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Each individual has his or her own beliefs and views on different
issues. These beliefs and views often affect the way they work, cooperate,
and live. To create our web page, we needed to consider the values
and thoughts of others, concerning peace and democracy. Our general question was, "How
do countries and people achieve, and maintain, peace?"
To reach a conclusion, we conducted a survey that consisted of the following five
questions and had the middle school students of our school answer
the surveys in their advisory groups.
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What is peace and what does it mean to you?
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What are the five most important actions you can do
as an individual to keep peace in your home/school environment?
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Individually answer what the government of your
nationality is doing to keep peace. (3-5 sentences)
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In your own words, define democracy in 3-5
sentences.
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Are peace and democracy related? Explain in 3-5
sentences.
Questions 1,2,4, and 5 were answered within advisory
groups, while the third question was answered individually. They were answered
without the assistance of resources. The following are explanations of
questions, while interpretations are located under the links on the left.
1. What is peace and what does it mean to you?
The concept of peace is viewed and defined in many
different ways. The Merriam-Webster Online
Dictionary1 defines peace as, "A state of tranquility or quiet,"
“Freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions." "Harmony in personal relations," “a state or period of
mutual concord between governments," or "a pact or agreement to end
hostilities between those who have been at war or in a state of enmity".
Although dictionaries can provide us with a definition, it was important
for us to know what middle school students consider as peace.
The meaning of peace also varies from person to person, and
can be especially affected depending on the personal experiences of an
individual.
For example, a child raised in a war-torn country would have a different opinion
of what peace is, than a child raised in a country who has never tasted war. Our
goal in administering this survey was to discover the different ways that peace
is viewed, and the importance of peace in the opinion of the middle school
students.
1. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary © 2003 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.
http://www.webster.com Accessed February 14, 2003.
2. What are the five most important actions you can do as
an individual to keep peace in your home/school environment?
Individuals, in performing everyday actions, can make their
environment a more peaceful place. People of all ages have the potential to
positively influence their world. Due to the fact that our
project is aimed at middle school students, it was necessary for us to discover
the steps they were taking on a day-to-day basis to achieve a peaceful state in,
and around, their lives. In addition, by asking this question, we were hoping to
raise awareness of the impact each person could have on his or her world. The
replies we received for this question also tie in with the question we added to
the survey concerning the role the government plays in peace-keeping within the
country.
3. Individually answer what the government of your nationality is doing to
keep peace. (3-5 sentences).
The responsibility of a government is to keep peace and order
within its country. Often, individuals will be aware that their government keeps
the country peaceful and stable, yet the method through which they do so remains
an uncertainty. Our purpose in including this question was to examine the knowledge
of middle school students concerning this topic. The replies would reflect upon
their knowledge of their country and government. With a student population with
various nationalities, this question was especially effective in viewing peace
from a world wide perspective.
4. In your own words, define democracy in 3-5 sentences.
Democracy is an important part of many major countries in the
world. The Merriam-Webster Online
dictionary defines it as, “a government in which the supreme power is vested
in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of
representation usually involving periodically held free elections”. However, a
dictionary definition of democracy does not suffice; we needed a definition of
democracy as defined by middle school students. Therefore, we requested a
descriptive explanation of democracy in the own words of each Middle School
advisory. In doing so, we intended to obtain a clear view of the knowledge of
middle school students, concerning democracy.
5. Are peace and democracy related? Explain in 3-5 sentences. Our topic for this project is 'Peace and Democracy'. Are they
related? By requesting 3-5 sentences, we hoped to receive
a clear answer of the opinions and ideas of students our age. Various cultures of
the world have produced government systems that try to create a fairly peaceful
state of life for the citizens. Some of
these systems have failed to create peace within a country, but others have
touched their countries with peace and stability. The specific system we are
concerned with today is democracy, and we anticipated similarities and
contradictions in the opinions of the surveyed. |
