3 Selecting stories for peace education
Creating a hopeful peace curriculum requires careful discernment when selecting books and other resources to tell stories and support learning. For example, there are many books like Wangari’s Trees of Peace which explore the work of prominent activists. Such books can form a valuable starting point for children and young people to learn about taking a stand in the world.
However, some biographies can leave children and young people with the impression that individual activists change the world, without paying attention to the ways in which whole movements of people contribute to positive change (Moriarty, 2021). Sinead Moriarty reviewed a number of books about Greta Thunberg and noted that:
Rather than being positioned as one of a large number of young people who passionately campaign for the environment, she [Greta Thunberg] is seen as unique. This focus on Thunberg’s uniqueness is not wrong but tends to elide the work of other young climate activists, in particular young activists of colour, indigenous activists, and activists from the Global South.
Moriarty argues that children and young people need to engage with books which show not only the founders of movements, but the movements themselves and how people in those movements work together for change. Such literature might help children and young people find the connections they already have in their families and communities, and explore ways of working together to address issues that concern them (Moriarty, 2021).