Promoting Peaceful Classrooms

May 31, 2022

By Linda M. Woolf, STP President

In the aftermath of World War II, Eleanor Roosevelt traveled to Paris and in a Voice of America radio address (November 11, 1951) stated, “I think that what you want to know—especially you, the women of past-war Europe—is whether you shall be able, tomorrow, to tell your children that peace is at long last, a reality. For it isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.”   I’ve thought a lot about this quote over the past few weeks, as the United States (US) has once again experienced a wave of mass shootings including the Tops grocery store in Buffalo and the Uvalde elementary school massacres.  Certainly, there is very little that I can say here that hasn’t already been said in other forums (I’ve added some links below to my writings on this topic, a column by Dr. Dave Myers, and APA resources).  These deaths are horrific, are difficult to predict, and should never happen.  Our hearts bleed for the victims, their families, and communities. All of us want to be able to tell our students, our families, that maybe tomorrow, “peace is at long last, a reality.”

All of us want an end to this war of violence, the pandemic of hate, and domestic terror. I think all of us would agree that there is much work to be done culturally and politically.....

To read the rest of this letter and past letters from the STP President, click here.

To read Linda Woolf's presidential initiatives for 2022 and the task forces for each initiative, click here.