No Peace in Southern Indiana: Teacher Fired for Talking About Peace?

On a winter day two months before the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, two-dozen children, 10 to 12 years of age, sat in Deb Mayer's classroom at Clear Creek Elementary in Monroe County, Indiana, near Bloomington, thinking about war as they discussed a then-recent issue of Time for Kids (TFK). The magazine is a version of Time magazine written for school-age children and was a regular part of the lesson plan.

The December 13, 2002, issue of TFK focused on the conflict between the United States and Iraq, with reports on attempts by the United Nations to find--or not--evidence of weapons of mass destruction in the country ruled by Saddam Hussein.

One student's attention was drawn to an article on opponents of the war, a "peace march" in Washington, D.C.

"The student asked me if I would ever be in a peace march," says Mayer.

By Mayer's account, she informed the class that demonstrations for peace were being held all over the country, including Bloomington. She said she often drove past picketers gathered on the Courthouse Square with signs inviting drivers to "honk for peace." Mayer told the children she honked when she saw the signs.

"I explained to the children that I thought we should seek peaceful solutions before going to war," says Mayer.

Mayer recalls she then talked about a program at Clear Creek through which kids trained as mediators intervene in conflicts on the playground to help other children solve problems peacefully.

According to Mayer, the discussion ended there, and the conflict began.

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http://counterpunch.org/white12172005.html