fostering a culture of peace through dialogue€¦ · the answers to fostering a culture of peace...

1 / 15 Copyright © 2017, Education for Justice, a project of Center of Concern.Education for Justice, a project of Center of Concern

Fostering a Culture of Peacethrough Dialogue

By Katie Busch

2 / 15 Copyright © 2017, Education for Justice, a project of Center of Concern.

Katie Busch is a middle school language arts teacher in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She spent most of her life in Maryland, where she attended Elizabeth Seton High School, run by the Daughters of Charity. At Seton, Katie first learned about Social Justice, and made the connection between faith and works. The dedication and instruction by her teachers led Katie to also want to be a teacher. She attended St. John’s University in Queens, New York and received her bachelor’s degree in Theology with minors in Social Justice and Spanish. After graduating from St. John’s, Katie took part in the Alliance for Catholic Education (ACE) Teaching Fellows Program. Through the program, Katie received her Masters of Elementary Education from the University of Notre Dame, while teaching third grade full time at an under-resourced Catholic school in Oklahoma City. In 2015, Katie researched and co-presented on the topic of motivating students living in poverty at the annual ACE Teaching Fellows Conference. In 2016 and 2017, Katie led workshops on teaching English Language Learners at the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City spring inservice.

After completing her two years with ACE, Katie chose to stay at her school as a regular employee. She is currently beginning her fourth school year there.

Email: [email protected]



“Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. He asked them, ‘What are you discussing as you walk along?’ They stopped, looking downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, ‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?’ And he replied to them, ‘What sort of things?’ They said to him, ‘The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see.’ And he said to them, ‘Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures. As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther. But they urged him, ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them. And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?’” (Luke 24:13-34).

“In the midst of all the turmoil and injustice in our world right now,

I have sincere hope that if only myself

and all who interact with children open our ears and minds

to these little ones, the answers to fostering

a culture of peace are not far. We could learn

from their example to listen,

to forgive, and to hope.”

3/ 10 Copyright © 2017, Education for Justice, a project of Center of Concern.


“Ms. Busch, you know how you get startled all the time?” I turn at the familiar interjection of my eighth grader, ready for a facetious continuing comment. He loves to challenge and with ideas he is confident no one has ever thought of, and I am curious to hear his input about my easily jumpy personality. “You wouldn’t be so scared,” he continues with sincerity, “If you remembered Jesus is always with you.”

As I begin my fourth year of teaching and welcome 67 middle schoolers back to school, I try and hold his second statement close. In reality, cutting back on coffee and getting more sleep would probably solve my skittish ways. But remembering that Jesus is always with me, and especially that He is speaking to me through 67 voices daily, is at the forefront of my mind. In the midst of all the turmoil and injustice in our world right now, I have sincere hope that if only myself and all who interact with children open our ears and minds to these little ones, the answers to fostering a culture of peace are not far. We could learn from their example to listen, to forgive, and to hope.

“Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.”

However, it’s not always easy to recognize when Jesus is speaking to us. In the story of the Road to Emmaus from the gospel of Luke, Jesus literally walks into the conversation of two disciples. “Their eyes were prevented from recognizing him,” a line debated throughout theological circles. Did God purposely vale Jesus’ identity until the breaking of the bread? Were the disciples so torn up in grief that they found it impossible to fully comprehend their surroundings? Or are they, like us, just not looking for the presence of Christ in conversation?

I would like to say that, four years ago when I first entered the classroom, I was ready to be an open disciple, listening for the words of Jesus in my students. Unfortunately, if you had asked me the night before the first day of school how I could reflect upon my life in the Road to Emmaus, I would have related to Christ the teacher, explaining, instructing, and enlightening the little minds of my 22 third graders. If you had asked my by day three how I could relate to the Road to Emmaus, I would have said that is impossible because

“My students, however, did not and do not need

a “service teacher” to come in and save them.

What they need and what we all need

is someone to hear our voice and show that we are present

to be with them, not to serve at them.”



I am and where God is in my life right now. These young ones seemed to be able to smell that only three short months before I was a student herself, and my class culture seemed to be far from what I hoped would be a place of peace.

