Teaching Peace Initiative Handbook

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Teaching Peace 101:

Official TPI Handbook for

Regional Executive Directors

1st EditionAugust 2013

Authored by:

Fish Stark, Executive Director


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Table of Contents

Welcome!.................................................5

TPI BasicsQuick Facts About Who WeAre and What We Do.6

What is TPI?How did TPI start? Who founded it?What are the core beliefs of TPI?Why is TPI necessary?What makes TPI unique?Whos in charge of TPI? Is it really only students, or are adults involved?

Who can be a part of TPI?Where does TPI get its money?Does TPI have 501c3 (tax free non-profit) status?How was TPIs curriculum developed? What does it teach?

Your RoleBeing a Regional Executive

Director..10

So, whats my job?

What will my time commitment be?

Who is my boss? Where do I go with questions?What resources and support are available to me?Do I have to do everything the way most people are doing it, or can I becreative?

Where do I find the curriculum and powerpoints you want me to use?Are there certain goals I have to meet?

What information do I need to provide about my work?Am I required to fundraise or take on other projects?

Getting StartedHow to Get Your TPI

Club Up & Running..14Where do I start?

Do I have to start a TPI club at my school?Can my honor society, civic club or community service group take on TPI as aproject, while still doing other club activities?Can I run TPI with a partner?


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Where do I find a faculty advisor?What if I cant find a faculty advisor?How do I get in touch with elementary and middle schools?What if I cant find times to teach in the schools?What if there are transportation conflicts?

OrganizingGetting a Team of Volunteers

Together....16

How large of a group should I organize?How do I convince people to join my TPI group?How can I spread the word about TPI so that people know to join?Should I recruit students at a certain grade level or with a certain GPA?Once I have a group of volunteers, how do I keep them interested and

involved?Do I need to have regular weekly meetings?What should our meetings cover?

TrainingHow to Get Your Volunteers

Ready to Teach.19

Whats the purpose of training? What should I be looking to get out of thetraining sessions?How much time should I dedicate to training?

What are the most important things for my volunteers to know?What is the best way to go about doing the training?Should I train my volunteers specifically on how to talk to younger students?

What if one of my volunteers misses some of the training?

TeachingBringing the Curriculum to Life

...............................................................22

Is there anything we should do ahead of time, before going to teach?When we go to teach, how many volunteers should there be in each

classroom?How should I divide my volunteers up into groups to teach the curriculum?

Should the teacher stay in the room while we teach?What are tips that we should we keep in mind while we teach?What happens if the class is rowdy? How do we keep and hold their attention?

Beyond the Classroom25


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What kinds of things, other than teaching the peace curriculum, can myvolunteers and I do as part of our work with TPI? How can I get involved?What is TPIs advocacy program? How do I get involved?How would I reach out to my local elected leaders? What would I say to themif given a meeting?

What policies does TPI support and oppose?Whats the best way to raise money to cover the cost of our programs?

How can I help the national organization with fundraising?How can I recruit new student leaders for TPI?What things can I do to increase peace and tolerance in my high school?How would I bring peace education to my community?How could I share my experiences with TPI?

How could I help TPI with research?


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Welcome!

Were glad to have you on board.

By joining the Teaching Peace Initiative as a student leader, youve shown

your passion for peace and tolerance, your dedication to keeping yourcommunity safe, and your commitment to service. Were proud to have such ateam of dedicated, compassionate, and energetic studentsits what makes

us great. We are able to do the incredible work that we do because of yourhard work and your firm belief that we can shape a future where everyone istolerant, accepting, and peaceful.

This handbook was developed as a tool to help you turn your passion into

action. Youll find tips to help you organize volunteers, train them effectively,teach your students, and maximize the good your TPI affiliate can do. We wantto support you in every way we can to help you be the best leader you can be,

and to help your group achieve as much success as possible.

Your leadership and service with TPI is important, probably more than yourealize. If you organize effectively, youll be able to teach peace to hundreds

of kids every school year. Thats hundreds of kids who youll help develop aconception of respect, tolerance, and the dignity of every human being. Thatsdozens of classrooms that you will help transform into safer, more accepting

spaces. Intolerance, hatred, and bullying arent inherent in kidstheyrelearned behaviors that stem from growing up in a society that can often sendmessages that violence and aggression are good ways to get what you want.You get to flip the script. You get to teach kids how to embrace selflessness

over self-interest, acceptance over intolerance, and respect and love overeverything. These are powerful skills that will stay with them for life. You areteaching them to care for one another, strengthen our community, and make

our world safer and stronger. You are helping to cultivate a generation ofpeacemakers. Never underestimate the impact you are having.

