Education for Peace (1950)

[Music] [Music] for almost 100 years before the tallest skyscraper in the city of Philadelphia was built the small building over which it Towers his been a mecca for many who seek to serve their fellow men in this building headquarters of the American friend service committee a division of the Society of Friends people work to demonstrate that brotherly love and a respect for human dignity can overcome the causes of misery and [Music] hatred the staff of the service committee is truly International in thought and in the origin of many of its members and although it is sponsored by a religious sect over 2/3 of its workers are not [Music] Quakers in the United States many of the projects of the committee are designed to give young people an opportunity to understand the causes of social problems through study through service and by meeting and exchanging ideas with other young people in different circumstances and from different backgrounds [Music] among these projects are a group of international seminars at which students from many lands meet with a selected faculty for 7 weeks each summer one of these seminars is held in Plymouth New Hampshire a village nestled in a valley of the White Mountains here the attractive buildings of a boy's private school house the students faculty and staff of the seminar each morning the entire student body of the seminar attends a more or less formal discussion meeting this meeting is Guided by the dean of the faculty and the subject is generally determined by the special field of knowledge of the visiting faculty member these subjects May range from a discussion of the United Nations to a consideration of the relationship between science and Society but the meeting usually wanders freely away from the basic subject to embrace the questions opinions and special interests of the students [Music] there are 25 students from 17 nations in this group they bring to bear on the discussion of any subject a cross-section of most of the cultures of [Music] mankind after the discussion meeting smaller bodies of students meet in study groups to exchange knowledge on a subject in which they have special interest they will report on their subject at a later meeting of the full seminar this group is Chairman by yoshio noro from Tokyo using the facilities of the excellent School library yoshio leads his group in developing a comprehensive report on a philosophical and religious approach to International Peace [Music] students frequently hold informal discussions about interesting things in their own countries in this case a German boy explains the background of national socialism the group includes a Belgian boy an American Girl a Filipino and a British guane such informal discussions may lead in many directions a German boy sneezes an Indian says something in his own language and then explains that in his country it is customary to say your beloved has remembered you when anyone [Music] sneezes the German explains that in his land the expression good health is used and demonstrates how this is written in [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] German a student from araq repeats the Arabian phrase used in the same situation which means God have mercy upon me and shows how it is written in [Music] Arabic then yoshio quotes the Japanese phrase somebody speaks about you and shows how it is written in [Music] Japanese a simple lesson that all all over the world people are alike in more ways than they are different the housekeeping of the seminar is done by the students on a share and share alike basis two Germans wash dishes and exchange ideas with the English girl who dries them and the American who is detailed for the day to be pot washer a professional dietician supervises a menu in the kitchen but students take turns in preparing the food and helping with a cooking frequently individual students prepare their national dishes of which none is more popular than the Sukiyaki cooked by yoshio some of the proper ingredients for Sukiyaki are not readily available in the United States but yoshio has substituted others to make a dish that pleases everyone the school is equipped with all modern appliances for doing housework and some students like this Vietnamese boy and Greek girl are perplexed by the intricacies of an American Vacuum [Music] Cleaner rules governing life at the seminar are made by students faculty and staff jointly in a weekly Dem atic community meeting frequently discussion of such matters as the unfairness to others of being late for meals become more vehement and differences of opinion on International [Music] Affairs Sports form an important part of the recreational life of the seminar and the most popular international sport is tennis in a doubles match an American boy and an English girl play an American girl and a Dutch boy on a neighboring Court a stiffer game of singles is in progress between a British guon and an Indian a nearby lake is a popular spot for cultural and recreational activities amateur painters like the wife of the seminars director must expect forthright International criticism groups of students organize various kinds of Beach Sports but as usual at the seminar the most popular sport is a spontaneous exchange of ideas sometimes students take advantage of these unscheduled meetings for more intimate talks with faculty members each of whom is an outstanding Authority in his field but frequently as in this discussion between an Arab and a sudan German the faculty member becomes a moderator for the students forcefully expressed [Music] Viewpoint the students learn much about the way of life in an American Community by frequent visits to the town of Plymouth here they stop at a sale of Cake and Candy held in the lawn of a church these convections are made by the women of the church and the money from the sale is donated to the church the students are popular in the community and the town's people enjoy an opportunity to meet and talk to them each visiting lecturer is an expert in some field of international interest and his lectures deal with his specialty but his first meeting is with the program committee where the students suggest the point they would like to have him cover together they work out the coming week's course of study each Saturday night another student committee organizes an entertainment this week the school gymnasium has been converted into a cafe in which the students and faculty hold a masquerade party some students create unusual costumes which they display to the group others like yoshio and a friend from India wear their national [Music] costume children of Faculty members look on in Sleepy Wonder as the floor is given over to a truly International [Music] foxr the dean of the seminar and his wife sit with their children to watch the dancing at a table which is decorated with the theme of one world in every language the director of the seminar and his wife spent some time bicycling through Japan and yoshio joins them to reminisce their table is decorated to express peace in every tongue each day there is a brief period of meditation in the Quaker manner for students who voluntarily attend with the faculty and their families there is no preaching each listens to the promptings of the spirit in terms of his own religion his own deity his own sect at the end each expresses with a solemn handshake his feeling of Oneness with his fellow men his belief that only through understanding and respect for human dignity can come peace [Music]