 Welcome to the show. This is think tech Hawaii's movers shakers and reformers politics in Hawaii series. I'm your host Carl Campania Today we have some amazing guests that I think we're all going to enjoy. Thank you for joining us. Please Welcome with me Seeds of peace we have Kerry and Maya from seeds of peace they Seeds of peace. I'll do my brief little thing and then it's really about them telling us about it Seeds of peace is a 501c3 nonprofit Organization that helps to grow Peaceful leaders. Let's learn what that is about. So please welcome to the show. Thank you so much for joining us Thank you for having us. Thank you so much. So excellent. So this is I'll also say This is the first time that they either of them has appeared on think tech Hawaii There's also a podcast for this. There's going to be a YouTube video for this I can get that to you if you want it. Thank you. So, okay seeds of peace Tell me we have the founder Founders of seeds of peace. Tell us what you do how you do it and for how long you've been doing Let's start sure. I'll start. So Maya and I teach together at the Matsunaga Institute for peace And one of the things we discovered in our evaluations from our students is our students were frustrated They said, you know what? We are just now learning these skills of peace building and conflict resolution and why didn't we learn these skills when we were younger? Our families needed them. Our school environments needed them. Our communities need them. You really should do workshops in the community So Maya and I still let's try it and see if people are excited about it and we piloted at 2011 piloted a Workshop brought schools school staff families and community members together to say, how do we raise peace building leaders? And what are those critical skill sets that they need to really be effective? And it was successful and people said when's the next workshop and we said we'll get back to you Excellent and it has grown from there. It has yeah, and I was teaching at the College of Ed, but with Carrie doing adjunct Teaching mostly peace education for the Matsunaga Institute of Peace where I now work full-time and what we saw really clearly was that there was a need to bring together the various arenas of action and So we brought together families community leaders and educators in this 360 degree approach we saw quickly that we needed Consistent messaging and but we also needed these various environments to be able to support one another and to feel a sense of camaraderie with one another I think too often educators work in isolation and Families don't feel connected to the stuff of schools. And so we also recognized that Peace building and nurturing these skills and these dispositions needed to begin very early because at a certain point It's very difficult to learn to think about universal needs or to Practice nonviolent communication and negotiation. Definitely not a skill and something that is being demonstrated for us really across the country of the last month or so We're struggling. We'll get to that. We'll get to that as well But we saw that we needed to start early and Carrie's early childhood person And I was high school and higher ed and those are nice Nice, nice. Okay. Tell me about the principles and the core Basis for what the program is sure so the goal is really to create skills I guess they know so the goal is to really create peaceful and just Communities and how do we do that and it really takes everybody committing to that it takes policy Leaders it takes family leaders. It takes people in our communities business leaders I'm all of our nonprofit leaders as well to think about what that means And how do we make sure that our young people have the skills to do so And so when my and I sat down and we brainstormed a long list of all the skill sets of the people that we know Internationally nationally and locally that do a really great job in the space of peace building and conflict resolution And a lot of the skills started with the letter C Which is how we got to see the sea and see the sea so it skills like critical thinking encourage conflict resolution communication collaboration commitment Curiosity we had a laundry list of 37 seeds 37 C words And we thought that was a little too much for a framework so we buy a town to seven seven key Seeds that really need to be taught and integrated Holistically so for example if you're raising a child to be courageous, but not compassionate That could be really dangerous and really could and if you're raising a child to be Compassionate but not have the critical thinking skills to put that compassion into action Then they're limited so what we really work with the adults that work with our children To both model and teach those skill sets in a really holistic way. This is this sounds like This sounds like parenting So how would you how would you? How would you say This I guess supports Communities and supports families in that sort of perspective. Well, I think am I correct in that actually? Yeah I mean parenting happens in myriad places and the truth is that Given our world today and the ease of communication and the rapid-fire way in which young people are getting information unfortunately or fortunately perhaps Parenting happens and rearing and raising and growing and nurturing happens to some degree Online it happens in community spaces We don't have the same level of control around parenting that we once did perhaps and Consequently we need to think about all of these spaces where young people are receiving the messages that are going to Impact their social emotional learning and so one of the things that Kerry mentioned was that we help folks integrate this so it's integrated to conversations around the dinner table and To time spent with family on weekends, but it's also very much integrated into the school day and into the curriculum It's not simply an add-on. It's not Teaching about peace, but it is teaching and learning Everything in a way that is conducive to peace. So why are we learning history and current events from one perspective? Why are we not practicing? You know the development of multiple languages and perspective shifting and and sort of empathetic You know tools of Understanding in all of the learning that we do in all of the spaces where we learn so that is Tied to the program to your program and how you get it implemented into schools So we do work with the DOE. We have