Youll notice that in this guide, we dont tell you that there is one way you mustcarry out your responsibilities. We provide a lot of tips and guidance, but

very few bureaucratic requirements. This is because we know that you knowyour school best, your volunteers best, and your community best. We can

always provide guidelines and suggest procedures, but we trust that you

know what works best for your community.

The Regional Executive Director position is a big responsibility, and willrequire a lot of leadership and hard work on your part. You may have to stepout of your comfort zone. But you arent going at it alone. Our job, as theleaders of TPI, is to provide you with all the support you need. If you have aquestion or challenge that this handbook cant answer, you can always reach

out to us, and well be happy to help you.


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TPI BasicsQuick Facts About Who We

Are and What We Do

What is TPI?

The Teaching Peace Initiative (TPI) is a student-led, student-run educational

nonprofit, founded to teach the values of peace, tolerance, and nonviolence toyoung children. We work with high school students to help them becomeleaders in their schools, organize their peers, and teach our peace curriculum

to kids in their community.

How did TPI start? Who founded it?

TPI got its start in September of 2011, and was founded by five students from

Annapolis, Maryland: Jack Anthony, Patrik Kast, Kate Kirby, Klay Roberts, andFish Stark. We attended a speech made by Colman McCarthy, a famous peace

activist and author, who convinced us that the reason we found ourselves in aworld and culture without peace is because we werent making enough of aneffort to teach kids how to behave peacefully. His message really spoke to us,and we wanted to figure out the best way to address his problem head-onbyreaching kids with peace education that really worked.

What are the core beliefs of TPI?

We believe that children are born with a natural tendency for love, tolerance,compassion, and peace, and believe that it is essential to keep them that way.

We believe that bullying, bigotry, and violence are not inevitable, and weneed to wage serious efforts to protect children from lapsing into those habits.

We believe that the best way to do this is through education that teaches themabout the values of peace and tolerance, challenges them, engages them,allows them to master and practice conflict resolution skills, inspires them tomake a difference in their community, and helps them understand the gravity

of their actions.

We believe that every child deserves such peace education, because it is thebest way to help combat bullying and raise a generation of students who arecommitted to tolerance and peace.

We believe that for such an effort to be successful, it needs to come not fromteachers, but from students, and be powered by peer-to-peer conversations.

Why is TPI necessary?

Our work is necessary because, unfortunately, we arent currently doing

enough to teach kids about compassion and tolerance. Anyone who looks at


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Our approach to youth organizing is simple and noveltreat high schoolstudents as adults and, instead of encouraging them to circulate petitions orwear bracelets, give them meaningful and realistic that allow them to dosubstantive work and produce a measurable difference.

The youth-centric structure of our organization, our pioneering approach toyouth organizing, and our nation- and world-wide grassroots network are just

some of the things that set TPI apart.

Whos in charge of TPI? Is it really only students, or are adults involved?

TPIs Executive Director is Fish Stark (thats methe one writing the guide).However, TPI isnt an organization that likes hierarchies, and the leadershipteam of college students works to share responsibilities and make decisionstogether. We believe that working collaboratively as a team and hearing all

suggestions, rather than a traditional boss-employee structure, is not onlymore fun, but more productive.

Yes, TPI is purely student-run. Thats not to say there arent adults involvedweve consulted experienced people from every step of the way, and arehappy to have received wisdom and advice from politicians, educators,activists, nonprofit leaders, lawyers, accountants, and more. Adult finance

professionals help us oversee our funds, and many others provide constantguidance. But the decision-making in TPIboth long-term and day-to-dayisdone by the college students who make up TPIs staff.

Who can be a part of TPI?

TPI is open to anyone, regardless of gender, race, age, sexual orientation,political and religious beliefs, nationality, or any other factor. Indeed, our staffand student leaders come from many different races, backgrounds, and faiths.We believe that peace curriculum can and should be taught anywhere and

everywhere, which is why we invite our leaders to teach it at local communitycenters and houses of worship, and seek to be active in public, private, and

parochial schools alike. We take our commitment to diversity andaccessibility very seriouslyeveryone should be treated equally within TPI,and our goal is that every child should have access to peace education. If you

can think of ways we can better honor these values, please let us know.

