09-R282
2009 -- S 0978
Enacted 06/11/09
S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N
PROCLAIMING THE
MONTH OF MAY, 2009 TO BE "PEACE MONTH" IN THE STATE OF
Introduced By: Senators Doyle, and McBurney
Date Introduced: June 09, 2009
WHEREAS, Across the country, violence has become a prevalent problem
in our high
schools, middle schools and elementary schools, but effective
conflict resolution training has
been shown to produce positive results and long-term
benefits; and
WHEREAS, Studies have
shown that violence stems from a lack of education, ignorance,
and a lack of the tools needed to resolve conflicts and differences
in a peaceful manner; and
WHEREAS, Education can
provide the tools to establish dialogue and create a culture of
acceptance, and recent studies have shown that early education
and intervention is the best means
to bring about peace in our communities; and
WHEREAS, Many of the
social skills that enable successful teamwork, including
listening attentively, communicating, understanding, generating
integrative solutions and
reaching mutual agreement on the best course of action are the
same skills that underlie
constructive conflict resolution; and
WHEREAS, Studies have
also shown that the impact of introducing and integrating
programs that teach students conflict resolution skills and
peace making programs into the
curricula and across age levels and educational settings,
consistently show multiple benefits for
constructive conflict resolution as well as academic learning; and
WHEREAS, Effective
conflict resolution is associated with overall social competence in
adolescence through the component skills of problem solving,
decision making, communication
and coping; and
WHEREAS, Early education
about peaceful conflict resolution and the diversity of
different cultures leads to open dialogue, and understanding
and acceptance of different cultures
and peoples; and
WHEREAS, Intolerance and
hostility in society not only causes great individual pain, but
also breaks down families and communities; and
WHEREAS, Education is
the best mechanism to start the peace process and to reduce
violence in our schools and our communities, and it is a
crucial step in creating a culture of
tolerance; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED,
That this Senate of the State of
hereby proclaims the month of May, 2009 to be “Peace Month”;
and be it further
RESOLVED,
That this Senate encourages the Rhode Island
Department of Education to
work with local school districts to devise and implement
peace and conflict resolution education
policies that: (a) include a mission statement emphasizing
that violence is unacceptable and will
not be tolerated; (b) establish procedures, guidelines
and discipline procedures to respond to
incidents taking place at school or on school grounds; (c)
welcomes all Rhode Islanders and
encourages them to explore grassroots efforts that further peace
within their communities; and (d)
encourages participants to examine impediments to peace in their
communities and develop
proposals for Pathways to Peace initiatives; and be it further
RESOLVED,
That this Senate urges all school districts to
incorporate peace and non-
violence education into history and/or social studies
education curriculums from elementary
through high school; and be it further
RESOLVED,
That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is
authorized and directed to
transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Rhode
Island Commissioner for Elementary
and Secondary Education.
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LC02756
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