Local author promotes peace in the classroom

Friday, October 9, 2009

BEDFORD – In today’s fast-paced world, children are busy nearly every second of every day with school, sports and extracurricular activities.

As an overbooked society, children don’t understand that it’s OK to take a step back and explore what the world has to offer.

Bedford author Kimberly Paquette incorporated her experience studying and working with Montessori schools in developing her first book titled Pathways to Peace.
“I think that teaching kids how to resolve conflict peacefully and how to be respectful is perhaps more important than the academic piece (of an education),” said Paquette, who is the current director of the Montessori Children’s Center of Concord.

The Montessori approach is to allow children to learn on their own while being guided by a teacher. Through this method, teachers don’t correct or grade work, they instead assess what the child has learned and guide them into a new area of discovery.

Paquette received her undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix in 2005 and after enrolling her daughter into a Montessori school she headed back to further her own education.

Enrolling in an independent study master’s degree program through Lesley University in Cambridge, Mass., Paquette received her degree in Montessori school business administration with a concentration in peace education in 2008.

Her thesis was a peace education curriculum entitled: Pathways to Peace, Lessons to Inspire Peace in the 3-6 Classroom.

On Sept. 9, two years after deciding she wanted to turn her thesis into a book containing lessons and information about the academic theory, Pathways to Peace was published .
Paquette uses the lessons from her book with students at the Montessori Children’s Center of Concord.

Friday afternoons are dedicated to peace education, which she teaches. Last week she introduced students to the symbol of peace: a white dove. “I took out a glass dove from a very special box and told (the children) that only the most gentle and peaceful hands could hold the peace dove,” she said. As the dove was passed around the circle, Paquette said the students treated the glass figurine as if it were a live bird. She took time to explain the meaning behind the symbol to students.

“We talked about the peace symbol.. and how whether your in California or Afghanistan, you can show a peace symbol and (the people) will know what you’re talking about,” she said.
Pathways to Peace contains several other lessons for use in schools, church programs, summer camps and at home, among other places.

Paquette is thinking about developing a similar book for elementary-age students and is considering the possibility of writing a parent’s guide and a children’s book.
“I think that teaching children to be peaceful is the best way to help our future generations and our society,” she said.

Additional information can be found on her Web site at www.kimberlypaquette.com.

For anyone interested in purchasing the book, it is currently located online at www.iuniverse.com, www.barnesandnoble.com and www. amazon.com.