Where does TPI get its money?

So far, our money has come from a variety of different sourceslarge checks

from foundations and small donations from a grassroots donor bases. Anyperson or organization can donate to TPI, including businesses and faith

groups.

Does TPI have 501c3 (tax free non-profit) status?


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Currently, TPI is in a fiscal sponsor relationship with The Key School, aregistered 501c3. This means that TPIs funds are held in an account withinThe Key Schools financial structure, with TPI being able to deposit andwithdraw funds from that account. We were very lucky to find a fiscal sponsorthat does not deduct a management feemeaning that 100% of the money

raised goes directly to TPI. Because The Key School is a 501c3, funds donatedto TPI through them are tax-deductible.

We are currently drawing up the necessary paperwork to file with the IRS as aregistered nonprofit, or a 501c3.

How was TPIs curriculum developed? What does it teach?

TPIs curriculum was written by students, in consultation with middle andelementary school teachers and learning development professionals. It was

tested in a fifth grade classroom, and refined based on those results. OurResearch Director has produced a report proving that our curriculum is

effective in teaching peace to young childrenread it on our website.

The first session focuses on the essential question, What is peace?,presenting an accessible definition to the complex concept, exploring thevalues behind it, and recognizing the importance of celebrating and caring

for humanity. Students learn about our differences and the importance ofbeing accepting. By engaging the students in a conversation and challengingthem to think critically about these complex concepts, students internalize the

values and gain strategies for practicing them on a personal level.

The second session focuses on peace-making and problem-solving. Students

learn what it takes to be a peacemaker, what it means to have a peacefulattitude, and the three necessary elements of problem-solvingtruth,compassion, and observation. Students are energized by the idea ofbecoming a peacemaker, and are able to put the skills they have learned into

action in a roleplay activity at the end of the session.

The third session examines conflict on multiple levels, and allows the studentsto relate the lessons of the first two sessions to problems with which they canidentify. Students explore the different factors that play into conflict and thedifferent theatres (personal, local, national, international, etc) in which it playsout. Presenting students with examples of real-world conflict and helping

relate it back to the lessons about peace, tolerance, and bullying that werepreviously taught helps them learn the meaning and gravity of their actions.

The fourth session takes the form of a simulation in which the studentssynthesize the skills they have learned to find a peaceful solution to a problemthat is global and significant, yet accessible and relatable.


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Your RoleBeing a Regional Executive

Director

So, whats my job?

Being a TPI Regional Executive Director a 5-step process:

1. Go through the standard process at your school for starting a club. I know atmost schools, this means filling out a form and getting a faculty advisor. I'm not

sure if it'd be any different at your school.

2. Organize a group of committed students who are passionate aboutcommunity service and social justice. The group can be as small as four or asbig as four hundred--there is no pressure on you to assemble a large group.

3. Make connections through your school with local elementary and middleschools, and schedule times where you can go to them and teach ourcurriculum (have you checked it out on our website? I recommend you do).

4. Spend a couple sessions training your volunteers on how to effectivelyteach the curriculum, so that they're familiar with the lesson and feel at ease

when in the classroom with students.

5. TEACH! Hopefully you can be done with the first four steps by October orNovember at the latest and spend the next month in the classroom, teachingpeace and tolerance to young kids, and knowing that you're making a

difference.

There's also an optional sixth step--there will be a lot of projects we're doingat the national level, from research to advocacy to fundraising, and you andyour group are welcome to get involved if you want--but you're also welcome

to decline and just teach. We don't want to put any pressure on you.

What will my time commitment be?

Your time commitment will vary based on a couple things: How much you

want to take on, whether you split your duties with other friends, and whattasks are on your plate. Some weeksfor instance, when youre meeting with

administrators and setting up times to teach at elementary schools, orrecruiting new membersyou may have to set aside a few hours. Otherweeks, you may be doing little more than leading a meeting (or teaching). Ofcourse, if you want to take on more projects (research, advocacy, etc), youllbe spending more time working, but thats always an optional choice.


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Who is my boss? Where do I go with questions?

As we said earlier, we work as a team at TPI, not as bosses and employees.However, when you sign up on our website to become a leader with TPI,youll be assigned to a Senior Organizer, a college student and TPI staff

member. Your Senior Organizer will keep in touch with you by email, andmaybe the occasional phone call, to see how you are doing. They will do

regular check-ins with you on a weekly basis to see how your progress isgoing and to let you know about projects you can help with.

