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Kathy Sanford and Tim Hopper
In 2003 Canada watched American foreign policy lead to the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq. Children were, and continue to be, bombarded daily with television news images of bombings and destruction and the inflammatory rhetoric of a "war on terror." Through such events, what is a teacher supposed to tell her students? How can such events be interpreted and explained so as to resist future repetition of the tragedy of war?
With these concerns in mind the LAWWW (Learning and the World We Want) peace conference of 2003 wanted to find a way to connect with war-torn countries and to invite children from those countries to be a part of the conference. The authors of this paper developed the idea of an art exhibit based on the theme "The World We Want" with children's drawings from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Canada. The insight allowed the sincere, honest, and hopeful visions of children from these three countries to be connected and shared in one exhibit. The project attracted media attention with articles in local newspapers and coverage on local TV stations. The artwork stimulated for teachers, university professors, and children questions about democracy, meaningful learning, and the role of education in society.
Educational spaces are critical for understanding, discussing, and developing a sense of democracy wherein children see themselves as active agents. It is the responsibility of schools to create those spaces, to involve children and their communities, to involve even young children in taking action, to transcend boundaries created by language and political difference.
We need to create spaces in schools through which children might learn to see differently, hear voices of others, connect with the lives of others with different experiences, and collaboratively shape a new vision of the world. They/we cannot do this without the knowledge of the other. Schools are locations where with guidance and structural support provided by teachers, children can be enabled to connect with others throughout the world in a purposeful way. Through a range of communicative tools (mail, hand delivery, electronic media, telephone, video, travel) children can interact with each other in ways that break down barriers created by borders and by fear of difference in language, appearance, and belief systems. Schools are places for children to share, explore difference, support each others' learning, grow, and develop understandings in a community that reaches out to other children around the world.
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Democracy in a Globalized World: Children's Arts Exchange from a School/University Partnership