Shaanti

At the beginning and end of a yoga class that I took a few weeks ago we chanted: Shaanti, Shaanti, Shaanti, or in translation Peace, Peace, Peace. As a Quaker the word "peace" resonates so strongly with me that I feel like a certain part of me embodies every ideal of peace. Starting a yoga class this way did not quite lead to enlightenment, but it made for a pretty wonderful practice.

Tonight I had the opportunity to go see an amazing speaker, who is also a peace activist. Charlotte Friends School brought Colman McCarthy to speak about Peace and education. If you are interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colman_McCarthy

During his speech he asked the audience, "how many of you had a peace studies class in school?" No one raised their hands (well, to be exact I half raised my hand thinking back to Quakerism in middle school). He then asked, "Why do we focus so much time talking about war in school instead of peace? Why not teach classes on peace in school?" So then I questioned my self, "why don't you teach students about peace?"

Mr. McCarthy also quoted Mother Theresa in saying, "We will not all be called on to do great things, but we can still do little things in a great way." (I may have butchered this a little, and I apologize for this.) Here lies my challenge, I will challenge myself to take small steps towards educating my students about peace. In a culture of violence, violent behavior, and constant misbehavior I will challenge myself to infect my students with peace, and non-violent conflict resolution. The reason I will do this is because it is a very important part of myself that I should share with my students. Everyday they share their bright minds with me, and this is part of returning the favor! McCarthy told us, "It's better to build a peaceful child than re-build a violent adult." So it is my civic duty to begin building peaceful children.

Shaanti, Shaanti, Shaanti