If you have questions, concerns, or need help, your Senior Organizer is thefirst person you can go to. However, you can feel free to ask questions ofanyone in the organization. If you have a question about wanting to bereimbursed for an expense, you might want to contact the Director of Finance;if you had a question about reaching out to your local paper, you might want

to contact the Director of Communications, if you had a question about visitinglocal politicians to talk about TPI, you might want to contact the Director of

Advocacy & Policy. Were always happy to help and eager to support you, sofeel free to get in touch with us anytime. You can either find us on facebookthrough the Teaching Peace Initiative Executive Council Group, or email usour emails are almost always our first name, followed [email protected].

What resources and support are available to me?

First of all, you have this handbook, which should give you valuable advice tohelp you set up a club, recruit members, train them, and teach. You can also

ask questions of your Senior Organizerthey are there to help you when you

get stuck, and can assist you in reaching out to your school administration,talk you through strategies to recruit members, or anything you need.

Its also totally okay to ask other Regional Executive Directors about what

works best for them. The Teaching Peace Initiative Executive Councilthefacebook group for all Regional Executive Directors and senior staffis there

so you guys can share experiences and tips.

Finally, TPI has money set aside in case you need help with expenses

transportation costs or suppliesand cant cover them on your own. If youdlike TPI to send you some money to cover expenses, email your Senior

Organizer and copy the Director of Finance([email protected]).

Do I have to do everything the way most people are doing it, or can I becreative?

As you know, we have a pretty defined structure and a set curriculum.However, if you think you have a way of doing things that would work betterfor youfor instance, if youd like to teach the curriculum at your place of


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worship instead of local schools, or if youd like to make some adjustments tothe lesson plan, just tell your Senior Organizer what youre thinking. At TPI,we assume that you know your community best, and we welcome innovativethinking and new solutions. As long as you let us know what youre doing, feelfree to try something new!

Where do I find the curriculum and powerpoints you want me to use?

Theyre available on our website. You can bookmark them, or email the linkto yourself.

Are there certain goals I have to meet?

We know that sometimes things dont go as planned, or that its hard to worksomething out, and that every situation is differentso we dont ask you to

meet quotas or specific goals. As long as youre making an effort, werehappy.

What information do I need to provide about my work?

We will ask you to provide your Senior Organizer with certain information thathelps us to show TPIs impact and evaluate our program. Heres what wellneed you to give us:

-The number of people that are in your group, including names

-The number of classrooms you have taught in, and the number of studentsthat were in each class

-Results of the pre- and post-test evaluations you administered at the

beginning and end of the session (to determine students growth)

-Well ask you to contact teachers a month or two after your visits and ask ifyour curriculum made a difference, and send their praise and suggestionsalong to us

In addition, if youd like to provide us with other updatesfor instance, storiesfrom the field, photos and videos, or testimonials from your volunteerswe

definitely welcome that. We appreciate anything that helps us show oursupporters the good work TPI is doing.

Am I required to fundraise or take on other projects?

We dont require you to fundraise at all, because we dont want TPI to be aprogram thats only available to students who live in affluent areas. However,

we ask that you try to raise enough money to cover the cost of supplies andtransportation, if you can. (Well cover fundraising strategies later in the

guide.) If you cant raise enough money to cover your own expenses, though,


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thats totally OKwe have money and can give you a grant to help you out.Just contact your Senior Organizer.

We dont require you to do anything other than teach the curriculum, but wedcertainly encourage you to take on any other projects you would like! There

are tons of other things you can do as part of your work with the Initiative,including advocacy, organizing community events, etc. These will be

discussed later in the guide.


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Getting StartedHow to Get Your TPI

Club Up & Running

Where do I start?

To get your TPI club up and running, youre going to want to start with a few

meetings.

-You should meet with an administrator in your school to tell them your

plansthey will likely be excited about TPI and offer support.

-Then, youd want to meet with teachers and find a faculty advisor for yourgroup.

-Next, schedule a meeting or phone call with the local elementary and middleschool administration to tell them about TPI and arrange times to meet.

-You should also start talking to your friends about TPI, to see if any of themwould be interested or know of people to recruit as volunteers.

