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: Peter G. Anderheggen; 06 September 2017; 12 November 2018; Hits: 756

Connecticut Peace Group Engages Students with a Peace Wheel

Peter G. Anderheggen | Originally published in Draft NOtices - August/September, 2017

Winsted Area Peace Action has been visiting high schools in northwestern Connecticut for at least ten years. The purpose of our visits has been to introduce and discuss with students alternative methods of service to the country and non-military means of earning money after high school. Our goal is to bring some contrast to the appeal of the military, which spends many millions of dollars in its recruiting efforts. We make information available on such organizations as AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, Peace Brigades International and Heifer International, all of which take people who are age 18 or older.

We are usually invited during the lunch periods, often with a table set up in the vicinity of the cafeteria. There are several lunch sessions and invariably the students arrive in droves, hungry and eager to visit with friends. Our challenge is to present something that catches their eyes and engages them.

About five years ago, one of our members who was carrying out research for a book, Seth Kershner, went to Austin, Texas, and visited a high school along with Sustainable Options for Youth (SOY). He saw how a peace wheel could be effectively used to attract students to a table. The wheel intrigued our members and we ordered one from Thomas Heikkala, a Vietnam veteran and skilled carpenter who was one of the founding members of SOY.

NNOMY at the 2017 VFP Education Not Militarization Convention in Chicago

Education Not Militarization

The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth will be participating in the 2017 Veterans For Peace National Convention in Chicago August 11th, 2017. Located at the beautiful and historic Palmer House Hotel, veterans and allies will gather to discuss "Education Not Militarization". Registration begins on Wednesday, August 9th and ends on August 13th with a benefit concert by Jackson Browne. The week will be filled with amazing workshops, discussions, community and music.

NNOMY will be presenting a Mini Plenary workshop between 1:30 and 3:00pm in the Spire meeting room on Friday, August 11th 2017 with the theme, Education Not Militarization: The Nuts and Bolts of Pursuing Policy Changes to Counter Recruitment and Demilitarize Schools.

In the Hancock room, at 3:15 to 4:45pm NNOMY will conduct the workshop, Education Not Militarization: Educating students and countering military recruitment inside the schools, with multiple presenters. Please be on time so we can cover all the materials and have time for questions.

Indiana school visitors counter military recruiting

Mary E. Klassen -

Wendell Wiebe-Powell talks with students at Concord High School. He and other members of Elkhart Advocates for Peace and Justice are taking a message of peace to the schools and providing information about alternatives to military service. — Elkhart Advocates for Peace and Justice Because the U.S. military actively recruits in public schools, Elkhart Advocates for Peace and Justice is working to bring a counter message.

“Nurturing Peace in our Community Schools” takes an emphasis on peace education into school lunchrooms at three high schools: Elkhart Central, Elkhart Memorial and Concord.

“Our objective is for students to know about a wide range of information from alternative, peace-orientated sources before they make a dramatically life-changing decision to sign up for military service,” said Wendell Wiebe-Powell, one of the leaders of the counter-recruiting effort.

Fellow member Jorge Vielman notes that one doesn’t have to serve in the military to be a good citizen.

“Working at peace is an option that the nation doesn’t present to young people,” he said.

The volunteers who spend time at a “Peace Education Table” during lunch periods emphasize what they are for more than what they are against. Wiebe-Powell encourages volunteers to let the students know they respect those who serve in the military but want students to be aware of alternative information, perspectives and peace-oriented opportunities.

Many students are concerned about how they will pay for a college education, so one of the volunteers’ goals is to share information. They talk about alternatives for funding higher education and career and volunteer service opportunities outside of the military. They also share information about the realities of military service and war that military recruiters do not tell students.

“We’re trying to show them options they haven’t known about before,” Louise Claassen said.

At the table, labeled with a banner saying “A different way to serve,” volunteers visit with students, answer questions and provide handouts with information. They also test students’ interest in creating a peace club in their school. Since the start of the effort a year ago, more than 50 students in the three schools have expressed interest in being part of a peace club.