The Tall Girl Teaches: Peace Rules

My rules are made to be followed. It was hard at first, but by the end of the year all of my students could recite my rules, which we reviewed at the beginning of each class. If I forgot to go over them, they reminded me. 

"Teacher, the rules, the rules!" And 28 little voices would recite:

Obey the teacher

Sit properly

Be quiet

Raise your hand

Be respectful

Be helpful

MYOB - Mind Your Own Business

A disciplined classroom is a happy, functional classroom. Quiet, kind, cooperative children are pleasant to be around and learn better than loud, fighting, hooligans. Classes go well when everyone follows the rules. We have fun. We laugh and play games, and when things start to get out of hand, we come back to the rules. They ground us. They guide us. 

Which got me thinking.

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The kids I teach are growing up in a world, and I grew up  in a world, and my parents grew up in a world, and my  grandparents grew up in a world -you see where I'm going  with this? - at war. Here I am, telling kids it's important to  be respectful and to help your neighbour and when they go home, they see adults doing otherwise on TV. World  leaders name calling, bossing, not getting involved  because, well, it's less messy. And I feel proud that my  little band does follow The Rules, because maybe, I hope  with all my heart, these rules will become values that  guide them as they grow.

I don't believe war is truly human nature. Habit, yes, but  nature? Not a chance.

World peace and classroom rules, namely Be respectful,  Be helpful, and MYOB. 

Easy rules to put into practice. 

So I wonder, if we could all just do those three things, could we finally be a world at peace?