HS+International+Relations+2010

CAC Peace Day assembly 2010, September 21st.
Please write a response to our activities related to Peace Day. Comment on the work with the 3rd graders and what you enjoyed about it, how you may do things differently, what you feel each group learned. Regarding the Peace One Day films, comment on the work of the organization and Jeremy Gilley in particular, the use of celebrities, media and advertising in getting the message over. Finally explain your personal response, awareness and commitment to peace in general. How has your understanding of the concept of peace changed or developed? What are your hopes and predictions for peace day in the future- globally and at CAC?

10 points are available for this response and will be given based on covering most of what is asked for, thoughtful responses, clarity in writing, careful editing and completion by class on Tuesday.



International Relations class and 3rd grade collaborate on learning about nuclear proliferation
Scott Kim

I enjoyed working with the third graders and I found it very interesting in many ways. What I enjoyed the most was seeing the third graders' responses after my group's presentation. We tried to make the presentation comprehensible and not too abstract for the kids to understand. At the end, I felt like the third graders learned new information about this issue. I think involving students in the presentation was a very good idea. Maybe if I were to do the project again, I could perhaps prepare a skit because I think they can focus better. Also, I think preparing a small quiz at the end of the presentation would be a good idea if time allowed because taking a short and easy quiz will be a good way to quickly check whether they understood the material or not. If they didn't, they could learn it from getting some questions wrong in the quiz. I learned the importance of peace in this project through a very unique way. Talking with the kids about peace actually gave me chance to really think about the pure meaning of peace apart from very academic way as in politics or international relations. Watching Peace One Day film was another good experience because I got to learn about Jeremy Gilley who I found to be very interesting. Unlike some critics who claim that he is a naïve dreamer, I think his work is very meaningful because the creation of such day increases people's awareness of peace. This kind of event will not immediately end a war in a certain country or unite everyone together. However, I think that simply giving them a chance to ponder about peace for few minutes is already a success. I realized that Jeremy Gilley and Peace One Day organization actually try to raise awareness through many interesting ways like organizing concerts and using celebrities. I think using celebrities may attract lots of attention from media and public, so it will be a very good initial step to achieve Jeremy Giley's goal. Likewise, involving multinational companies like coca-cola can lead to certain problems. Excessive involvement of celebrities and multinational companies could actually distort Jeremy Gilley's original purposes because it will actually turn peace day into a commercial event that will benefit them. Some people will feel like this is a mere plot to give profit to someone and this is definitely not good. What I enjoyed the most is that by approaching peace in a very unique manner, like outdoor assembly and group project with the third graders. Usually, I have recently been busy with school and could not really afford to pay any attention to peace. However, this project made me feel refreshed and I thought this project gave me an opportunity to sit down and think seriously about peace for a while and how it really applies to us. My concept of peace didn't really change, but I think now I get to value it much more than before.

KENT GRIMES! Our visits with the third graders were very entertaining and quite interesting. I enjoyed the paper cranes and learning about Sadako and the 1,000 paper cranes. I found it fun learning the about nuclear weapons and now I have another point of view regarding the drop of the bomb in Japan. Jeremy Gilley is an extraordinary person and has accomplished what seemed impossible. Now he works to make the peace day what he believes it should be. The movies showed what had gone on in the actual campaigns for the international day of peace. Gilley used celebrities to attract media attention; celebrities are in the heart of the media. Celebrities are the roll models of the world and we all look up to them. I believe that a peace in the world is possible but I have my own opinion about whether it is good or bad.

Cole Dunahay September 26, 2010 Peace Day and Third grade project Reflection:

I think the third graders project was very well done, I really think that both groups walked away with a deeper understanding of peace and what it means to them. I like the fact that we worked with them and it wasnt just with our class. It made us want to work harder to made sure that they learned something from it. As far as suggestions I dont have many because overall I liked the project. I think the International Relations class should also have another class where they teach the kids about peace along with another class on the nuclear bombings of the cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. I think if we taught them more about peace and how it applies to them then it might be a little bit more educational. Regarding Jeremey Gilleys push for Peace One Day, I think it is completley possible for one day but I dont think there can always be peace. I dont have any pronblems with the way he approached the matter. some people say the use of celebrities such as Jude Law or Anglina Jolie is wrong. I disagree. These "celebrities" are normal people that do care about it and thats why they are getting so interested in the push for Peace one Day. My view of peace has changed due to all of the confilct/resolution videos we have watched such as the Plaestinian-Israeli conflict and the two Peace One Day vidoes. I think we, as in the people of the whole world can decrease the violence and spread of hatred but I do not think that we will ever reach a point where the whole world is peaceful. I think the Peace One Day campaign helps because then we can do things such as the vacinations for children, etc. This is a good thing btu I dont think we will ever reach overall peace.

