Education in Countries at War: Save The Children Teacher’s Guide

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One in five children around the world is denied their right to an education. For just over 40 million children living in countries affected by armed conflict, going to school is only a dream. In these countries such as Uganda, Sri Lanka and Colombia, schools are closed or are falling apart due to damage caused by fighting. The journey to school may be too dangerous. Teachers may have been conscripted as soldiers, or left because they were not being paid. As a result, access to education is often impossible.

In September 2006 Save the Children, a non-profit organization that works to make a difference in children’s lives in more than 110 countries, launched a global challenge called Rewrite the Future to improve the situation for children whose education has been affected by armed conflict. The challenge is to raise funds to ensure that 8 million children go to school by 2010.

School provides children with normality and routine, as well as providing children with hope and the opportunity to rewrite their futures. Save the Children is now calling on governments around the world to put in place policies and plans to ensure that good quality education is a reality for all children.

As part of the five-year program, Save the Children is working in North America and Europe with teachers and schoolchildren to broaden the awareness of how violence and armed conflict can threaten children’s survival or development to their full potential. The first step is the publication of a Teacher’s Resource Guide on Colombia, which contains background research, useful links, and activities to encourage children and young people to learn about the issue, discuss their views, share ideas, develop skills, and explore solutions.

The Teacher’s Resource Guide was developed jointly by Save the Children staff and Canadian teachers and schoolchildren. It is geared to fit into the Canadian curriculum from Grades 3 – 12. Some of the more interesting activities include children role-playing as reporters writing about children’s lives in a country at war, or creating a board game with steps to take a donation of $10 million dollars to build schools, hire teachers, remove landmines, or pay for school fees. All activities come with an explanation, a list of low-cost materials, and step-by-step procedures.

Since its development in late 2006, the Guide has been distributed to a pilot group of schools and feedback is being collected for future editions and guides on other countries.

Additional free materials for schools to complement the guide are posters, postcard petitions calling for the Canadian government to support more funding for global education, pencils stamped Rewrite the Future, and supplementary documentation for teachers related to achieving the 2015 Millenium Development Goal “Education for All.”

Save the Children invites Canadian teachers to evaluate the Guide’s integration into their current classroom activities. To preview or download a copy, visit Save the Children Canada’s site at http://www.savethechildren.ca/whatwedo/rtf/index.html.

Erin Smith is Program Officer for Save the Children Canada.

Equipment required
• Bell (to ring at beginning/end of school day)
• One template of pencil/bullet per group/class
• 20 sheets of paper per class
• 50 sheets of paper in central stores
• Two pairs of scissors per group/class
• One black and one red pen per group/class
• Two pencils per group/class
• Two black pens, two red pens and two pencils in central stores

Aim of the game
The aim of the game is to get a good education (primary and secondary school) for each person playing the game. In order to show that you are getting an education you need to make pencils out of paper.

The pencils must be cut out of paper, the tips coloured in with a black pen and the words “rewrite the future” written on the pencil in red. The more pencils you make, the greater the level of education you have received.

• 20 pencils – primary school education for one person
• 40 pencils – secondary school education for one person
• 70 pencils – further education for one person
• 100 pencils – university education for one person

Timing of the game
• 10 minutes to introduce the game
• 30 minutes to play the game
• 20 minutes for debriefing

Setting up the game
Divide the group into classes of three to six people. Each class will need a pencil case with two pairs of scissors, a pencil, a ruler, a red and a black pen, 20 sheets of paper and a pencil template. To get more paper you can go to the central stores (a teacher/young person will be in charge of the stores, with 50 sheets of spare paper, two black pens, two red pens and two pencils).
Set classes up around tables. Show them the area where the central stores are located.

Each day in the life of the school will be three minutes so you will be at school for two weeks. Explain that the bell will go off after every three minutes and all work should cease at this time. The class should wait for further instructions and the bell to signal the beginning of the next school day.

Explain to the groups that when they have made 20 pencils per person they should put up their hand to show that their class has been educated and they can move on to the next level of their education.

The teacher/leader is there to enforce rules, and ensure there is no cheating or stealing.

Give supplies out from the central stores, one item per class per round, as the game will play better if it is more difficult to be able to make pencils. Even when the central stores are empty you will have to give paper out as the game will become boring if there is no paper available (but give out one sheet at a time).

First 3 minutes
(Normal school day.)
Allow the classes to get started on their task and begin to make pencils.

3 to 6 minutes
(Explain due to curfew – they have to remain in their house.)
At the beginning of this round explain that conflict has broken out in your country – there is now a curfew so you are unable to make pencils. You are stuck in your house and unable to attend school.

6 to 9 minutes
(Empty central stores.)
Due to the conflict, transport has been disrupted and supplies can no longer get to the school. The central stores are empty. The class can make pencils but they may run out of paper. This can still be provided but only a piece at a time (it needs to be difficult to make pencils).

9 to 12 minutes
(Soldiers to remove equipment from classes.)
There has been a coup and a new government is in charge. Soldiers have set up their barracks in the school and have taken some of your equipment to use for their own supplies.

12 to 15 minutes
(Give classes new template for bullet.)
Soldiers need more bullets and have conscripted you to make them – stop making pencils and make bullets for the soldiers. There is plenty of paper for this activity. Make sure the bullets are finished before starting a new round.

15 to 18 minutes
(Take tables from the children.)
The soldiers needed firewood and have burned all the tables – you can no longer sit at a table as you don’t have them. Good news though – you can have your education again and can make pencils instead of bullets.

18 to 21 minutes
(Only half the class can participate.)
The school is unsafe as fighting has started to occur close to the school so half of your class has to look out for bullets, bombs, etc. Only half the group can make pencils, the others need to stand and look out for bombs and bullets.

21 to 24 minutes
(If possible take the children outside as the school
building has been destroyed.)
The school building has been destroyed by fighting. You need to find somewhere else to go to make your pencils.

24 to 27 minutes
(Under curfew – only one person in the class can take the materials.)
It is now too dangerous to leave your home and go to school. You can make pencils but you have to do it at home so only one person in the group can take the materials to use them and make pencils. The others cannot make pencils as they do not have any equipment.

27 to 30 minutes
(Return tables and equipment to classes.)
The conflict has finished and the government has provided a tent, tables and equipment that were taken by the soldiers.
Spend some time talking about the activity with the children. Some people can become quite involved in the activity and it is important to share some of the frustrations that they may have felt. Here are some examples of debriefing questions:

• How much education did you get?
• What did it feel like to go to school in a conflict situation?
• What did you wish for when you were in the conflict situation?
• What was the worst thing that happened to you?
• What would make the situation better?
• How important is education to children?
• Why is it important?