication and critical thinking skills.

We designate a specific area of the classroom for when students fall into conflict with one another. Here, we facilitate dialogue and give each child a chance to speak and express how they feel. By allowing each child to share and express themselves, we promote active listening and invoke everyone’s sense of acknowledgment. Through active listening, every child develops empathy for others.

Student to Student Mentorship

Here at Meadow Montessori, our classrooms contain a mix of students who vary in age. In our Toddler Program, for example, we’ll have a group of students ranging between 18 months to 3 years. Meanwhile, in one of our Early Childhood classrooms, student ages will vary from 3 to 6.

Mixing of ages is intentional in the Montessori curriculum, as it promotes harmony between students and encourages older students to mentor younger ones and lead by example. So when conflict does arise among younger students in the classroom, our older students can model the appropriate response.

If you’d like to learn more about our programs, please contact us today!

Independence & Free Movement

Compared to traditional preschool and kindergarten teachers, Montessori teachers are more observant and hands-off. We only intervene when children can’t resolve conflict themselves and need guidance on the appropriate behaviors and responses.

Children move freely throughout the classroom and in their interactions. They get to choose the activities that interest them most, which promotes concentration and instills a sense of collective calmness in the classroom.

Students also watch others participate in other lessons and activities, and when children become disruptive, other students or the teachers can redirect the behavior.

Grace & Courtesy

Peace education coincides with grace and courtesy, two other core principles we teach in the Montessori curriculum.

Greeting others and practicing manners are constant in our day-to-day routine. Students work together to maintain the classroom’s clean and peaceful environment. We task our students with clean-up and other classroom housekeeping, completed independently and as a group.

In practicing grace and courtesy, we teach students how to respect each other and their surrounding environment. By building that awareness, we develop each student’s sense of belonging to the greater community.

World Celebration

At Meadow Montessori, we strive to nurture every child’s worldview from an early age. Not only do we teach children about the world geographically through lessons of continents and countries, but we also celebrate different customs and cultures from around the world.

Year-round, we celebrate different holidays and encourage students and their families to share their customs, foods, and traditions. Our teachers will also introduce new holidays to our students or teach them about different family traditions.

Understanding Peace Education at Home

Peace education is not exclusive to the Montessori classroom. We strongly encourage parents to make peace education an integral part of the family foundation – and there’s no shortage of ways to do so!

For starters, parents can model empathy by exhibiting positive responses, behaviors, and language when interacting with other family members and adults. Parents can also demonstrate respect and appreciation for all cultures by teaching their children about them.

From practicing courtesy and respect to promoting active listening, there are many ways to apply Montessori principles at home. We also recommend families spend as much time outdoors and participate in activities that promote compassion and critical thinking.

Nurture Your Child’s Development Through Peace Education

As children get older, they will face different challenges. Our goal is to prepare children for the future by fostering a growth mindset. Rather than being discouraged by conflict, our hope is that children learn to see challenges as an opportunity to learn and grow.

If you would like to learn more about Meadow Montessori and our approach to peace education, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us today. We welcome families throughout Fort Bend County and the Greater Houston area to speak with our administrators and teachers and schedule a tour of our school!