During the school year, days speed by, and there is hardly time to stand still and think. The SNS conference made sure there was plenty of opportunity to reflect on the past year in the serene surroundings of Cambridge colleges. As well as talks from several organizations in the field of social change, there were many conversations with the other participants.

These interactions were made interesting and informative by the fact that teachers from the UK, Israel, and Palestine were present. Listening to how both sides experienced the conflict firsthand was fascinating, and hearing about their actions to try and make a positive difference under such difficult circumstances was truly inspiring. This insight made me realize how many sides there are to every event and how in order to get a deeper understanding of the situation, it is so important to hear more perspectives than regular new channels.

I left the conference with an odd positivity, not because a solution is anywhere in sight, but with a renewed trust in human beings. There are so many people who are willing to listen and who are brave enough to take risks and actions to build a better future. 

Education plays a central part in this, as I realized, especially this year. The DfE had given schools the instruction not to talk about the conflict, but by silencing the debate, the individual stories could not be heard and the (mis)information from the social media became even louder.

When questions cannot be asked and discussed in the classroom, there is no platform for social cohesion. In our school, we heard more polarized voices because of it.

I appreciate the fact that schools should not become battlegrounds, and I remember one of the speakers telling our students not to adopt the conflict as it is not something to be fought out in British classrooms. However, there was no denying that the conflict affected school students in a way that not every news story does. Especially students with a forced migration background were emotionally triggered.

Our role as teachers
 

It could be said that keeping the Israel-Palestine conflict outside the classroom would be a way to provide a place for these students in particular to find their feet and to create an environment of calm and peace for any pupil to escape conflict. However, as teachers, we are here to educate, to show different perspectives, to stimulate critical thinking, and to provide students with a better understanding of the world around us.

Creating an environment where all have the ability to speak openly and freely on any topic and to work through differences of opinion in this way, rather than silencing it, cultivates an atmosphere of calm and peace not through avoidance but by tackling this misinformation and tension head-on. 

The strength in diversity
 

Like many London schools, ours has pupils from all over the world, becoming a place where all these diverse backgrounds, cultures, and many languages are celebrated. In history lessons, students are encouraged to be curious about cultures from around the world, especially where they have influenced Britain in one way or another.

This means that we don’t shy away from uncomfortable topics, as we believe students need to be taught how to discuss these. They need to be able to consider different points of view and understand that there are many shades in the grey area between the polarized black and white.

In the book ‘The Reader’, the main character says that if you understand, you cannot judge. 

Even if this is not always the case, there is truth in how integral it is to understand, so that one can keep an open mind to other people’s opinions and ideas. To learn how to do this, students need to be able to discuss hard topics, like the Israel-Palestine conflict.

To bring people together, to build social cohesion, students need to reflect on the contradictions in people’s actions, to realize that even when a solution seems to be mere hope, they should never give up trying to find one.

To find out more about bringing critical thinking and empathy-based Israel-Palestine education into your school by booking a Solutions Not Sides session, head to bit.ly/SNSBookUs. 

To find out more about becoming an inclusive and social cohesion-friendly school by becoming an Olive Branch Award school, head here.