I knew going in that I was a “service teacher.” My school serves a population where over 75% of students are on free and reduced lunch. We receive Title I Reading assistance, and most students were either born in Mexico or are the children of parents who have immigrated from Mexico. We fit the mold for a Catholic school living out its mission to serve the margins of society. My students, however, did not and do not need a “service teacher” to come in and save them. What they need and what we all need is someone to hear our voice and show that we are present to be with them, not to serve at them.

My third graders did not listen in a quiet circle when I tried to read them a story. They poked each other during school mass, and they were the loudest group in the cafeteria. I thought them incapable of sitting still for five minutes. I was proven wrong after a playground accident sent a particularly quiet student to the hospital for stitches. His classmates spent the rest of the day making him get well cards. When their injured friend returned, the class asked that his desk be pushed to the front of the room so they could watch him read the cards. For twenty solid minutes, they sat perfectly still with smiles on their faces as one by by one, their cards, their words, were quietly read out loud.

It took me longer than I am proud of to realize that I, the teacher, am not Christ (though I continue to strive). I am the disciples who are explained everything I did not have the capacity to understand. My unruly students were ready to listen, but when they knew they were going to be heard.

We began a morning routine. They would come in, quietly go to their desks do their work on the board, and I would fill out the cafeteria lunch count. Once I was ready, I would move a stuffed animal to my desk. One by one, they would come up and tell me anything on their hearts that day. “Ms. Busch, I think I might not learn too well today because….” And they would share their reasons. Fighting at home, worries about finances they overheard, a stomach ache. With being given a chance to voice their unrest, my students actually found more reason to have peace in their day. Step one, all it took was learning to listen.



“Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!”

The 90% foolproof way to get a child who is acting out to behave? Ask them a question. 9 out of 10 times, the child is begging to be heard in some way. A thirteen year old won’t stop playfully hitting his classmates in the dismissal line? Ask how his soccer team is doing. A third grader keeps loudly humming when she’s supposed to be reading silently? Pull her aside and ask her how her day is going. Children have words to say, and we are not listening to them.

Amidst all their struggles, their trials and tribulations, it is profound how they show and teach me to live a peaceful life.

I see Jesus revealed when, during library check out time, I find four sixth grade boys huddled around another. Suspicious, I look over to see them helping their friend study for the spelling bee. Not jealous of his accomplishments, but helping him study so he can succeed.

I see Jesus revealed at the example of forgiveness and hope from a student who is processing a father who left years ago. Whenever he has a chance, he will bring up his own future children and how he cannot wait to become a dad himself.

Jesus did not appear on a cloud or in a large flash of light to the disciples on their road. He came quietly, peacefully, meeting the disciples right where they were. If we really want to create a culture of peace, it will be with learning to love and forgive one another as children do.

“With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him.”

I taught third grade for two years, and am beginning my second year teaching middle school language arts. Every single year I have incorporated Catholic social thought into my curriculum, with wonderful reception on the students’ part. What we as adults think is profound and revolutionary- that it’s the Church’s “best kept secret,” does not occur to these young ones. Rather, it’s common sense. Why wouldn’t you care for the most vulnerable in society?



Of course, we have to take care of God’s creation. I explicitly asked all 67 of my students what they thought needed to be done in order for us to foster a culture of peace in the world. Here is a selection of their answers:

• “If you want to make a change in the world, look at yourself and then make that change-Michael Jackson.”

• “I will help everyone.”• “People need to stop being selfish.”• “Pues, respetamos unos a los otros ya no haces las cosas que son malos.”• “We need to invent less stuff.”• “I think there needs to be no littering.”• “No more bombing.”• “No more murdering. No more drugs.”• “Step 1: Make a treaty. Step 2: Be friends.”• “There needs to be more people who have Jesus.”• “Stop fights, wars, and arguments.”• “I think people should stop being racist.” (and many variations of this)• “I think people should stop having wars and no more fights and more prayer.”• “We need to make choices but choices that are fair to everyone. If we keep making

unfair choices than other people will get bad and want to fight to get what they want and that will cause more war and could lead to World War III.”

• “I think there should be no racism and nobody to think they’re higher than everyone else. • Also love and friendship.”• “Everyone needs to be friendly and sign a peace treaty.”• “Respect everyone no matter if you dislike them. Love them like you love yourself.

We’re brothers and sisters and everyone was treating others with respect then we’d have peace in our world.”

• “Everyone should be free.”• “There should be less war. Accept everyone the same way you accept your friends.”• “Peace takes a lot of work.”

