A new spin on peace

Kim Freese crouched on the cold ground Thursday morning, stuck a pair of green scissors into the grass in front of Derby Ridge Elementary School and then planted a pencil into the freshly made hole. Attached to the pencil’s eraser was a multicolored paper pinwheel that had been made by a student in one of her art classes.

“It’s starting to look better now,” Freese said, sitting back on her heels. “It’s starting to look like a pinwheel garden.”

The 200 or so paper “flowers” in front of the school were made by students in her art classes; and within their folded petals were words of peace, all in celebration of International Peace Day.

But the cool, blustery wind on this last full day of summer posed quite a few problems for Freese. “Hopefully they won’t blow away today,” she said as a strong gust blew down the largest pinwheel and a “Pinwheels for Peace” sign.

In 2005, Florida teachers Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan created Pinwheels for Peace as a way for students to express their feelings about international issues in their daily lives. In its inaugural year, about 500,000 pinwheels spun in 1,325 locations around the globe.

In its second year, Pinwheels for Peace has grown dramatically. Ayers said in an e-mail Tuesday that she expected at least 2,300 locations to participate, though the number could be bigger because not all participants register.

Pinwheels for Peace is part of the bigger International Peace Day, created by a United Nations resolution in 1981 “to promote the ideals of peace and to give positive evidence of their commitment to peace in all viable ways.” In 2001, Sept. 21 became the official date of International Peace Day and a day of global cease-fire.

On Thursday, Ayers and McMillan were scheduled to take the Pinwheels for Peace project to the United Nations International Day of Peace Commemoration event New York City. There they planned to distribute more than 600 pinwheels to the city’s children.

Freese said she heard about the project from a friend who participated in it last year and thought it would be an interesting way to talk to her students about peace in everyday life.

Each class at Derby Ridge Elementary participated, though participation wasn’t required and not every student made a pinwheel.

“They had a choice, like anything that is political,” Freese said.

At the beginning of Monday’s class, Freese explained the project to her second-graders and approached the subject of peace carefully. “Peace could mean lots of things: how we treat each other, how we treat our environment or just learning something new,” she said.

After receiving their directions, the students grabbed fistfuls of markers to color their pinwheels. Once they had finished their designs, they cut out their pinwheels, folded them and used push pins to attach them to the ends of pencils.

“It’s crazy ‘cause we have to use so many colors,” said second-grader Kyle Crane.

Although the students were supposed to color their pinwheels and then write their thoughts about peace on the back, most of the second-graders chose to skip the writing part. Instead they focused on decorating their pinwheels with bright colors and patterns.

Students at Parkade Elementary School also participated in Pinwheels for Peace. Parkade teachers set up the pinwheels after school on Wednesday; and when students arrived at school Thursday morning, they were greeted by about 100 of their pinwheels spinning near the front door.

Parkade did the project last year, and students who participated then had a better idea of what they wanted to do this year.

“They understand a little bit more about what they want to write down about peace,” art teacher Bonnie Carlson said. “They know what colors looked good last year.”

Students decorated the pinwheels with pictures of American flags, peace signs and words of peace and love. “Some of them have poems,” Carlson said. “Some have words of peace, love and kindness.”

Last year every student at Parkade participated in Pinwheels for Peace, creating about 450 pinwheels. But this year, International Peace Day sneaked up on Carlson, so she asked teachers to make the pinwheels in their own classrooms.

Despite Thursday’s wind, most of the pinwheels at Derby Ridge remained intact. “I went out at lunch and repaired a few of them,” Freese said in good humor. “It looks like I’ve only lost three; we were really lucky.”