Corrections by the General Assembly: Delete red text; Add green text.

Green Party of California Proposals (June 25, 2006, version)

SPONSOR: PLATFORM WORKING GROUP

PRESENTERS: Ellen Maisen sfvgreens@utla.net

CONTACT: Elizabeth Green, info@green247.org

SUBJECT: Public Education About Conflict Resolution Peace, Violence, Freedom, Addiction, and Self-Help:

Grassroots democracy, social justice and equal opportunity, feminism and gender equity, respect for diversity, and personal and global responsibility are the involved 10 Key Values of the GP.

BACKGROUND: On June 25, 2006, the GPCA determined that this content shall be proposed to the subsequent General Assembly for decision in the form of proposed amendment to an existing plank in the GPCA Platform.

PURPOSE: Amendment of the Public Education plank of the GPCA Platform in the form of a talking point.
PROPOSAL 1: The GPCA immediately adds the following statement to the Public Education plank of its Platform as a talking point.

G

Educate children and their families as early as possible how to recognize, prevent, stop, and report violence and addiction, and how to keep the peace, using role-play.

G

Promote creativity, assertiveness training and self-defense classes in elementary school curricula.

G

Provide education in maintaining peaceful interactions in senior junior high school curricula.

G

Offer small classes, negotiation, mediation, human rights litigation, and violence de-escalation training courses in senior high school curricula.

G

Include civil rights litigation instruction in all civics courses.

Provide children and their families with education on how to recognize, prevent, stop, and report violence and addiction, and how to keep the peace, using role-play, and in negotiation, mediation, human rights, litigation, violence de-escalation, self-governance training with simulation of civic, legal and governing within the school setting, as maturity allows.

G

Promote the role of, and need for, men in the conservation of peace and public health.

G

Educate children, Provide professional on-the-job training and increased pay for all teachers (including head-start and child-care), principals, administrators, custodians and bus-drivers in conflict resolution.

DEFINITIONS: Strategems are rules by which the initial approach to a problem-solving task is regulated by specific features.
COMMITTEE DECISION: The ideas were first presented to the Green Issues WG at the 2003 San Francisco plenary. An initial written form was posted on the Women’s Caucus discussion board in April 2004. It was first posted on the Platform WG list-serve in May 2004, enabled for further consideration at the May 2004 Ventura Plenary, revised extensively thereafter, and was voted at the Sylmar Plenary of May 2005 to receive General Assembly assessment. It was included for General Assembly discussion at the Yolo Plenary of December 2005 but was not published in the Plenary program but had comments at and after the Platform Working Group Meeting at that Plenary. It was revised and invited back by the General Assembly at the Ventura Plenary of June 2006. On June 25, 2006, the Platform Committee elected a new presenter by consensus.

TIMELINE: There will be a two-minute time limit per expert on the subject. For the sake of time, it is requested that others ask any questions in writing in advance.

RESOURCES: Two large screens 6 ft x 6 ft and two overhead projectors. Someone to prepare the handouts and posters of reference material.

Note: Please mail your corrections and suggestions immediately.