facilitators And we have these federal or state DOE or both state state DOE. Okay. Thank you so we have professional development and we have facilitators to assist in getting our teachers professional development credit in a variety of subjects including Language arts and you know social studies and counseling and math and math It's amazing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, so But was it a challenge to get integrated into the DOE or did they welcome you? I feel like they were excited about the concept. You know social and emotional learning has is increasingly becoming Less of a soft skill and people realizing that it's really a hard skill and it's a skill set It's something that has to be intentionally taught and so we Fortunately, I feel like the content wasn't difficult as more than the structure of getting it into the system in a way that Wouldn't meet right in the way we implement And so what we ended up doing was creating a three-part workshop series So we bring schools and again making sure that the teachers have contact with families and with our community members so coaches Music teachers anybody that impacts children that they're coming together to wrap that child in those peace building skills And so we offer a three-part workshop series where it's 24 hours worth of workshop time So it means the PD requirement. We aligned all of our seeds of peace Methodology and tools to hiccups three the Hawaii hiccups three with that. Sorry the Hawaii standards The learning standards The common core standards as well as the general learner outcome Okay We aligned all of that to make sure that it met the requirements for the professional development and that took about a year To do so that was a process But once we were able to do that we could offer the PD and it's free to teachers Which is also it's free to everyone free to everyone. How would how would the community members or or where parents get involved? so the idea is that In our workshops, we're hoping to open up dialogue but we're also exploring through conversation and our action plans ways that people can Not simply have the desire or the intention to work together, but how they can actually do so And so we do backwards mapping We obviously given that we're talking about seeds we use a lot of planting metaphors and growing metaphors and you know watering our garden and Pulling out the weeds thinking about the barriers to success But we also use canoe travel But we do backwards mapping where we think about what changes do we want to see manifest these changes and these desired Impacts and the vision have to come from the community. So we are in in a way local We're about fostering global competence, but we're about making changes that are meaningful and Desired by the local community. So they understand better. What are the resources? available to me and How can I push into schools, you know as parents or? community leaders to Improve options for young people. How can I invite them out to move beyond the four walls and do place-based and culturally responsive? Education for instance, and so the idea there is the action plans Offer a step-by-step process not only to get involved, but to stay involved our three workshop series allows for some continuity facilitators work with the action plans in between and then people feel a sense of success and commitment to one another but also to Peace building and they say well, I'm actually empowered to do this and this and you find that the action plans lead to ongoing Civic engagement and advocacy and action that and that will be part of our transition as well to the next part of this but so It's in it's it's engaging the community doing an outreach with the community Through the through the schools Separately from the schools. It's both so we do outreach to the schools But we also do outreach through all of our community partners across the state So right now we are programming is in Kona West and West Hawaii and on a Wahoo predominantly on the leeward side and but we are still open island-wide for people to participate But we have Fortunately we max every workshop so we have about over a hundred people that participate each workshop How do you are you're planning growth? We are planning growth and trying to do it in a thoughtful way to keep the fidelity of the program And making sure that the quality remains high and that people feel confident being facilitators Running workshops on their own Figuring that out is in terms of how we scale thoughtfully is where we are train the trainer program. Yes We're actually developing there right now. Yeah. Yeah, I I know a four kids that can use some of this Daily practice So I myself would like to participate in whatever I can get Yes, please and I will promote that as much as I can Certainly, so no, I think that's great. So, okay, we do want to transition a little bit or I want to transition a little bit So thank you first of all for helping us understand more about seeds of peace We'll continue to ask a lot of questions as we go, but let's transition into that next step of Activism and advocacy and that sort of leadership in that regard Does that's that's part of the process from pre-k through is is you're trying to create this pathway, right? And hopefully at the end of that you've got civic engagement because people are recognizing how to is that part of it is How to engage and how do you how do you bring that about how do you connect the activism and advocacy with the peace training so one of the tools that is is Very relevant now, but it's been popular historically is what we call the upstander and how do we teach our children to be? Upstanders no longer than bystander to what's happening So how did they do that locally at their school when they see kids that are being mistreated or picked on What's their role either in terms of direct intervention or going to find the help that they need but actually Acting right one of those tools and how do we build those tools? How do I build those tools for the for the adults also that's a huge thing more so these days another so unfortunately We do have to take a quick break, so we're gonna jump back on that So thank you for joining us again This is think tech Hawaii's mover shakers and reformers politics in Hawaii many things again to seeds of peace carry in Maya for joining us See you in a minute Hello, this is Martin to Spang. I want to get you get excited about my new show