The Newsletter of the Maine Humanities Council | Fall 2008

• Home
• Letter from the Executive Director
• Introducing the Humanities Tomorrow Society
• Fear, Civil Liberties, and the Rule of Law
• New Perspectives: Under-
  standing and addressing conflict
• Between Right and Wrong
• Supporting a Girls’ Point of View
• Grant Awards
• Power and Architecture in Rome

New Perspectives:
Understanding And Addressing Conflict

Maine is a relatively safe place to live. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report for 2000, it ranked 46th among the states in total crime and 49th in violent crime. But break-ins and hold-ups aren’t the only manifestations of violence, and the conflicts that affect our tranquil towns can be all the more damaging for their insidiousness. Children encounter bullies on our school grounds. Survivors of domestic abuse rebuild their lives under the specter of fear. Refugees from countries at war struggle to integrate their positive memories of home with terrifying flashbacks. Compounded with these first-hand experiences are the conflicts portrayed in the media, both fictional and real, including the very real battles that Maine citizens are fighting overseas on behalf of our country.

In order to address the complexities of conflict with some of Maine’s most vulnerable residents, the Maine Humanities Council recently received $250,000 (for use over three years) from Jane’s Trust to help fund two programs: Peaceable Stories, a program within the Council’s Born to Read early literacy initiative, and “Conflict” and “Resolving Conflict,” two New Books, New Readers series.

Peaceable Stories has already proven successful. As readers of this newsletter may recall from the preceding issue, Peaceable Stories encourages Maine’s youngest children to talk about and reflect on the possibility of peace within themselves, their families, their classrooms, and their communities. Since 2006, Peaceable Stories has reached over 325 educators (who, in turn, serve over 3,000 children) with trainings that include themed book collections and an Activity & Resource Guide. Educators learn how to use the books to foster early literacy skills while also cultivating emotional literacy—the ability to recognize and name feelings, and practice empathy—among the children in their care. Conversations with children about the themes of these books and activities are opportunities to promote words, rather than fists, teeth, and nails, as tools for resolving conflicts.

The grant from Jane’s Trust has already enabled Born to Read to take the Peaceable Stories initiative to domestic violence agencies. Building on the success of Peaceable Stories, the grant also allows the Council to extend the discussion of conflict to the audience served by New Books, New Readers.

Started in 1993, New Books, New Readers uses the traditional humanities model of reading and discussion to engage low-literacy adults in the pleasure of reading and the power of ideas. Participants come to New Books, New Readers from a myriad of complex circumstances. Many are refugees, others are or have been incarcerated; the challenges they face are magnified by the isolation of illiteracy. New Books, New Readers gives participants a voice and a forum to express their thoughts, feelings, and ideas. For people who may have never been asked what they think, this experience is truly empowering. Julia Walkling, Program Director for New Books, New Readers, explains that the program keeps its reading and discussion series relevant by choosing themes that are key to life issues. Unfortunately, conflict and violence are life issues that surface daily for many people.

New Books, New Readers staff have thoroughly reviewed the best children’s literature on the theme of conflict and selected books for the two new series (see below). Frequently, when people are asked to consider the concept of conflict, they immediately think of fighting between people, or war between countries. When asked about resolution, they assume it entails one side winning and the other losing. The books in the New Books, New Readers series challenge participants to stretch and reconsider these preconceptions.

In The First Feud Between the Mountain and the Sea by Maine author Lynn Plourde, a power struggle between the anthropomorphized elements of land and water results in the destruction of the earth. Only when the combatants witness the devastation can they get beyond their hunger for power and arrive at understanding. But characters who lack power are sometimes forced simply to cope with a situation they can’t change. In Cheryl Savageau’s Muskrat Will Be Swimming, the young Native American protagonist overcomes the discrimination she encounters at school by realizing that she values the very things that set her apart, and that she doesn’t need her tormenters to see her point of view.

These powerful stories and discussions will allow participants to learn to read proficiently, have confidence in their interpretations and ideas, and discuss their feelings in a thoughtful way. Copies of all of the books will be given to the participants to take home so that they can reread and share them.

Jane’s Trust was founded in 2002 through the beneficence of Jane B. Cook. In addition to the environment, health and welfare, and arts and culture, the trustees also have an interest in increasing access to educational opportunities, especially for underserved populations and nontraditional students. Through the work of New Books, New Readers, and Born to Read, the Council is not only reaching these populations with unique educational opportunities, but also empowering them to overcome significant challenges and shape a new, more rewarding direction for themselves, their families, and their communities.