Conflict Resolution: Teaching Tolerance
Five parents, black and white parents, were granted permission to
review the
conflict resolution materials. The film "Fighting Fair: Dr.
Martin Luther King" jolted us all with its violent images. The
words
of peacemaking were drowned out by the impact of the graphic images on
the
screen before us and the conclusion of one child in the video that the
passive
resistance of Dr. King was futile because "They killed him, didn't
they?" What will individual children take away from that
film:
The images and anger, or the "peacemaking" the promoters claim to wish
to promote? Your schools are modeling your child's attitudes and
beliefs. Is this what you thought you were sending your child to school
for?
We object to:
- Lessons which divide children into "tribes" within the village (classroom) that would appear to validate gangs and reinforce peer influence.
- Activities which promote alternative lifestyles
Violating freedom of religion and the Alabama School Board's policy against by utilizing New Age techniques within a public school classroom.
- Choosing "totems,"
- Listening to a "referee" one imagines on one's shoulder, and
- Projecting one's mind into a "strong place"
Suggested guided imagery for teacher. Throw eggs at your students...visualization.
Teach children to visit the Happy Valley. Guided imagery? Psychological techniques guided by classroom teacher?
Politicization of the classroom...#5. No bias or influence there...???
What do you say when the second grader in the bottom activity asks
what these
words mean? Is the second grade an appropriate time for a
discussion of
sex? Is it any wonder children cannot read? The assumption here
is that more money equals better schools. This early indoctrination has
surely taken root if the 2016 riots are any proof.