Which is humane architecture for Hawaii and beyond we're gonna broadcast on Tuesdays 5 p.m. Here on think tech Hawaii Hi, this is Jane Sugimura. I'm the co-host for condo insider and we're on think tech Hawaii every Thursday at 3 o'clock and we're here to talk about the condominium living and Issues that affect condominium residents and owners, and I hope you'll join us every week on Thursday. Aloha Hey, I'm Stacy Hayashi, and you can catch me on Mondays at 11 on think tech Hawaii Stacy to the rescue see you then Hi, I'm Tim appachella. I'm the host for moving Hawaii forward and the show is dedicated to Transportation and traffic issues in Oahu We are all frustrated by sitting in our cars in bumper to bumper traffic And this show is dedicated to talking to with folks that not only we can define the problem But we hopefully can come to the table with some solutions So I invite you to join me every Tuesday at 12 noon and let's move Hawaii forward Welcome back to think tech Hawaii's mover shakers and reformers politics in Hawaii I'm your host Carl company. Once again. Thank you Carrie and Maya for joining the show from seeds of peace Okay, so we were on the topic of engagement civic engagement and how your program begins by Upstanding kids teaching them how to stand up for what is The peaceful or more correct or anti bullying specifically is one thing you were mentioning So how does that so that's that's part of the process of of opening up kids brains and minds to the idea Okay now Sorry, yeah, well, I just want to say that as part of being an upstand or those there's such a wide range of possible Ways to be an upstand or so. I just want to make sure people may think that oh, that's only when a kid is being actively bullied and you Intervene well, that's not always safe. It's not always feasible It's not always desirable, especially with children. So but being an upstander is about, you know, really thinking about well What can I contribute to? The innovations that are taking place. How can I? Be a better community member. How can I? Live up to sort of my contract to myself and develop a sense of moral courage use my voice How can I advocate for other people? How can I engage in community service? How can I, you know, help to build? A more resilient community here on my school or in my classroom How can I be kind and use appropriate, you know, language? So they're just I could go on but the point is that being an upstander part of what we want to do is to help people understand That these are multifaceted and very pragmatic Skills and tools and so that's why we frame it as a tool kit. So we have over 150 Ever-growing tools that can be used so that people know that what might work in one space won't work in another But we can become involved whether as young people or as adults Who are helping to shape those young people for a future that is uncertain that we have so much In the way of resources, you know human and otherwise and there's not one way to be a hero There's a myriad multitude of possibilities. I'll jump on that and I'll give you a proud dad moment I mean real quick. We like though my my son. He's 11 years old and he goes to Kamehameha schools I'm very proud of him. He got himself in that he did that I guess that's the first problem the second problem is I was talking with him We got his grades in and we were talking about his grades and how we can be a little better here there And he told me that some of the kids were would tease him Every time he got something wrong when he would get one wrong answer he would get teased because oh you got that one wrong And I said well, is that the only one you got wrong? Well, yeah, I said did they get it all right? Well, no, they got probably a three or four wrong like oh, well, then they're just teasing you, right? I said is it kids that are in your grade or younger than you or older than you? He said it's mostly my grade and then he said The kids who are younger than me look up to me as a role model So I do what I can to make sure And it makes me cry I do what I can to make sure that I'm living up to what they need to see and I It does make me cry because that was my 11 year old And I wish I could say I have responsibility for that, but Well, you do to some extent a lot of it But it was but it was him and it was his heart and and it's those sorts of things So that's that's you know, I don't say that just to talk about me and my son But that's connecting with with what you're saying and how you're trying to get kids Thinking right correct, and I think what Maya was saying about the moral courage like your son having the moral courage To reframe that experience and realize that he is a role model for the younger kids and be able to Put that teasing aside. Yeah is a really powerful tool and he didn't know how to put it aside Until I until we talked about it and then and then I we realized in that composition Oh, I didn't know that was happening. Well, okay. Let's just this is actually what's happening. They're actually kind of jealous So let's be kind with them, but recognize that that's what that is. Well, you're pointing to a bunch of stuff One is that we talk a lot about how modeling is more important than direct teaching that we learn so much more the science Research all shows us that we learn so much more through effective modeling So your son understood that the other thing that you're pointing out is that dialogue is really important So part of what we're doing is opening up discursive spaces for people to talk to process to engage in critical thinking And thinking about how can we do those things in our homes and our families in our communities so that young people can reflect adequately can listen have opportunities to practice listening but also communication and I think that they learn a great deal and another thing that you're pointing out is just that you know an essential component is Thinking about things from the perspective even of those who are you know, just be your son was able to sort of with your help Understand the reason behind certain actions and it's this is about problem-solving and it may be helping our young people Be problem-solving solvers where they're thinking about well, how do we move forward problem-solving coping skills? social Relationship. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Well, the other thing I want to add too is we spent a lot of time Working both with adults and with children around the reaction So what is the compassionate reaction versus the fear-based or angry reaction? It usually doesn't lend itself to a good outcome and we all need to be reminded All of us I need to be reminded a lot about that as well because you get into your day Happen and you're in action and reaction mode and you need to remember To step back and it's hard and your son has demonstrated right that Receiving that teasing. What is his what is his response going to be? That's going to lend itself either to transforming that relationship or a better outcome for myself Where he's leading with compassion and not with anger exactly. So, okay, let's let's I want to get to I want to get to the politics now All right, so Getting to civic engagement getting people more involved upstanding communities and in a growing sense and Trying to teach people how to get engaged Huge hugely needed More now than any other time in the past several decades really but But seeds of peace has been involved and has been engaged with the women's March So, can you tell us about your your engagement with women's March and what that has meant? Sure So we were we were asked to partner with the coordinators of the women's March the coordinators locally in Hawaii as well as the Coordinators that were helping the team that was going to DC to think through what are the processes after the March? That we can use to engage folks around dialogue and figure out how do we maintain momentum? and keep give people the Tangible tools that they can use in their personal lives on a daily basis, but also collectively to maintain momentum and make sure that we're We're keeping Peacefulness and just communities at the forefront in a nonpartisan way. And so that was really in a nonpartisan important in a nonpartisan way that's important because The conversations we have these days tend to be in silos or in bubbles So how so utilizing these skills that we all need to learn To break those down and to talk between the bubbles and and so is that would you say that that is Part of what you're seeing going forward or how what you're trying to help shape going forward certainly. Yeah, I mean we we Want it we've been very clear and everyone who has been in part of the leadership group here in Hawaii I think feels similarly that this isn't just a you know, it's not an anti-trump march We need to think about solution building around these things that we Care about and it's not just a women's March either it has It been about women's leadership at this critical juncture on a wide range of issues that are inclusive of you know, civil rights and liberties and and you know environmental Stewardship and issues of climate and reproductive right and all of these things that do cut across The various parties it it does cut across the various parties. However of late The gap has widened it such that there's less crossover less intersection and Our challenge all of our challenges is to find a way To bridge that yeah, and I think part of the way that we do that is create a pathway and invitation but also Help our various partners and Kerry can talk more about the specifics of that but to To extend similar invitations to people to help walk across that bridge and Think about what are our sort of universal needs our shared understandings where the places of connection and potential collaboration And then you know, what is what is the pathway? I think that that gap has widened in part because people don't really perceive Choices in the same way, and I think that they're they're that's very clear Learning from a bifurcated, you know sort of media experience, too They don't have any access to what the other folks are feeling and thinking in the news and story They're receiving but yeah, I spend a lot of time on Facebook. I try to not block people I try to make my scare as large as possible But that means I get a lot of people who don't agree with me Mm-hmm. I like when people don't agree with me I don't like when they just throw nasty things at me Yeah, and I say and I usually reply to them. Thank you for that. How about some constructive input? Mm-hmm. Let's have a conversation How do I get more conversation How do we do this? That's a really good question, and I think that's what we're challenged with I think one of the Questions that I would pose to partners is what vision do we have for Hawaii? What vision do we have for America and is it a vision of? Compassion and curiosity or is it a vision of perpetuating fear? And I would I think it's safe to say that most people hopefully would lend towards that We want to be a compassionate nation And what does that take and I think well, I'll jump in there We only have about a minute left. So unfortunately, I kind of have to sum up here, too, but The point has been made that not everybody agrees and we might agree and this is a greater challenge We might agree with with that with that angle sentences with how we get there is a whole other question correct So, okay unfortunately, I Would like to first of all invite you back and talk more and get deeper into a lot of this as much as is useful And if we can utilize this as a means as well, please It's important that we engage our kids and this is what this conversation has been about we engage our kids We help them understand we help them think in a different way in a more peaceful way in a in a not not political progressive way but in a socially progressive way in a in a relationship more Progressive way. I'm not using the words correctly yet, but But that's what we're trying to achieve and then have that build itself into a civic engagement that can have an impact So that's that's what you're trying to achieve and you're engaging at the moment with Other groups such as women's march and other groups and anyone else you want to throw out, please let us know to try to build those bridges yes, and and You have a sign in this studio This is lifelong learning lives here, and I do think that you know part of that is nourishing dispositions for future Generations, but it is also about us Working together to build a sense of resilience resilience has resistance Unfortunately, we have to we have to stop I would love to keep talking But thank you for joining us. This is think tech Hawaii's mover shakers and reformers politics in Hawaii series Thank you to the crew and the staff and everybody involved and thank you to our guests. So we'll see you next time Thanks