Jenna Stahl 9/26/10 Peace Day Reflection

I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with the third graders. I find them very entertaining and they were all very knowledgeable about things I didn’t know at that age. I think we all walked away from the experience with new knowledge. I really enjoyed everything we did with the kids, especially just getting to know them and some of their personalities. The story of Sadako was very interesting and the kids were very proud of their work, which made it more important. In the coming years I would emphasize the importance peace to the children just a bit more. These kids are the future and what they learn now will stick with them and they can take it and influence the world with it later on. Watching the Peace One Day films were very inspiring. Jeremy persevered through every problem that was handed to him and the outcome was so rewarding. I think it’s very important to have a day set aside where people can accomplish things without worrying about getting killed, and hopefully it will continue through the years. I think by using public figures or ‘celebrities’ is legitimate way of getting people’s attention. People who look up to Angelina & Jude will mimic their doings. At the rate Jeremy was going without the two of them, Peace One Day would never have caught on around the world. Celebrities influence the people of the world and Jeremy caught on to that and used it to it’s fullest potential. Although I admire Jeremy’s efforts, I think it will be incredibly difficult to achieve complete peace around the world in the future. I do believe we can limit conflict, but their will always be friction around the world to some extent. CAC holds an assembly so we can show the world what we want. But peace won’t be accomplished by just a group of kids sitting on a field, yes it inspires people, but it’s not enough. Peace won’t be accomplished until the kids on the field go out and act upon what they wish to see. Wes Barton Sun 26, '10

It was an amazing experience meeting with the third graders and I think that both us and them learned a lot from one another. I think my favorite part was how all of us, despite our cultural differences, learned so much and could so easily transcend cultural barriers. I think that if we could remember that idealism, that innocence, of youth that they had then peace would not only be possible, but assured. I think we all learned a lot about attempts to create peace, but, more importantly, about humans. I think we all gained a greater appreciation for just how valuable peace really is. I really enjoyed the peace one day films; it was inspiring to see the journey that Jeremy Gilley took and that he kept going no matter how hopeless things seemed at times. It was also interesting to see how easily people are influenced by celebrity opinion. It's disturbing that the people with the most influence are those who generally make for the worst examples. Sure we can say we want peace. We can go around convincing ourselves and those around us that we want peace. There will be no peace in the world until we make peace a part of our daily lives, until we dedicate our very existence to love and not hate.

Deirdre Delaney 26/09/10

I enjoyed our work with the third graders because it gave us a chance to teach and be taught in a different way. It was interesting talking to them, making the cranes and listening to them speak. I also liked how the presentations were geared towards children, it was a nice change from the long presentations we usually need to give, and I think the kids had fun with it. I believe that Jeremy Gilley is a very determined person, and that he is a good example of one person who did make a difference. I think that Gilley’s use of celebrities to advertise Peace Day was effective, and that it would have taken a lot longer to make the day as widespread as it is without the use of celebrities. Although I believe that world peace is something that should be strived for, I don’t believe that it is possible to have complete peace. Humanity in general does not act much differently from young children; even though they know that being nice to other people is a good thing, and that fighting doesn’t really benefit anyone much, they still fight. Maybe in the future the conflicts can be fewer and farther between, but one day of peace is a good start and an opportunity to help many people.

