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The event called Power Shift 2007, was held the weekend of November 2 at the University of Maryland. COEUS students participated in a workshop titled: Nonviolence Begins in the Classroom which was led by COEUS’ Director of Peace Education, Nathaniel Mills.
CIS, a K-12 International Baccalaureate Candidate School, currently offers dual-language programs in English and the choice of Arabic, French, Greek, Mandarin, and Spanish. Located at 4401 Connecticut Avenue, NW in Washington, DC, CIS is an economically, culturally, racially, and linguistically diverse school community. CIS’s dual-language, international curriculum develops fluency in two or more languages and prepares students for global citizenship.
It’s mission is to educate young people to develop intellectual capability and creativity, cultivate emotional intelligence and healthy relationships, achieve academic excellence and proficiency in world languages, value cultural diversity, and acquire peacemaking skills.
Power Shift 2007 addressed climate change and global warming, and brought together leaders of our generation to share ideas, learn new skills, make new connections, establish a national voice for a new generation, and send a united message to national leaders.
Participation in this event fit within Coeus’ peace education curriculum’s interdisciplinary framework. Peace Studies is an elective subject option for students in Grades 6 through 10, a pre-cursor to creation of a prototype International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma subject in Peace Studies. In the classroom dialogue ranges far and deep with a trial lawyer and experienced practitioner of nonviolence in the role of Socratic sensei. Each class is part of a larger mental sparring program in which students come to know the ideas and techniques of conflict resolution, gaining understanding—even mastery—of their own minds and hearts. Classes are often guest-driven, drawing on the wealth of renowned and lesser-known individuals in the Washington area who lead peace-directed lives. Students also utilize Washington, DC, as their peace education laboratory.
In addition to the curriculum at CIS, students have full access to all peace education classes taught through the Center For Teaching Peace, founded by Coeus Professional in Residence Colman McCarthy, the pioneering peace educator. Also, students can network with DC-area peers through Coeus' Community of Peace enrichment and continuing education class. Through non-violence trainings, organizing workshops, and other skill-based activities, Coeus is nurturing a nonviolent peace force, one student at a time.
Fulfilling part of CIS’ mission to expose children to experiential learning, as students are educated about justice and peace, they also learn for justice and peace. Employing their conscience and a pen—or video camera, laptop or paintbrush—students learn to take direct action to arrest conflict. Experimenting with the vast arsenal of media weaponry—letters, articles, photos, poster art, graffiti, web design, podcasting, video production, etc.—students take responsibility for finding solutions to violence, whether personal, interpersonal, communal, societal, global or universal. In addition to sharpening communication skills, direct action provides a way to test the ideas of the course and, trustfully, keep students actively involved in peacemaking well beyond their lives at Coeus.
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