-Finally, we recommend that you talk to your parents and community leadersyou know as wellthey often have good advice and can offer support.

Do I have to start a TPI club at my school?

Noyou can start a TPI club anywhere you want, including at your place ofworship or community organization (for instance, a church or a Boys & Girls

Club).

Can my honor society, civic club or community service group take on TPI as aproject, while still doing other club activities?

Absolutely. Were happy to have existing clubs take on TPI as a project.

Can I run TPI with a partner?

You dont have to run TPI all by yourself. If it seems like a lot of work, you are

more than welcome to find a friendor a group of friendsto run it with you.Its often easier (and more fun) that way.

Where do I find a faculty advisor?

Start by asking a school administrator if they can think of any teachers thatmight be interested, and approach those. You might also consider reachingout to teachers who already advise tutoring, service, or anti-bullying clubs(for instance, the teacher that advises the GSA), or teachers you already havea personal relationship with.


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part of it. With any luck, not only will they want to join, but theyll recruit otherfriends too. The more people you ask to help you spread the word, the morepeople youll bring in!

-Approach students who are involved in groups that have a similar mission or

undertake similar projects. For instance, you might reach out to your schoolscommunity service club, student government leaders, tutoring/mentoring

program, or Gay-Straight Alliance members. If a student is taking action topromote social change in their community already, chances are they will bemuch more likely to help out.

-Ask a few teachers you are close with to talk to their students about TPI andencourage them to join.

-Some schools may have structured opportunities at the beginning of the year

or semester for clubs and activities to recruit students (activity fairs,newsletters, etc). Make sure you take full advantage of these!

-Your school newspaper will often print submissions about certain clubs; writea brief article about what you do and send it to them for publication.

-Posters and fliers, if theyre simple, informative, and well-designed, certainlycant hurt.

If you get stuck or want more ideas to recruit students, you can always ask

your faculty advisor or your Senior Organizer.

Should I recruit students at a certain grade level or with a certain GPA?

We firmly believe that TPI be open to everyone, so, unless youre workingwith TPI as part of an honors club that has a GPA cutoff or something similar,its important that you give every student that wants a chance to volunteer. Itsgenerally a good idea to recruit students from all grade levelsolderstudents are often more knowledgeable and calmer in a classroom setting,but younger students often have more time to commit to TPI, and will develop

into future leaders to keep your TPI club sustainable well into the future. Ingeneral, we ask that you make an effort to recruit a diverse group of

volunteers that represents a range of different backgrounds.

Once I have a group of volunteers, how do I keep them interested and

involved?

The first step in keeping your volunteers engaged is communication.Establish an email list or a facebook group so that you can postannouncements, remind people about meetings, and ask for volunteers for

specific projects. Try to communicate with your volunteers regularly to letthem know about both your clubs accomplishments and TPIs national


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accomplishmentsbut try not to flood peoples inboxes! A good rule of thumbis to try and contact your volunteers twice a week at most.

Also, cookies help.

Do I need to have regular weekly meetings?

We dont require you to have weekly meetings, but its a good idea to meet on

a regular basis to keep your members engaged and informed, get work doneon projects, and prepare for teaching in classrooms.

What should our meetings cover?

You can set the agenda for each of your meetings, and decide based on yourteaching schedule whether to work on training your volunteers to use thecurriculum, or work on other TPI-related projects.

We do recommend that you have occasional meetings that are dedicated

solely or almost solely to discussion. These meetings help get everyone onthe same page and further your volunteers understanding of peace and

justice. Generally, its good to have a meeting or two dedicated to discussionat the beginning, so your volunteers can talk about what peace and tolerancemean to them. Giving everyone a chance to articulate their thoughts on thesetopics means theyll be able to explain them more coherently in a classroomsetting. Its also a good idea, after you finish your first and last classroom

sessions, to debrief as a group, analyzing what went well and what could havebeen done better.


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TrainingHow to Get Your Volunteers

Ready to Teach

Whats the purpose of training? What should I be looking to get out of the

training sessions?

The purpose of training is to get your volunteers ready to deliver the bestclassroom experience possible. To do that, they need to be comfortable,knowledgeable, and in control.

First and foremost, its important that they feel confident that they know whattheyre teaching, so they can be calm and relaxed as they teach it. They needto know how to explain the concepts theyre teaching in case a kid asks aquestion and wants to know more, and they need to understand the

curriculum and the major points well enough so that if the discussion gets off

track (which, with kids, it often will), they can steer it back in the rightdirection.

