[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
 |
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
|
|
|
12.28.2001 10:39
Educating
tomorrow's
peacemakers
BY ELIZABETH ABBOTT
Journal Staff Writer
SOUTH KINGSTOWN _ It is 3:15 on the Thursday afternoon before Christmas and Robin Nelson looks tired. But why shouldn't she be? Nelson teaches fifth grade at the Wakefield Elementary School and she and her students have had quite a year.
In July, Nelson took 22 students to Birmingham, Ala., so they could see some of the historic landmarks of the civil rights movement. The trip, which was covered by a documentary filmmaker, complemented Nelson's classroom work on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the principles of nonviolence.
Then, in November, Channel 6 named the 44-year-old Nelson "Teacher of the Month," an honor that came with a plaque and a $100 prize. Shy by nature, Nelson found the attention somewhat disconcerting. But she was gratified by the fact that one of her students had nominated her for the award, she said.
Know this about Nelson: She loves teaching.
"I've never had a day in 11 years when I've woken up and didn't want to go to work," she said.
Know this, too: Even though the year 2001 was eventful in many ways, Nelson maintains that it wasn't particularly different from other years. Even with the trip to Birmingham?
"Every year is pretty special," said Nelson.
A Long Island native, Nelson earned her teaching degree at the University of Rhode Island and has been teaching at the Wakefield Elementary School ever since, bringing enthusiasm and originality to the arguably daunting task of informing young minds. Asked why she loves teaching, Nelson noted that every day is different. Every day presents a new challenge and a new opportunity to do something meaningful, she said.
Case in point: Last year, Nelson became intrigued with the teachings of King and the Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi, which are being taught by Bernard LaFayette Jr. at URI's Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies. After studying the principles of nonviolence herself, she began incorporating them into her classroom work, creating a curriculum that is novel and practical at the same time.
Noting that the state requires instruction in conflict resolution, "I'm giving the kids tools to use for the rest of their lives," said Nelson.
These tools are designed to help people resolve conflicts not only peaceably, but permanently, thereby helping to create a more peaceful world, she said.
In a book her students have compiled are drawings, poems and paintings to illustrate what they have learned about nonviolence. "Peace is like Sunshine, Spread the Warmth," one student wrote. "A place that is peaceful, without war, is our dream," wrote another.
In Birmingham, the students visited the church where four black girls died in 1963, victims of a bomb exploded by members of the Ku Klux Klan. They also toured Kelly Ingram Park, a city square memorialized for its violence, where the police used dogs, fire hoses and billy clubs to intimidate black marchers.
Eighteen parents accompanied the students, LaFayette and Nelson on their journey. Over a four-day bus tour that included a stop in Selma, Ala., LaFayette trained them in the principles of nonviolence so they can, in turn, teach others.
"We always do big projects," Nelson said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
Printer-Friendly Version
