about the life of the group of people ( farmers, fisher folks, street children, and OFWs) The song will be composed of at least three paragraphs/stanzas: › Verse 1 – speaks of the present condition/situation of the group. › Verse 2 – speaks of the root causes of these situations. › Verse 3 – speaks of the possible solutions to the present situations. › Creative group presentation will follow Refers to the existence of social, political, and economic structures and relationships within and across societies which result in the vast majorities of human beings gaining access to disproportionately less resources than they deserve on criteria of human needs, rights and social justice. According to Dr. Paul Farmer, “structural violence is visited upon all those whose social status denies them access to the fruits of scientific and social progress. In simple term, it means that there is unjust or unequal distribution of wealth or resources among human beings. Why are the great majority of the Filipino poor? › Because while a small minority or privileged elite have accumulated enormous wealth and political power and live luxuriously, large majority are still deprived of their basic needs. Is a state of being poor and lack of something – Merriam Webster Dictionary. Poverty is multifaceted problem. › It is an economic problem. › It is a social problem. › It is an educational problem. › It is a political problem. Underdevelopment A low standard of living for the vast majority of the people The proliferation of squatters’ colonies A high mortality rate for children Huge foreign debt, and etc › it is a social problem as evidenced by the ever – widening gap between the rich and the poor. To survive, many children are driven to; Criminality Prostitution, and those who have lost hope of achieving upward mobility in society through diligent and honest efforts turn to Gambling or worse join the rank of the Insurgents – a person who fights against an established government or authority. › It reduces a child’s readiness for school because it leads to poor physical health and motor skills, diminishes a child’s ability to concentrate and remember information, and reduces attentiveness, curiosity and motivation › The Americans developed the democratic order, not the military establishment. But they neglected to develop the society that was the basis of this system. › Social unrest caused by unjust income distribution in the Western world stands to become a serious political poverty. What are then the roles of peace education? 1. Peace education needs to raise the consciousness of the poor regarding the roots of their poverty and position of inequality. 2. Peace education empowers us to seek greater social justice (for instance, agrarian reform and profit sharing), a fair distribution of national wealth and income.
3. Peace education can motivate the
local elite to make personal sacrifices to practice social justice and to put their professional and technical skills in the service of the poor. 4. Finally, doing peace education means, changing some structures both operational and attitudinal structures. o Operational structures – are systems actually existing now, for instance, legal, military, political, economic, and systems, etc. o Attitudinal structures - are particular world view, mindset, philosophy of life or mental outlook. Butthere is a long term, counterpart to change of operational structures. It is the transformation of attitudinal structures. Oppressive political system (operational structures)exist because there are men and women who are convinced (attitudinal structures) that power is self – aggrandizement rather than for service. Furthermore, the solution to structural violence lies in development, which seeks to promote an economic growth that is in harmony with the environment and to transform society by the equitable distribution of wealth and power among social classes. This is the PEACE paradigm of development.