The best way to achieve these goals is simply to give your volunteers a lot ofexperience reading, discussing, and practicing the curriculum in advance ofthe classroom visits.

How much time should I dedicate to training?

Its important that, as a group, you run through each section of the curriculumat least once, as well as take time at the beginning and end of the training

period to discuss and achieve a better understanding of the overarching

concepts covered in the curriculum. Six or so sessions of forty-five minutes toan hour should be sufficient, but feel free to adjust as you think is needed.

Keep in mind that this does not all have to be completed prior to going to

classroomsyou can train your volunteers to teach the Day One curriculum,have them teach it, and then, before going back to the classrooms next week,train them to teach the curriculum for Day Two.

What are the most important things for my volunteers to know?

First of all, its important that your volunteers understand the concepts ofpeace, tolerance, nonviolence, bullying, discrimination, stereotypes and

diversity, and be able to articulate these in their own words. Its alsoimportant that they have a basic understanding of conflict resolution

techniques, and know how to explain them in plain language. Most of yourvolunteers will likely already have a good understanding of these topics; itsjust important for them to practice communicating them.

Its also important that you and your volunteers understand the specific skills,lessons, and values we want students to be learning from our curriculum. That


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way, when theyre explaining a topic or idea, discussing an activity, or givingconcluding remarks for the day, they know how to tie what theyre sayingback to the concepts that we want the students to learn.

Heres a list of those concepts for each day:

Day One:

Truth is founded not on opinion, but on the basis of fact andobservation.

We live in a big world full of different people. There are many ways tolook and act.

People share the fundamentally human desire to make life better. With this in mind, we can learn to love our differences and be

compassionate.

We must remember that truth is founded on fact and observation andnot make assumptions about people because of their appearance orwhat we think we know about their origins.

Truth as synthesis of fact and observation.Day Two:

Indifference is just as bad, Be an active peacemaker What can we do, in our roles as active peacemakers, to minimize

conflict in the world?

Perhaps we can start on a small scale, working to compassionatetowards our family and friends.

Each little action we take towards peace has an impact. We can go out and share our knowledge and understanding of the tools

of peace with others.

Day Three:

How do countries generally deal will their problems today?

What would be more effective? What can we do, in our roles as active peacemakers, to minimize

conflict in the world?

Day Four:


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As the future leaders of America and the world, we may one day havethe chance to directly impact our nation and the world in a positivemanner.

How is working togetherto solve the problem the most effective?

What is the best way to go about doing the training?

Its important that everyone have the opportunity to rehearse thecurriculum, explaining the lesson as they would in a classroom. Generally, itworks well to have people do this in small groups. Letting everyone explainthe lesson in their own words once or twice, and coming together before andafterwards to discuss what it means, helps them understand and internalize

the flow of the lesson plan and learn to better communicate these complexconcepts.

A typical training session might work like this:

10 mins: Regional Executive Director leads a discussion about the dayslesson plan, the topics to be covered, the flow of the lesson, and how theactivity works. Questions and discussion.

25 mins: Volunteers break into groups of three or four and take turns running

through the lesson in their own words (this will go a lot quicker than it wouldin the classroom because they wont be taking questions from kids).

10 mins: Group comes together to debrief on what was easy to talk about,

what was challenging to talk about, and how they can best guide kids tounderstand the skills, concepts, and values associated with that particular day.

Should I train my volunteers specifically on how to talk to younger students?

You can talk to them about it, but you dont need to devote too much time to it.

Our view is that there are only a few things to keep in mind when youretalking to kids.

1) Be enthusiastic. Kids can tell when youre excited and passionate aboutsomething, and because they look up to you, that passion is contagious.

2) Dont treat them like kids. If the students feel like theyre being talkeddown to, theyll turn out. Instead, talk to them as you would a peer.Dont be afraid to introduce complex concepts, as long as youreprepared to explain them. Kids are much better than youd anticipate atquickly grasping complicated ideas, especially those related to peace.

One caveat, thoughmake sure to try and avoid using big words,unless you explain what they meanyou might lose their attention.

They will be more engaged if you let them tackle complex ideas, andtheyll be able to follow you as long as you use simple language.


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3) Recognize that they dont enjoy listening. Kids want to be involved inthe conversation, not just on the receiving end. Ask a lot of questionsand encourage discussion.

