Prayers for Peace: 7-4-09The third graders of Dewey Elementary School in Evanston, IL, wrote the following letter to the adults of the world out of a discussion concerning peace. The class, under the auspices of Ms. Pat Cleveland, used the talking circle as the foundation to learning in her classroom. She held a peace ceremony with her kids which culminated with the planting of a symbolic tree on the school grounds. From that ceremony came the following statement. These words have been sent around the world and read at the United Nations in General Assembly:
WE THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD are asking the adults to listen. We think that you need us to help you find peace in yourselves. If you start from the heart, peace can spread to other adults and it will get bigger. We ask you to forgive and be kind to one another. We are asking you to be respectful and to treat others the way you want to be treated. We want you to try a different way to solve problems. If everybody thought fighting was the only way, then the whole world would be at war. If you don't give peace to others then they won't give it to you.
This is a world we love but we would love it more if all the wars and fighting stopped. We have hope to bring peace to the world. We want our loved ones safe. We want our families safe - no matter where they are.
If we didn't fight, the grass would be greener, the water would be cleaner, and the animals would be healthier. The world would be the best place. We want you to stop cutting down trees and hurting living things.
We are saying "ENOUGH!" We want the land mines, the nukes and suicide bombing to stop. We want the judging people to stop and want to know people by who they are on the inside.
We need to try and understand each other and to learn about each other. We want people to come together and share their hearts. We want the adults to be nice and to make your voices count. We are asking you to help our families get along. We know that peace starts with a thought. You need to let that thought come out. We are telling you that this is important because peace can change your life, our lives, someone else's and even the world.
There is a wonderful world waiting for us. We just need to believe in peace and in ourselves. That's the beginning. We can help each other.
Peace can go on forever. Peace can be so great.
3rd grade class
Dewey Elementary School
Evanston, IL
