Tag: peace

Posted on

Teaching empathy in schools

 Restorative justice is a concept for helping students develop empathy and social concern. Today’s New York Times carries the story excerpted below on the topic:

“There is little down time in Eric Butler’s classroom.“My daddy got arrested this morning,” Mercedes Morgan, a distraught senior, told the students gathered there.

“Mr. Butler’s mission is to help defuse grenades of conflict at Ralph J. Bunche High School, the end of the line for students with a history of getting into trouble. He is the school’s coordinator for restorative justice, a program increasingly offered in schools seeking an alternative to “zero tolerance” policies like suspension and expulsion.

“The approach now taking root in 21 Oakland schools, and in Chicago, Denver and Portland, Ore., tries to nip problems and violence in the bud by forging closer, franker relationships among students, teachers and administrators. It encourages young people to come up with meaningful reparations for their wrongdoing while challenging them to develop empathy for one another through “talking circles” led by facilitators like Mr. Butler. Continue reading “Teaching empathy in schools”

Posted on

Say what? Europe wins the Nobel Prize

The European Union has accepted the Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Oslo’s City Hall, despite criticism from past winners that the bloc is based on “military power”.

A number of Europena leaders were in attendance, including Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, and Francois Hollande, the French president, who were seated beside each other.

The prize was received jointly by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Parliament President Martin Schulz and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

The prize was awarded for the stability and democracy brought to the continent more than five decades after two world wars. Continue reading “Say what? Europe wins the Nobel Prize”

Posted on

68 nobel winners endorse Obama

“If you believe, as we do, that America’s future is bound in essential ways to science and innovation, we urge you to join us in working to ensure the reelection of President Obama. “ So reads, “An Open Letter to the American People” in which 68 Nobel Prize winners in different scientific fields have come out and openly endorsed the Democratic candidate for another four years in office.

Recall that in 2009 Obama himself won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to improve global cooperation and non-violence. Here’s how the letter begins: “America’s economic future, the quality of our health, and the quality of our environment depend on our ability to continue America’s proud legacy of discovery and invention. As winners of the Nobel Prizes in science, Continue reading “68 nobel winners endorse Obama”