A generous grant of US$47,000 from the Rotary Foundation will be used by Satellite Rotary E-Club – sponsored by the Rotary Club of Ajijic – over 18 months to kick off a major anti-violence education and conflict resolution project to support the Humane Education Alliance.
The initiative will build on a national plea to reduce violence in Mexican public schools by introducing an effective curriculum, training existing teachers to implement it on their own, and including anti-violence and anti-bullying in the pre-service training of new teachers.
Although there are federal outlines of a curriculum for teachers to handle violence and bullying, and there are private schools that train teachers in conflict resolution, no money has been allocated for the curriculum or training of teachers in public schools.
The Humane Education Alliance, operating under the umbrella of the non-profit organizations Lakeside Friends of the Animals, La Tienda de la Ciencia (The Science Tent) and Mariposa Project/Butterflies en Mexico, has been active since 2011, trying to minimize the problem of bullying in schools, families and the community.
Their collective efforts resulted in a “Guardians of the Planet” curriculum, a pilot program for 43 schools in the lakeside area, approved by the Jalisco Education Department in 2013.
This highly successful pilot, part of an overall program that focuses on anti-violence education and conflict resolution, prompted parents, teachers, and administrators to voice two things. First, to train teachers in public schools to implement the curriculum independently, and second to incorporate this training into university programs to prepare future teachers in Mexico.
The Humane Education Alliance will continue this year with its “Guardians of the Planet” program during school hours, as well as at weekends and during the summer vacation. Events take the form of fun activities and workshops in local parks and plazas, and on malecons in the Lakeside area.
The events are designed for children aged 7-11, but also involve discussions with parents and other family members. The aim is to promote awareness about how to live with and behave responsibly towards animals, the environment, and each other.
To support the message of protecting the planet, the organizers use all kinds of recycled materials that they collect from local businesses to create art work. By instilling fundamental human values with these activities such as respect, non-violence, justice and personal responsibility, children, especially those who come from challenging environments, learn empathy building skills, self-esteem, how to utilize their instinctive love for animals, and how to think critically.
Trainers have been hired and workshops have started. “Peace Maps” will be painted on Lakeside schools playgrounds. A Peace Map is a conflict resolving and prevention game to teach children who have a conflict with each other effective ways to solve their issue, and to prevent problems in the future. Volunteers to assist with painting the wheels will be needed and much appreciated.
The Rotary grant has been specifically and carefully structured and represents a breakthrough in the efforts to build a culture of peace at Lakeside, representatives of the organization concurr.
For more information about the activities of the Humane Education Alliance, visit Alianza por una Educación Humanitaria on Facebook, or contact Bernadine Janzen, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..">This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..