Granny Peace Brigade -
Twice a year, at New York City high schools, volunteers distribute non-military informational flyers to parents and students during parent teacher conference night. Following is the report for the November 5, 2014 action.
As volunteers handed out flyers to parents and students entering high schools for a meeting with teachers, the White House was deciding to send 1500 more troops to Iraq.
The information being shared with parents includes Non-Military Options for Life After High School as well as Questions to Ask and Points to Consider Before You Enlist.
How very important this action continues to be as wars are endless and new military recruits are needed. For the military - where best to look than in the high schools.
To respond, we're at high schools to counter military promotions and offer pro-peace alternatives.
At a couple of schools, the Question to Ask Before You Enlist flyer was received with greater interest than in the past. A volunteer noted that it seemed avoiding the military was as important to parents as education after high school for their child. I met with a mother who was thankful for that flyer and noted that the questions posed and answers provided were very pertinent. “Few kids know what enlistment really means. I want to show this to a few boys I know.”
In Staten Island, 3 students from a sociology class joined the volunteers at New Dorp High School. It was their first time doing a street action, and they were effective in making a difference by adding their voice to the conversation. Youth helping to build the movement as apprentice activists.
Members of the Robotics team at Murry Bergtraum Campus were psyched over the Options flyer. Their plans are focused on college. While speaking with the guidance counselor at this high school, she mentioned that career counseling is the last item on her agenda. A shortage of guidance counselors leaves many students in the dark concerning future goals and non-military options. She took our handouts as well.
All those who volunteered, although they had little time for conversation with parents, made a difference. It is appreciated when someone cares about their child's future, is willing to stand in front of a high school, and generously reaches out with educational and informational advice that they rarely receive.
Feel free to download our flyers and give them to friends, students, and teenagers you meet along the way. You never know – you may well provide the information they are seeking and change their future direction. Check out: www.grannypeacebrigade.org, Counter-Recruitment page, scroll to the end of the page for links to the Options & Questions to Ask documents.
Many thanks to all the volunteers - in Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island.
Barbara Harris
Coordinator
Granny Peace Brigade - Counter Recruitment
