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Kids Soar . . . on the Wings of a Dove

By Faye Marks

The highlight of my teaching career had been reached, I thought, when a second-grade organization I had begun with

a very small grant captured the attention of Jim Hunt, governor of North Carolina then and now. The organization was

called "Second Graders Against Violence" and won its share of recognition in the media because it addressed a timely and significant need and because Gov. Hunt came to Southwest Elementary School in High Point and met and praised all of the Second Graders Against Violence.

Imagine being seven years old and discussing guns and violence with the governor of the state! It was a great day for the children and for me; this was in 1994 and the governor was pushing for gun control and gun safety, for less violence in all forms. The next day children wearing hand-painted t-shirts with the slogan, "Use words, not weapons to solve problems" were pictured in local and statewide newspapers talking to the governor, shaking his hand, sitting on his lap. TV cameras had given them a mammoth share of attention the day before, and Gov. Hunt mentioned the children and their quest for nonviolence on several of his weekly television broadcasts on PBS.

So the successful culmination of a project could not have been better for the children. I was ecstatic because I knew that it was an experience the children and I, as well as the community and people across the state, would not soon forget. We continued the project into the next year or so, but the epitome had been reached, we had no new funds and by 1997-98 the program was virtually dwindling away.

I was nearing retirement, and because I had led many projects featuring community or state and national causes with both second and third graders I called Second Graders Against Violence my "swansong" in education. Little did I know that the best was yet to come. In the fall of 1997 the Peace and Social Concerns Committee of High Point Friends Meeting met to discuss how to use funds donated to the Meeting in memory of the mother and father of the donor. She had designated that if possible the funds were to be used to promote peace education in some way.

One of the committee members remembered Second Graders Against Violence and suggested that the committee earmark some of the funds for that project. When it was mentioned to Dave Kingrey, pastor of High Point Friends Meeting­where I am also a member­he enthusiastically endorsed bringing the suggestion to Monthly Meeting for approval. This was the beginning of a process by which $2000 was given to Southwest Guilford Elementary to be used during the 1997-98 school year for the continuance of Second Graders Against Violence.

It was decided on the school level that all five second grades­132 students­would participate in the project. A decision was also made to change the name of the organization to Students for a Better Tomorrow and to shift the emphasis to not only include nonviolence pursuits but teaching methods to implement peaceful resolutions to everyday situations within the school as well. The school received the funds from High Point Friends Meeting in January, and weekly meetings of Students for a Better Tomorrow began shortly afterward.

The funds allowed the purchase of blue and white sweatshirts for each child, with a dove of peace and the name of the organization on each shirt. Parents were asked to contribute a portion of the cost of the shirts so that more of the donated funds could be used for other parts of the project. This included the purchase of "Songs for Peacemakers," a curriculum guide and cassettes for a conflict resolution program for grades K­3; videos about animals that promoted the theme of peace, trophies and ribbons for a final awards ceremony, books, and the publication of spiral-bound books of student writing and artwork concerning the program. At the end of the year High Point Friends Meeting donated an additional $250 from memorial funds to have a wishing well built for the school, into which all students in the school will be able to throw coins during the next school year for donation to charitable causes within the community.

For this organization there was no governor's visit and no showers of media attention. Probably it was thought by the media to be the same organization that had received so much publicity in previous years, and in a sense it was. In another sense Students for a Better Tomorrow had its own mission. The need for peaceful conflict resolution and its application to school situations became a guiding principle of second grade life. Second Graders were heard using words from songs they had learned through the program to settle conflicts.

"Peacemakers talk about it, they don't fight about it"­words from one of the songs­began showing up in the students' writing, in the hallways and on the playground. "I'm sorry" became a familiar phrase as children went around humming the words to "Sorry," also a song they had learned during one of the weekly meetings.

Second grade teachers took turns presenting programs which inevitably involved the children themselves­singing, role playing, discussing, and sharing how peace had played a role in their lives during the week. A beautiful banner was designed and made for the children by a local resident and now occupies a prominent space in a hallway.

Younger and older children began to say they, too, would like to be members of Students for a Better Tomorrow. Parents attending an awards ceremony during the final week of the school year said that they wished there had been such an organization to help them when they were children. When two children from each class won "Peacemaker" trophies by vote of their classmates for displaying peacemaking qualities best during the year and when five other children received trophies for inspiring the peacemaker attitude in others, there was hardly a dry eye in the audience. Each child in the organization who was not awarded a trophy received a "Runner-up" ribbon.

It had been a wonderful program that had greatly influenced and enhanced the lives of 132 children, not only for the 1997-98 school year but hopefully for the rest of their lives. Still, a great opportunity for sharing the program with the community awaited the children. On Sunday, May 17, all of the children from the organization who could came to High Point Friends Meeting to share their message of love and peace with the congregation and community members. Although Dave Kingrey allowed me to share the pulpit with him that Sunday, it was the children who brought the real message.

They asked the Meeting to join their organization by repeating their pledge after them. Clerk Betty Jo Hayes was so impressed by the words of the pledge that she wrote the words on the bulletin and later used them to begin Monthly Meeting. It had been touching to hear over 350 adults and children in attendance at the Sunday worship service repeat these words in unison: "I promise to use kind words and understanding to settle conflicts. I promise to do all that I can to create a better tomorrow for my school and community."

The students sang their favorite songs to the congregation, "Peacemakers," "Sorry," and "Let There Be Peace on Earth." During the last song some of the children carried baskets of doves of peace, bookmarks and other items into the audience to distribute them to as many adults and children as they could before the song ended.

It is not a stretch of the imagination to say that parents and members of the Meeting in attendance that Sunday are still talking about the program months later. An outgrowth of that program was that the Peace and Social Concerns Committee and High Point Friends Meeting approved providing $1500 to fund the organization for another year.

I retired at the end of the past school year, and in reflection this program was the most fulfilling and had the most impact of any program in which I took part during my 34 years of teaching. One of the best "outreach aspects" of the program is also one the closest to my heart.

One of my students had experienced extreme difficulties with learning and­as usually follows­discipline, not only during the past year in second grade but during three other years of school. Students for a Better Tomorrow played a major role in his doing a complete turnaround during the latter part of the year­learning to read, to write with more clarity and to relate to other children and adults. He participated in the May 17 service at High Point Friends and was able to share the good things that had happened in his life recently. When he faltered in a low monotone, his friends in the class helped him tell his story.

High Point Friends Meeting has now become the child's personal "Dove of Peace," literally taking him under its wings. To assure that he continues his quest for a "Better Tomorrow," the meeting­along with the Alice Paige White Sunday School class­has allocated funds to send him to Sylvan Learning Center this summer. He is now enrolled and doing well, getting better prepared for third grade.

This is surely what the Friends ministry is about: touching lives not just with words but with tangible help when needed. When Dave Kingrey spoke to the congregation about Students for a Better Tomorrow, he emphasized from the scriptures that "a little child shall lead them."

He reminded us all that God said it best.

Faye Marks is a member of High Point Friends in North Carolina Yearly Meeting.

Copyright (c) 1998 Friends United Meeting

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