What if one of my volunteers misses some of the training?

No problem. Even if a volunteer misses some of the training, that doesntmean they wont understand the concepts or be able to be a capable teacher.Just encourage them to carefully read the lesson they missed, and make surethat when they go to teach, theyre in a group with people who really

understand the material.

TeachingBringing the Curriculum to Life

Is there anything we should do ahead of time, before going to teach?

Absolutely! Before you go to teach, you should speak with the teachers whose

classrooms you are visiting, either in person, on the phone, or by email. Sharethe curriculum with them, explain what you are hoping to teach, and how eachday will go. Make sure to ask about the following things:

-See if they have a computer and projector for you to show the powerpoints.

-Let them know that you will be dividing the students up into groups foractivities, and ask if they have any advice for dividing them up effectively

(which students work well together, etc).

-Make sure that there is an area (an outside space or large open piece offloor) that will work for the resource-gathering activity on Day Four.

-Ask them if they have been studying anything in class recently that you canreference in your discussions.

When we go to teach, how many volunteers should there be in eachclassroom?

You can make the call on this one, but from our experience, the sweet spot is

threeenough so that volunteers can circulate effectively and offer help whenthe students divide into small groups for activities, but not so many thatleading the discussion becomes awkward. We recommend that you not goany lower, especially since sometimes conflicts may arise and may leave youwith fewer volunteers available. Its always better to have too many than too

few!

How should I divide my volunteers up into groups to teach the curriculum?


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When youre dividing your volunteers into groups to visit classrooms andteach, try as hard as you can to make sure that each group has a mixture ofboys and girls, and a mixture of volunteers who are more comfortable with thecurriculum and ones who are less so.

Should the teacher stay in the room while we teach?

Yes, absolutely. The hope is that the teacher will be a quiet observer whileyou guys run the show. However, sometimes it can be very useful to have ateacher aroundfor instance, if youre having trouble explaining a concept,

they may be able to help put it in terms their students can understand. Theycan also help calm the class down if they are too unruly.

What are tips that we should we keep in mind while we teach?

-Make sure to ask lots of questions and open the floor for discussion. No morethan a minute or two should go by without you asking the students to share

their thoughts or give an example.

-Be flexible. If a student asks a question that is on-topic but doesnt fit exactly

in to what you planned to cover, take the time to answer it. Maybe theyll learnsomething new!

-Be descriptive, and offer relatable examples as often as you can.

-Make an effort to relate the discussion back to the overarching themes of theday.

-Make sure to put extra emphasis on diversity whenever possible, and

express that all ways that people are differentrace, gender, religion,political beliefs, age, weight, sexual orientation, gender identity, appearance,customs and culture, behavior, physical and mental abilityare all okay andshould be accepted and celebrated. Chances are, there will be a lot of kids inthe class who feel different, and hearing that message repeatedly will givethem hope. However, take care not to dwell on any one measure of diversity,

because then you run the risk of calling more attention to it, which goesagainst our goal of normalizing our differences.

-When you divide the students up into groups for an activity, make sure toconstantly circulate among them to keep them on task and offer suggestions.

-Check in with the teacher after the first lesson or two to get his or her

feedback. They will always be happy to give you feedback on what youredoing well, and how you can do better.

-Dont forgetstart with the pre-test, end with the post-test!!

-We know you understand this, but we need to say it anyway: Please dontadvocate or promote any specific political or religious beliefs as part of TPIs


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Beyond the Classroom

What kinds of things, other than teaching the peace curriculum, can my

volunteers and I do as part of our work with TPI? How can I get involved?

In addition to teaching our peace curriculum to kids in your community, thereare a lot of other projects that you can get involved with through TPI. YourSenior Organizer will inform you when some of these arise, or, if youd like totake something specific on, you can contact your Senior Organizer and askthem to help set you up. Some things you can do include:

-Reaching out to your local elected leaders and encouraging them to supportpeace education as part of TPIs advocacy program

-Fundraising money to cover your operational costs, and possibly helping

with additional programs

-Recruiting new student leaders for TPI

-Working to create a tolerant & peaceful climate in your high school

-Partnering with local organizations and bringing peace education to yourcommunity

-Sharing your story with TPI

-Undertaking research projects for TPI

Again, if youd like to undertake any of these, let your Senior Organizer know.

What is TPIs advocacy program? How do I get involved?

