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Educator spreads message of peace during summer travels |
| By
Roxanne Ring |
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Sep 18, 2007 |
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Dr. Dale Snauwaert, associate professor of philosophy of education in the Department of Educational Foundations and Leadership, traveled the world this summer. He shared his expertise on peace education in Costa Rica, China and Spain.
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| Snauwaert in the Forbidden City in Beijing |
“It was a personally and professionally enriching summer,” Snauwaert said of his globe hopping.
In May, Snauwaert led a group of seven UT graduate students to the United Nations-mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica. He and David Ragland, UT doctoral student in philosophy of education, team-taught a course titled Global and Philosophical Issues in Peace Education for UT and University for Peace students.
“The course focused on the principles of the Earth Charter as a philosophical framework for peace education,” Snauwaert said. “The Earth Charter is a framework of cosmopolitan and environmental ethical principles formed through cross-cultural dialogue and endorsed by the United Nations. It was recently adopted by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization as the ethical and educational framework for the Decade of Sustainable Development.”
As part of the course, the class visited a successful inner-city school for economically disadvantaged students; the school’s curriculum is based upon the principles of the Earth Charter. The group also visited the Caribbean coast and met with leaders of the Marcus Garvey Center in Limon.
“The experience in Costa Rica was deeply enriching for all, both intellectually and personally,” Snauwaert said.
In June, Snauwaert was part of a UT delegation to China. The delegation explored cooperative relationships, faculty and student exchanges, and research and program offerings with Chinese universities. They visited six cities, including Qinhuangdao, home of Yanshan University, the institution that signed a formal agreement for reciprocal campuses with UT. Snauwaert gave four public lectures on the “Philosophy of American Education.”
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| Snauwaert in Tiananmen Square |
“The lectures emphasized the importance of an education devoted to the liberation of the mind and critical thinking,” he said. “I think this philosophical perspective was well-received by the Chinese students who are living through a period of profound change in their society.”
In July, Snauwaert was among 70 peace scholars and educators who attended the International Institute on Peace Education in the Basque country in Spain.
“The Basque people are a linguistic and cultural minority in Spain with a long history of struggle for equal rights in the face of violence and injustice,” Snauwaert said. “The provincial government of the Basque country, in cooperation with nongovernmental organizations, has developed a plan for a comprehensive peace and human rights education in public schools and in informal educational settings throughout the province. The institute included discussions with government officials, societal leaders, citizens and educators concerning the structure and implementation of the plan.”
Snauwaert conducted a workshop on the importance and practice of methods of self-transformation.
In August, Snauwaert attended the International Institute on Peace Education’s 25th anniversary celebration at the United Nations in New York. The event brought together 300 international peace educators, scholars, activists and UN officials to discuss the progress of the field of international peace studies and peace education.
“The institute at the UN was both a celebration and assessment of the field of peace education. It was inspiring to reflect on the impact that [peace educator] Betty Reardon has had on the development of the field and her impact on so many lives.”
Snauwaert’s summer travels highlight the transformative power of international and cross-cultural experience as well as the importance of an education for peace, justice and democracy.
“Being immersed in a different culture challenges our basic assumptions about the world; it is a potent stimulus for self-reflection,” he said.
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