Critical Peace Education and Global Citizenship - Narratives From the Unofficial Curriculum

183 Pages·2017·1.247 MB·English

by  Rita Verma

CritiCal PeaCe eduCation
and Global CitizenshiP
Critical Peace Education and Global Citizenship offers narrative accounts represent-
ing multiple ways teacher and learner activists have come to realize possibilities
for peace and reconciliation through unofficial curricula. With these narratives,
the book demonstrates the connections between critical peace education and
such crucial issues as human trafficking, gang violence, contested narratives
of nationhood and belonging, gender identities and the significance of men-
toring. Through rich examples of pedagogic work, this volume enhances and
illustrates critically oriented understandings and interpretations of peace in real
classrooms with diverse populations of students. Written primarily for scholars
and graduate students working in the fields of educational theory, critical ped-
agogy and educational policy, the chapters in this book tell a compelling story
about teachers, learners and scholar activists who continue to struggle for the
creation of transformative and meaningful sites for peace praxis.
Rita Verma is an Associate Professor in Social Studies Education and Peace
Studies at Adelphi University in New York. She collaborates with the UN
and various human rights organizations to engage educators in dialogue about
human rights and global citizenship.
The Critical Social Thought Series
Edited by Michael W. Apple,
University of Wisconsin–Madison
Critical Perspectives on bell Critical Pedagogy and Social
hooks Change
Maria del Guadalupe Davidson and Critical Analysis on the Language
George Yancy, editors of Possibility
Seehwa Cho
Advocacy Leadership
Toward a Post-Reform Agenda in Educating Activist Allies
Education Social Justice Pedagogy with the
Gary L. Anderson Suburban and Urban Elite
Katy Swalwell
Race, Whiteness, and Education
Zeus Leonardo The Political Classroom
Evidence and Ethics in Democratic
Controversy in the Classroom Education
The Democratic Power of Discussion Diana E. Hess and Paula McAvoy
Diana E. Hess
Mapping Corporate Education
The New Political Economy Reform
of Urban Education Power and Policy Networks in the
Neoliberalism, Race, and the Neoliberal State
Right to the City Wayne Au and Joseph J. Ferrare
Pauline Lipman
The End of Public Schools
Critical Curriculum Studies The Corporate Reform Agenda to
Education, Consciousness, and Privatize Education
the Politics of Knowing David Hursh
Wayne Au
The Critical Turn in Education
Learning to Liberate From Marxist Critique to
Community-Based Solutions to Poststructuralist Feminism
the Crisis in Urban Education to Critical Theories of Race
Vajra Watson Isaac Gottesman
CritiCal PeaCe
eduCation and
Global CitizenshiP
Narratives From the
Unofficial Curriculum
Rita Verma
First published 2017
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Taylor & Francis
The right of Rita Verma to be identified as author of this work has
been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-1-138-64957-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-64956-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-62578-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by codeMantra
Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Series Editor Introduction ix
Introduction: Ventures into the Margins: Peace
as a Possibility 1
1 Seeking Peace Activists and Global Citizens 16
2 The Common Core Reading Program and the
Unofficial Lessons on Race: Readings on Roberto
Clemente, MLK and Cesar Chavez 36
3 My Story Our Story: Interpretations of Global
Violence and Peace in the Middle School
Classroom 56
4 Dignity for All Students Act and Critical Peace
Activism 64
5 Critical Peace Pedagogues—Shaping Teachers in
Training 78
6 Increase the Peace: A Journey of a Teacher Activist 101
7 The Story of Soledad: From the Gang Life to Peace
Activist 114
vi Contents
8 Intermittent Interruptions: Patchwork Peace Narratives
From a Human Rights Seminar 126
Conclusion: Now Is the Time to Begin 150
References 161
Index 167
aCknowledGements
Sometimes it can be the storms and setbacks in our lives that begin to give
meaning to our path. It was indeed on a rainy Tuesday afternoon when I be-
gan to write down stories, ideas and thoughts that came to mind. Countless
dialogues with students, allies and activists that had crossed my path became
chronicled on scraps of paper on my desk. It seemed at the time that these scraps
were merely mementos for a personal diary or journal. Then the idea for a book
came to be.
I am profoundly grateful to Dr. Michael Apple for having the belief and faith
in my project and for supporting me through the process. Your encouragement,
mentorship and wisdom gave me the fortitude to transform a mere vision and a
pile of ideas into a book. I would also like to thank Catherine Bernard and the
editorial board at Routledge for your endorsement and support of this project.
This book chronicles the lives of numerous peace activists that continue
to be agents of change in our communities. It was a humbling process for me
to have the opportunity to highlight the work of my allies. As always, it is
my hope that your work is not merely regarded as words on paper, but rather
encourages others to follow you and become activists. I want to thank my
wonderful students who value the message that I share in my classroom and
I admire your endeavors to be greater than yourselves and seek that which is
better for your community and the world.
The endless process of writing drafts, rewriting chapters and editing took
a village. My dear family and friends understood with patience and love and
carried me through the journey. My dear husband Arvinder has always en-
couraged me to follow my heart and I share my victories, Jaana, with you. The
unconditional love of my parents, Mom, Dad and Babaji, and the endearing
affection from Parveen, Anand, Meenu and Aiyana are the lifelines for my soul.
viii Acknowledgements
There is one kindred soul for whom I dedicate the entirety of this book and
its message. There are few individuals that I know that can inspire me so deeply
and incite such wonder inside my heart than my dear son, Armaan. As a young
budding poet and writer, I hope you always follow your heart and know that
your words can transform lives, as your prose becomes gentle footprints on the
lives you touch. Your passion will follow you no matter what path you choose
in life.
series editor introduCtion
Although there have been major gains in the struggles toward greater equal-
ity throughout the world, we are living in a period of time that is marked by
tragedy and human misery. Every day brings us more instances of millions of
people fleeing for their lives. Large-scale famine, environmental destruction,
mass incarceration, spreading nuclear weaponization, the threats of terrorism,
repressive governments, cultural crises and the loss of collective memories and
languages, repeated police killings of people of color … the list could go on and
on. The accumulation of such things brings with it a familiarity and perhaps
even cynicism that must be constantly fought against. These conditions are
simply not acceptable.
It also brings with it crucial questions: How are we to understand these
events and the processes that underpin them? What prevents us from more
critical understanding? What can we as educators do to help prevent such sit-
uations and to develop more critical understandings? And finally, who is the
“we”? Questions such as these lie at the heart of Critical Peace Education and
Global Citizenship.
There are of course many groups who are laboring very hard to deny the
importance of such questions and who spend large amounts of money in cam-
paigns to convince us that neoliberal and neoconservative agendas are the only
“realistic” options that we can dream of and afford in education and so much
else (see, e.g., Apple 2006; Mayer 2016; Schirmer and Apple 2016). Yet Verma’s
narratives remind us that the world is also a place where struggles against this
false “realism” can and do go on.
In one of my recent books, I include the story of my experiences in an Asian
nation that taught me a good deal about the relationship between international
economies and the creation of very damaging inequalities. These experiences