Teaching to spread peace

What can children in Laguna Beach teach children in Nepal about peace? Rosalind Russell, Laguna’s fondly named “goat lady,” asked her teacher friends for help in designing a curriculum for the new school she helps fund in rural Nepal “” named, coincidentally, Top of the World School of Nepal.

The Nepal school has more than 200 children between the ages of 7 and 18, and as many as 400 semi-literate adults, according to Russell. She requested ideas for teaching about peace that could be presented in 10 minutes or less.

Russell’s goal is to put together at least 600 lesson plans that combine a spoken lesson from the teacher with an interactive exercise. The peace lessons will augment the students’ regular daily education programs and help broaden their thinking, Russell explained.

Laia Hansen’s third- and fourth-grade class at the Laguna Beach Community Learning Center took Russell’s challenge and wrote about their favorite “peace tools,” which they use regularly in and outside the classroom.

They wrote a how-to for each strategy, bound their work into a book, then invited “the goat lady” to the campus at Top of the World Elementary School to give her the book and demonstrate their methods.

The students explained a variety of helpful techniques for getting a grip on one’s thoughts and emotions. Fourth-grader Avalon Cassard showed Russell the “pretzel twist,” a breath control and arm-crossing twist that integrates both hemispheres of the brain.

The “heart lock-in,” as described by Aby Jaeger, is an imaginary journey into the heart that beams loving feelings first to oneself, then out to the rest of the world.

Liv Mitchell and Owen McMurray showed Russell the “energy ball,” good for centering one’s thoughts and calming the mind.

“Close your eyes, rub your hands together, and imagine a ball of energy between them. Do this several times and you will begin to feel two magnetic poles,” Owen said.

“You can send the energy out to other people or use it to recharge yourself,” Liv added.

Sky Kelly described his simple but effective technique for handling conflict as “whoever’s holding the pillow.” In a group or family situation, no one can speak except the person holding the pillow.

“Everyone gets to say what they need to say without getting interrupted,” Sky explained.

Nils Wilson and Joe Laptin noted that escaping into a quiet spot with a book helps them relax and get rid of grumpiness, thus creating peaceful feelings.

At the end of the demonstrations, Russell thanked the children and their teacher. “These methods will be terrific in helping the Nepalese children to feel safer, and counter the fearful warring conditions of that country.”

In turn, she provided the Laguna students with a window on her experiences in Nepal.

“There is no electricity, no computers,” she told the class. “I don’t often see girls in school because they aren’t encouraged to go to school. But we are working to change that. Girls can attend Nepal’s Top of the World School for free, while boys pay a modest fee.

“Nepalese culture is different from ours “” you will often see men holding hands, but girls don’t get physically close. They aren’t natural huggers, but they’re learning,” said Russell. “I just grab them and hug them, and they’re beginning to hug back. Even the men, who do a sort of A-frame hug or pat each other like a dog, are catching on.”

Nepal is one of the world’s poorest countries; most residents earn less than $1 a day. Russell’s R Star Ministries/Foundation helps the women and children of rural Nepal through goat-giving and micro-loans. With donations, Russell travels to Nepal to buy goats that are pregnant or ready for breeding, and delivers two goats to each woman in a selected village as a way to pull families out of poverty.

Russell wants to return to Nepal in early 2009 to give goats to women in two more villages. Each goat costs $200 to purchase and place. For more information or to request Russell as a speaker before a group or club, call (949) 497-2545 or visit www.rstarministries.org.

The Community Learning Center, an alternative school within the Laguna Beach Unified School District, is on the Top of the World Elementary School campus. Now in its 25th year, Community Learning Center serves a total of 40 children in two classrooms in grades 1-4 with an educational style that seeks to foster a partnership among parents, students, teachers and the community. For more information, visit www.lbclc.org.