Discussing war in the classroom

Whilst primary school teachers may be reluctant to address global conflicts and other challenging topics with their children, the benefits o

Whilst there is widespread teaching in schools around the First and Second World Wars, there is far less around current armed conflicts. Discussion in history around these wars tends to develop ideas around futility and waste in the former and ‘the just war’, which may or may not include a study of the Holocaust, in the latter. The Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, and indeed many of the complex situations that develop around the world, are more problematic – primarily because they are active, and because governments and the media tend to avoid discussions around the morality of war, preferring a ‘support our boys’ or ‘support our friends’ type approach.

Nonetheless, while the discussion of controversial topics – be it genocide, racism or war – is challenging, it is essential. The recent interest in the Lord’s Resistance Army – as demonstrated by literally millions of hits on the web – highlights the need for discussion and learning amongst young people, while the events of the ‘Arab Spring’, together with nuclear developments and the threat of interventions in Iran and North Korea, will shape the lives and futures of today’s children.

Age or methodology?

In the case of the outbreak of war in Iraq in 2003, there were a number of possible responses for schools in the UK. There had been mass protests in the run up to this war, involving millions of people – many of them school students. Some schools created space to discuss the issues whilst others shied away from it. In common with other contentious or difficult issues, the argument was heard that primary students are too young to discuss an issue such as the Iraq War. Yet, there is no doubt that students of all ages are aware of these issues and, as the evidence below shows, are keen to discuss and try to understand them. Indeed, it is entirely possible that these issues can be better discussed by primary students, as they tend to have a sense of social justice and change, in contrast to older students, whose cynical views can dominate by the time they finish secondary school. Furthermore, it is often easier to create space in the primary school, where there is less subject domination and more scope for interdisciplinary learning.

The main issue may not be the ascertainment of the right age to learn these types of issues but the methodology that is adopted. Discussion and debate as a teaching approach around the Iraq war seems to have been best introduced where there was already a space for discussion around topical issues. In one primary school examined by Dea Birkett in the Guardian, the delivery every morning of the free paper led to ‘Metro time’, where children picked issues that interested them and discussed them. This meant that when the attack on Iraq took place, students saw discussion around it as natural.

Providing a forum

An example of how challenging topics can be tackled successfully with young children took place in a large, non-denominational primary school, located within a reasonably prosperous area of a town in western Scotland. There, Primary 7 students (aged 11–12) were encouraged to bring news stories that were of interest to them into the classroom, as part of their weekly ‘International News Day’ session. The discussions provided a forum for students to express aspects of their political interest, and demonstrated their strong engagement in world affairs, often at a very mature level.

The philosophy underpinning the class teacher’s approach was the need for openness and creating an ethos of encouragement for students to express their opinions, often in relation to quite controversial issues – those topics the class teacher had noted particular student interest in included teenage pregnancy, the use and misuse of drugs, animal rights and the debate about the teaching of religion in schools as being the most common. From early 2003, she also noted a strong interest developing among students about issues surrounding terrorism and the Iraq War. 

The media appeared to play a large part in stimulating these particular students’ interest and curiosity about the Iraq War, and the use of interactive sessions on international news issues provided a useful setting for them to share their opinions, and also for the teacher to address some particular misunderstandings. She clearly encouraged students to express their opinions and saw the importance of demonstrating the value of these opinions to children, taking up a stance of ‘critical affirmation’ in allowing students to develop their arguments. The relationship, trust and respect between the students and the teacher is central in such an approach, but although proven to be highly successful, the class teacher felt that this approach was not as common among teachers as it should be. Through her own experience, she observed the reluctance of some teachers to value students’ opinions due to their fear of ‘losing control’ of classroom discipline. Her view was that teachers who have the confidence and courage to allow student participation, and to value its worth can, in fact, minimise indiscipline because children will be less frustrated at school.

Discussion time

The lessons and discussions around the Iraq War were observed, the class teacher was interviewed and group discussions carried out with a sample of nine of these Primary 7 students, all of whom were white and none of whom had parents or close relatives in the armed forces. The study started several days before the outbreak of the war in March 2003 and continued until May 2003 (six weeks after the ‘end’ of the war).

During their discussions, the students displayed a rich knowledge of topical and contemporary issues at international levels, as well as an awareness of the nature of democracy through their views about the future of Iraq and how it could and should be decided. Their concern for humanitarian issues related to the war reflected their growing understanding of the nature of diversity, social conflict and a concern for the common good. In addition, they were highly reflective about the underlying causes of the war, illustrating their ability to engage in a critical approach to the evidence presented via the mass media.

The children also displayed a strong concern for human dignity, equality and the need to resolve conflict diplomatically, and were increasingly able to recognise forms of manipulation that may be used by political leaders in their attempts to justify the need for war. They appeared to have a growing understanding of human cultures, political structures, human rights and the underlying sources of conflict between communities. They also appeared to be developing a capacity to imagine alternative realities and futures for the people of Iraq through their discussion.

Their ability to empathise with other communities and create reasoned argument in favour of democracy and against war clearly provided the foundations for active citizenship as outlined by the Advisory Group on Citizenship (1998) and LTS (2002), permeated by a sense of social and moral responsibility. These students reflected aspects of all three strands of Westheimer and Kahne’s (2004) understanding of citizenship – personal moral responsibility, political understanding and social justice. Indeed, discussing the war presented a number of observable benefits to these young students. They had:

• increasingly independent, reflective views about Iraq;
• a growing ability to draw personal conclusions about media evidence;
• developed their views about political affairs;
• increasingly strong emotional responses to war and humanitarian issues;
• increasing support for peace protests and means of social activism;
• a growing concern for the future of the world;
• a determination to develop a deeper understanding of world affairs.

It was evident observing the class lessons that this particular teacher firmly believed that these children’s interests in single-issue, environmental and developing world issues is not untypical of the wider primary-aged student population. However, it was also clear in discussion with her that she realised that her intense valuing of student opinions was not so typical among professional peers.

The evidence of her positive results with students helps to confirm the view that, where a respectful, trusting relationship can be developed between the teaching and support staff and the students, and the teacher encourages the students to develop their opinions, even the most controversial issues can be sensitively discussed in primary classrooms. The type of social empathy and tolerance that may emerge from such discussion combined with the ability to engage critically in the consideration of conflict resolution strategies may also assist students in dealing with more local controversial issues and incidents as they occur within their own lives in the school, playground and at home.