Peace takes a lot of work. It does. What we as Christians, looking to live out Catholic social thought in our everyday lives, have to remember is that peace will take a lot of work. Sometimes we are blessed with a “with that their eyes were open and they recognized him” flash of insight, but in reality Jesus is sitting at our dinner table, speaking into our conversation, and we are missing this chance to listen.



Leader 1: Like the disciples walking to Emmaus, we are sometimes blind to Jesus in our midst. Help us open our eyes to Jesus’ presence.

All: Jesus, teach me to see.

Leader 2: When we are tempted to ignore the insight of others, help us open our ears to Jesus’ voice in their words.

All: Jesus, help me to hear.

Leader 3: When it is easiest to close our hearts to others, give us the understanding to see Jesus in their needs.

All: Jesus, help me to love.

Sometimes, the words our savior gave us are said so often and become so familiar we only speak instead of pray them. This is the Our Father translated by the third grade class of 2015. Students collaborated to write what the Our Father means to them in modern, everyday English.

Our dad who is in Heaven,Holy is your name.

Your kingdom will be here,Let what you want happen,

So Earth is like Heaven.Please help us with our needs.

Forgive our sins,Like we should forgive others who hurt us.

Help us to make good choicesAnd lead us away from evil. Amen.

“Were not our hearts burning within us?”

At the end of my first year teaching third grade, the students filled out a survey about how the year went. One question was, “What made your classroom special?” Her reply? “We got Jesus in here.” That continues to be the reason every classroom anywhere we walk into and see students thriving and full of joy and gladness—they got Jesus in here.

CALL TO PRAYER


1. The Catholic social thought (CST) theme, Call to Family, Community, and Participation, asks that all are heard in society. What can we do to give voice to youth in our own communities?

2. In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus says “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.” (Matthew 18 3-5). What behaviors of children can we emulate in order to create a culture of peace?

3. The CST theme of Option for the Poor and Vulnerable calls us to look for those left on the margins of society. When we see children, do we consider their vulnerability? In what ways can we protect today’s youth?

4. The CST theme of Solidarity asks us to see that we are all children of the same Creator God. We were once children, and today’s children are the future leaders of our world. How can we empower children to see themselves as the future? What tangible ways can we help them serve our community right now?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Keep informed on situations of injustice, marginalization, and conflict both in your local community and more globally. Read and listen to a wide range of news and documentary sources guided by the question: who and what am I not seeing?

2. Learn and participate in religious advocacy efforts such as those fostered by Caritas In-ternationalis (http://bit.ly/2iF9PBN), Catholic Relief Services (http://bit.ly/2eZy6pw), and Jesuit Refugee Services (http://bit.ly/1wWzcEz).

3. Take action personally and politically to accompany vulnerable peoples through prayer, service and action. For example: praying for the homeless, service within the local com-munity, and advocacy for just housing policies.

4. Listen to and learn from local community organizing for justice, especially faith based organizing (such as Catholic Campaign for Human Development groups) so as to more faithfully accompany and advocate with those on the margins.

FAITH IN ACTION



Additional Resource: Children’s Books about Social Justice

1. Life and Dignity of the Human Person• Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes (ages 4+)• Horton Hears a Who by Dr. Suess (4+)• The Junkyard Wonders by Patricia Polacco (ages 8+)• Wonder by R.J. Palacio (ages 10+)

2. Call to Family, Community, and Participation• The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig (ages 4+)• Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae (ages 4+)• Enemy Pie by Derek Munsen (ages 6+)• Orbiting Jupiter by Gary Schmidt (ages 13+)

3. Rights and Responsibilities• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White (ages 7+)• Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper (ages 9+)• Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor (ages 12+)

4. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable• The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister (4+)• The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes (ages 8+)• Pax by Sarah Pennypacker (ages 10+)

5. Dignity of Work and Rights of Workers• Harvesting Hope: The Story of Cesar Chavez by Kathleen Krull (ages 8+)• Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan (ages 10+)• Saving Lucas Biggs by Marisa de los Santos (ages 10+)

6. Solidarity• Pink and Say by Patricia Polacco (ages 8+)• Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan (ages 13+)• The Freedom Writer’s Diary by Erin Gruwell (ages14+)

7. Care for God’s Creation• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss (ages 4+)• Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney (ages 4+)• What if Everybody did that? by Colleen M. Madden (4+)


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