Under TPIs advocacy program, student leaders work to meet with their local

policymakersanywhere from school board reps to city councilors to USRepresentativesand talk to them about the issues of bullying, the work


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theyre doing, and the importance of peace education. Its a great way toeducate our leaders about how to make our schools safe.

How would I reach out to my local elected leaders? What would I say to themif given a meeting?

Normally, your elected leaders will have a website with contact information.You can call or email their office and ask for a meeting with them. They willlikely be impressed by your initiative and sympathetic to your cause, andwhile you may not always be able to meet with the policymaker themselves,

you will almost certainly be able to meet with their staff.

Dont worry about not knowing what to sayfor a few reasons. First of all, themost effective testimony will come from your personal experiences andanecdotesletting them know how these issues have affected your life and

why theyre important to you. Second, though many people are nervous whenmeeting with leaders, know that they will be impressed by your drive and

passion no matter how polished you sound. And finally, TPI will provide youwith talking points, fact sheets, etcanything you might want to knowinadvance of your meeting.

What policies does TPI support and oppose?

Our advocacy and policy team will put out a list of policies TPI supports andopposes in the near future. In general, we support policies that promote

strong, fair bullying enforcement, and promote inclusion and peace educationprograms in schools.

Whats the best way to raise money to cover the cost of our programs?

As we mentioned before, we do have money available for TPI clubs that needhelp covering costs, but we would love it if you could raise enough money to

cover those costs on your own.

Sometimes, your school will have funds available for groups such as yours to

usebut often this isnt the case. In that scenario, there are a few options: Youcan reach out to your parents, community groups, and local businesses,

asking them for donations. We hope to have a

How can I help the national organization with fundraising?

Just as with fundraising for your specific club, you can ask your parents, adult

friends, local businesses, and community organizations for donations to thenational TPI group.

You can also help us by researching and identifying grants and competitionsthat award money and recognition to worthy peacemaking and anti-bullying

projects.


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If youre interested, just let us know, and a member of our development &finance staff will contact you with more details.

How can I recruit new student leaders for TPI?

There are several ways you can recruit new student leaders for TPI. First and

foremost, reach out to your friends in different schools and different states.Tell them about what we do, why we do it, and how they can become a part ofit. Post in the facebook groups for student organizations you are a part of orconferences youve attended. Write about TPI on online forums or your

personal blog. Anything you can do to help us tell new people about theimportant work TPI is doing is important.

What things can I do to increase peace and tolerance in my high school?

In addition to teaching peace to young students, you can undertake anynumber of projects to help boost peace and tolerance at your high school.

Every school works differently, so our recommendation would be to chat withan administrator or faculty advisor to ask them what you would be able to do.TPI clubs can help sponsor Diversity Days, lead seminar-style discussionsabout the meaning of peace and tolerance and how it can be cultivated in yourschool, educate peers about the issues of bullying and intolerance, and start

conversations with teachers to discuss how they can better foster safeenvironments in their classrooms.

How would I bring peace education to my community?

If youd like to branch out from the traditional classroom approach, you canalways reach out to community organizationsfor instance, faith groups orBoys and Girls Clubsand talk about events you could hold or other thingsyou could do to increase peace in your community.

An example: The Annapolis, Maryland branch of TPI was very close with theleadership of a local Quaker church. When the church wanted to plan a day-long conference for about 100 local youth that focused on peace, tolerance,

and conflict-resolution, they enlisted TPI to help. TPI leaders worked to helpplan the conference, delivered the keynote, taught peace and tolerance

curricula, and led discussions about ways students could take action toincrease peace in their communities. This day-long program helped educateand train dozens of new peacemakers.

How could I share my experiences with TPI?

Were always looking for content to use on our blog, facebook page, and

newsletter. Wed love to hear stories from our Regional Executive Directorsand volunteerspersonal stories about why you got involved with TPI andwhat it means to you, or stories from the field about successes youve had


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while teaching. If you submit something to us, wed be happy to publish it onour website or newsletter and give you credit for it.

How could I help TPI with research?

There are a few ways you can help TPI with research. First, you can help us by

analyzing the data you collect from the pre-test post-test results to figure outhow well our approach worked in the classes you taught. You can also help usby gathering data for research reports were working on currently. Contactour Research Director or your Senior Organizer for more information.

Documents

Teaching Peace Initiative Handbook