Just as it is with teaching any value, parents and educators teach peace by modeling it as well as by talking about it.

“Many clichés are true, and one of them is, ‘You gotta walk the walk, not just talk the talk,’” said Robin McCormick, director of development and member of the admissions and communications teams at St. Francis Xavier School in Winooski and mother of seven ranging in age from 24 to 43. “You can’t scream at kids and then be surprised when they scream at others. … You can’t refuse to apologize when you’ve made a mistake and then be surprised when a child never shows contrition for bad behavior. Telling kids what is right is good. Showing kids what is right is better.”

At Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington, each day begins with the campus minister leading the faculty, staff, and students in silent prayer or meditation. It’s a time “to calm down and elevate our hearts, souls, and minds to the Lord” before hearing the Gospel of the day and a reflection, explained Campus Minister Pam King.

She said students are taught to be mindful of keeping an equilibrium between, academics, extracurricular activities, jobs, and personal relationships by praying, remembering that they are not alone. “Students are reminded daily that they have God — who is so merciful and loving — they have their parents and family members who are making possible their time at Rice, and they have us, the Rice faculty and staff, to help them organize their schedules and/or navigate their adolescence and high school career in the most effective and faithful way. I think it is safe to say that at Rice ‘order’ is the key word for keeping a peaceful mind and academic success.”

King, the mother of two daughters ages 18 and 20, said that at home her family understands peace “not like the absence of trouble or pain, but rather … keeping a joyful heart due to keeping a holy order in our state of life therefore enjoying the tranquility obtained by doing His will.”

For Tiffany McKenna, principal of The School of Sacred Heart St. Francis de Sales in Bennington and the mother of three children ages 4, 5 and 7, “peace cannot just be in our words, it must also be in our actions and in our hearts.”

She defined peace as “tranquility, love, understanding, and contentment” and said “if one is not at peace, it is harder to reach goals and be the person [God] expects us to be.”

Peace is discussed throughout the year in the school’s religion curriculum. The middle school partners with the local Lion’s Club to create “Peace Posters” that are a part of a contest among Lion’s Club chapters. Those posters are then displayed in the school.

The student community meets for daily morning prayer, and peace is discussed periodically throughout the year there. “One time that peace is the theme of a week is during Advent as we light the peace candle together as a school. We also constantly pray for peace for those who are suffering from illness and/or injury, homelessness, loss of loved ones, etc.,” McKenna said.

Father Lance Harlow teaches 5th/6th grade religion at Good Shepherd Catholic School in St. Johnsbury. “In my experience at GSCS, peace is taught as part of concrete daily living experiences at school. Bad behavior is redirected to apologies, and misunderstandings or conflicts are quickly resolved, and consequences for bad behavior vary according to the age level,” he said. “So peace is exemplified within the context of daily relationships at school with an understanding of what behaviors are appropriate or inappropriate so that children learn how to respect other students.”

On a more academic level, with older students, peace is studied within the context of social studies, history, and literature.

The pastor of Corpus Christi Parish based in St. Johnsbury said it is important for young children to learn to make peace early and to learn how to deal with the stress of nonpeaceful situations “so that their coping skills can develop adequately and they don’t begin maladaptive coping methods, such as drugs, alcohol, or self harm. If we can give them a firm understanding of peaceful resolutions and the ability to respect human dignity, then I hope that will help them as their life becomes more complicated as adults.”

Peace, he added, is the absence of conflict but also the fullness of life: “It is imperfectly realized in this life but will be perfectly realized in heaven.”