96 heritage for peace and reconciliation | manual for teacherContentsand securities, and the possibility of losing them, impede resolution. If the situationturns into a confrontation, the one who employs the commonly used techniques ofmaking jokes or snarling often gains the upper hand. Similarly, a variety of violent anduncontrolled emotions can sabotage any attempt at a constructive dialogue.tt Teaching tipSome tips for dealing with conflicts:1. Try to describe, as accurately and clearly as possible, what bothers you withoutattacking or judging the other.2. Choose the right moment, try to stay calm and be confident that the conflictwill be resolved.3. Focus on the conflict at hand; do not bring up other conflicts.4. Listen and be open-minded to the other party’s points of view; try to look forthings you have in common, rather than differences.5. Be creative with resolutions and try to compromise. Some conflicts are not easyto resolve and some may never disappear altogether.Knowledge and critical thinkingBuilding block:We help children to improve their judgement skills by stimulating critical thinkingand by asking questions. In addition, we teach them the necessity of acquiringknowledge before making judgements, and help them to interpret the informationthey receive through different types of media.There are many ways to pass on knowledge: courses, books, DVDs, videos, television,board games, internet, workshops, etc. In this respect, it is important that childrennot only get to know the facts, but also learn how to reflect on them before jumpingto conclusions, or, in this case, jumping to judgements. At school, every single classinfluences pupils’ thinking in a specific way. In a history class, for example, childrennot only learn about historical facts, but also how to think critically.In peace education, encouraging children to ask questions is essential for the stimulationof their critical capacity. It is important to make children aware of the fact thatour knowledge is always limited and biased, not only according to our own cultural
Contentseducating towards a better future97and societal backgrounds, but also according to our information sources. As the storyof the four blind men and the elephant tells us, 1 one person’s experience may be real,but is only part of reality, and can never encompass the entire truth.In fact, the whole truth is not known by anyone. Everyone knows but a little pieceof it. From different viewpoints, the world can look very different. Sometimes we aremanipulated, consciously or unconsciously. In any case, our news programmes offeronly a selection of the world’s events and stories, and for the most part, these are alsobiased by our Western way of thinking.Some people or organizations deceive us with half-truths or outright lies in order towin us over. One-sided and incomplete messages, propaganda, manipulation, gossipand prejudices can mislead us. In these situations we also discover the importance ofasking critical questions.tp Teaching practicef The children show interest in the past, present and future. The children learn thatthere are different reasons to be afraid, angry, happy or sad.Learning is a lifelong process that can take place anytime and anywhere. Philosophizingwith young people in a relaxed learning atmosphere is very stimulating. Thepupils do their own research, while their mentor listens and facilitates the research.Philosophizing with children is possible from an early age.The Antwerp city-funded preschool, ’t Vliegertje, for example, organized a philosophicalproject with their eldest toddlers. This project became an integrated way of learningabout underwater cultural heritage and peace education, as it was based on bothknowledge and empathy, adapted to today’s values. The project was also connected tothe national development objectives for kindergartens.Through group conversations about artefacts from underwater sites, the term ‘heritage’was defined more clearly. After a visit to the local MAS museum (Museum at theStream), links to other concepts were also established, mostly through the toddlers’1 In various versions of the tale, blind men touch an elephant to learn what it is like. Each feels a differentpart, such as the head or the tusk. They then compare impressions and completely disagree. In some versionsof the tale they end up in violent conflict, in others, they stop talking, start listening and collaborateto ‘see’ the full elephant. When a sighted man walks by and sees the entire elephant all at once, they alsolearn they are blind. While one’s subjective experience is true, it may not be the totality of truth.
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