Megan Coutts 27/09/10

I think that Peace Day this was very successful as from my point of view it was well organized, smoothly run and efficiently executed. I liked the different activities that were performed exhibiting the diversity of our school and the wide range of knowledge from around the world that is gathered in our CAC community. I enjoyed working with the third graders, as I believe it gave us a chance to hear the views of the third graders. I think that next time there should not be as much lecturing from us in terms of the history, and other nuclear information as the short attention span of the kids will cause them to lose focus. We should do more interactive things to grasp and maintain their attention throughout the whole presentation, therefore avoiding any misinterpretation of facts by students only hearing parts of what is being said. I think this was a good lesson for us to learn as we had the opportunity to learn how to interact with younger children and hear their opinions. We were able to see things from their level of knowledge, which is interesting in terms of hearing their thought, opinions and reason on this subject. In terms of the ‘Peace One Day’ film I think that once a celebrity is involved the public automatically pays more attention than before as the celebrity attracts them to the cause. Also through the involvement of a celebrity it is seen as ‘cool’ leading to increased involvement from the public. If the types of media and advertising are catchy and attractive then they will be more likely to be read, listened to or watched. If they are too wordy people will not be bothered to pay attention, therefore the most successful advertisements are those that are quick and to the point.I think that the idea of having a global day of peace is a great idea as it is an event that can be mutually shared worldwide. I think that by having one day, people at war have the opportunity to observe peace maybe influencing them to decrease their acts of violence, hatred and terror. Awareness has been raised worldwide as more and more nations are partaking in the Day of Peace on September 21st. Although awareness can be spread to further advance the amount of people involved on this day. By celebrating peace on day I hope that people will be influenced to more permanently commit to peace every day. My range for different aspects of peace has surely broadened in terms of widening my scope of things that I considered being features of keeping peace. My understanding has not changed but has developed to a wider extent. In terms of the future, I hope that peace will spread to more people and more countries world wide to raise awareness and become committed. I hope that people that have grown up in areas of violence and torment will one day have to opportunity to live life in peace. As far as CAC goes, I hope that Peace Day will continue to be celebrated every 21st of September and a whole school. Maybe there can be more activities throughout the day and/or week of the 21st in order to raise more awareness to students as well as faculty on campus.

Carlo Darouni

I really enjoyed the work with the 3rd graders, and working with them a great success, maybe next time we would try to do some sort of class video, rather than just presenting, because by the end they seemed pretty bored and wanted to see the you tube video. Maybe something more simple, symbolic, non-informational, and much more picturesque. I learned how to do Origami's, a bit more about the nuclear bombs, but i did not learn much about the book they're reading! J.G is a very brave yet stubborn guy. Thanks to his hard work and extreme stubborn approach, and emphasize on peace one day, he was able to become recognized to the public. Sadly he could not have done it without Jude Law or Angelina Jolie, which then made journalist go to his meetings and discussions and ultimately going on the media. If it wasn't for the celebrities involvement Peace one day might have not even existed. (Sad) Without forgetting the involvement and funding from Coca- Cola, that actually helped his organization survive, because if it wasn't for them... our International relation's class might not have even working on it at this very moment. Now I am aware that there is a peace day, and of course respect it everywhere, even at school. My concept of peace now is not just a cease fire or an agreement between two countries, but the end of human suffering, and hatred. Well I hope that one peace day can become a week, or a holiday. I mean everyone can take a break! Even from war, I bet that the Taliban also enjoyed this break from war during that one day, and chilled in their caves.

Jon Olsen 9/27/10

Our visits with the third graders gave us the ability to see peace through younger eyes. I really enjoyed working with them, talking about peace, and demonstrating our work towards peace. It was so hard to believe that we were once that age. Writing what peace was, learning about Sadako and her 1000 paper cranes, and then folding paper cranes was very fun and I feel I learned a lot from the third graders. Jeremy Gilley is also an inspiration to me. I love how he had a dream, followed it, and wouldn’t quit when someone didn’t believe. He stood up for his beliefs and goals and what he thought was right. I had no idea what the storey was behind Peace Day, but I now see the importance and significance of it. The spread of Peace Day through the media was amazing, and it was amazing to see the process of building up from nothing. I now understand more about peace and the real conflict within our world community. It is important to fight for peace no matter what, even if it’s only for 1 out of 365 days.

