Greetings from Barnesville School in Maryland! I'm midway through my five days here as Author in Residence, helping the school celebrate Peace Week. Every year, in honor of MLK, they do a deep dive into the topic of peace, devoting an entire week to studying about famous upstanders and learning about conflict and conflict resolution. This year's theme is “Speak Up: The Power of Words.” On Day One I ran the age gamut, beginning with three and four-year-olds and ending with the middle schoolers. The kids here are delightful – articulate, curious, polite and super fun. I chatted with the little ones about emotion words and then we learned three of Dr. King's favorite songs, including of course “We Shall Overcome.” With the middleschoolers, I talked about the neurobiology of conflict and we explored some ideas around conflict being an opportunity as well as a nuisance! Yesterday's highlight was a session with second, third and fourth grade kids. For our big finale, we played “Mediator, Mediator!” Kids circle up, holding hands. A mediator is chosen – a kid “who is patient and likes to untangle things.” The mediator goes out of the room. Still holding hands, the kids in the circle try as hard as they can to get as mixed up and tangled as possible. The knot of kids then hold still and yell “Mediator, Mediator.” The mediator comes back in the room and gently, patiently, unties all the knots.
The neighborhood around this school is amazing – farmland as far as you can see in every direction. When we arrived at school on the first day, there was a herd of deer grazing right across the road. Yesterday after lunch I walked a mile and back to a hen farm where I bought a dozen eggs at an “honor system” hutch in front of the farmhouse.