Helmy Tatanaki Meeting with the third grade was very different and made us look differently at these kids. At first we expected to find people who wouldn’t understand so much, but quite surprisingly they were fully aware of the nuclear weapon and some of them about how it even works and its affects. I enjoyed giving them a presentation in a less formal manner without using so much information and strong words. The differences I would want to see is that maybe we could have an extra day with them to go beyond nuclear weapons and actually talk more about peace and what they have to say after presenting us with the information that they did. I think they all learned a lot about the nuclear issue around the world, which can help them in the future as they already have the background information although I think one of them misunderstood a point. The peace one day films made me look at some things in life now differently then usually. I am not able to think of anything as IMPOSSIBLLE to achieve especially after what he has achieved. It also taught me to never give up, because maybe one day what you are aiming for will actually take place. I think the organisation is a very strong one that actually will help the people around the world, as its mission is realistic and possible as many people wish for such a day to take place. Jeremy Gilley was very smart in his use of celebrities to publicize his attempt to spread peace day around the world through the media. He at first tried doing this on his own; to get the attention only through his actions and the mission of his project, but it wasn’t as successful despite all his efforts. When he finally uses celebrities we saw that there was a drastic change. As a person living in the world we are in today my contribution to peace must be as much as possible. It is all of our expectations now to actually help as much as possible, even if it is to just celebrate and unite for this one-day all together. I want to commit to peace in general, but mainly through ensuring it happens in my community and with the people around me. Because of this I joined the peace club because I want to try my hardest to make sure that peace is all around us, even if only in our community, because one day someone from our community will grow to be a big figure around the world capable of helping peace in general. My understanding of peace has not changed much but it developed to a better understanding. The most important thing I understood is before we can have a world filled of peace, we must first try and create one day after the other where peace is present so we can move on. For peace day at CAC I hope that it is given more attention. I think that every student in the school should make some contribution to making it happen from talking in front of people to arranging the area where people stand. I also would love to one day see that the school as a whole is given the privilege to watch both of Jeremy Gilley’s movies as it is truly touching and moving. As a whole I hope that peace day is actually seen present in every country in the world, and hopefully in the near future this day changes from one day, to five, to ten, to 50 to the whole year! Mo Rshaidat

Working with the third graders was a very interesting experience. I had a totally different idea of what the results were going to be. I thought that they were not going to be as smart as I presumed. Now I have a totally different view of what third grade students are like and I really that experience. The topic of nuclear weapons was a very tough topic to teach the third graders about. They understood the main points, which was very could, however I believe that in the future more explanation should be told to them so that they will know exactly what is happening. Because they might have great imaginations and they might misinterpret what we say about nuclear weapons. Our International Relation class learned many things from the third graders such as the story of Sadaku and making cranes. They learned many things from us but I think it was a bit boring for them just to listen to us talk and give presentations. They were more into the hands on activities.

Watching the Peace One Day films was a great experience because I never knew that there was such a long process on getting this special day on the calendar. I learned many new things about getting this day together. By watching these films, I can interpret that Jeremy Gilley and his organization went through a lot of work to achieve this international day of peace. Using celebrities was a great idea because when people see a celebrity doing something they follow them. Celebrities some what have the power to lead the way, and it was a great idea to use them on his quest. Using media and advertisements demonstrated to get the message over to the public. For instance, using coke cans to send a message was a very wise idea. Furthermore, by making this film people can understand how the creation of peace day came and how they should celebrate it.

I agree with all of Jeremy Gilles’ efforts on making world peace, however I doubt that the whole world will ever be in total peace. There is always going to be tension between people and our nation that’s how life is and it will remain that way. I believe that having peace day helps and gives us time to think about what is happening. We as the whole population can try to limit our conflicts but they will never disappear. To achieve world peace we all have to be in it together and show the world what we believe.

Amir Abdel-Aal

I really enjoyed working with the third greaters, I feel it was a success and should be repeated again. The thing I enjoyed most was seeing how their opinions changed after we gave them the information about the Bomb. I first thought that they would all think the bomb is bad, however some of them had different opinions which was good. They seemed to understand everything we told them, I initially thought it would be like teaching kinder gardeners, however they were smart and attentive. I think we should have simplified the topic a bit more because some of them began to doze off after a set amount of time. The main points should have been addressed in a simpler and more visual way and maybe even interactive.

I think because Jeremy Gilly was an actor himself, he understood the fame and what he should have been doing to push his cause forward, his organization did a great job of manifesting the right celebrates and the right fundraisers and benefit concerts in order to achieve his desired results. Jeremy did not just go to celebrates but also respected well known people such as the UN SG and the Dolli Lama.

Peace one day is achievable, peace for maybe a week and a month is achievable. I do not think Peace for anything above a year is achievable because Mankind is not used to settling arguements without violence. It is not in our nature because once we become aggressive, it is hard to stop us from going back.