Macedonia on the brink of peace

Standards

Mid-continent Research on Education and Learning (McREL)

Historic Understanding, Standards 2: Students will understand the historical perspective.

Level 4, Benchmark 2: Students will analyze the influences specific ideas and beliefs had on a period of history and specifies how events might have been different in the absence of those ideas and beliefs

Benchmark 4: Students will analyze the effects specific decisions had on history and studies how things might have been different in the absence of those decisions

Benchmark 5: Students will understand that the consequences of human intentions are influenced by the means of carrying them out

Materials

Suggested time

Article and questions only: 20-30 minutes

Full lesson plan: two-three class periods

Procedures

1. Ask students if they know anything about the situation that has been developing in Macedonia throughout 2001. Have them find the country on the map. See if they know anything about the country -- its geography, industry and people.

2. Have students read the CNNfyi.com article "Macedonia on the brink of peace." Then ask the following questions:

• What happened over the weekend of August 4, 2001 that could bring peace to the country of Macedonia? What setback just occurred that may delay the approval of the peace treaty?
• What are the two major obstacles to peace that have been negotiated to the content of both sides? What specific conditions have been accepted by both parties? Why do you think these conditions are so important to Albanians? What remains unresolved? What detail in the story suggests one way that the Albanians rebel fighting may be resolved outside of the negotiations?
• What similar world conflicts currently exist? What do you know about their negotiation processes and how they have been going? What conditions do you think must be present in order for negotiations to be successful, and why?

3. Using Macedonia as an example, allow students to arrange themselves into groups of four -- six students each and choose another world conflict, past or present, to explore major points of contention and the groups that represent the conflicting viewpoints. The following are a few of many possibilities. Students can look through the related stories listed for more ideas and for information on some of the following topics:

4. Next, have the students determine rules by which they believe respectful and progressive negotiations can occur. You may wish to direct them to online or print text sources of negotiation strategies. Or, if you have any peer mediators in your class (or a peer mediation program in your school), you may wish to have one of these students explain the rules of mediation that can be used in resolving conflicts.

5. Within each student group, have the groups divide themselves into the different factions represented in the conflict they researched. Give them time to consider how to best present their concerns and conditions to the others within their group.

Assessment

Depending on the time you can allocate for this activity, either let the groups work simultaneously or ask them to individually present their mock negotiations to the class. Remind them to abide by the rules they chose for effective negotiations. After they complete their mock negotiations, ask them to evaluate the work they accomplished, whether or not they were able to come to any resolutions, and what they think would need to occur to either make the resolutions a reality or to get to successful resolutions.

Accommodation

Students can look at the makeup of different groups within their own school or community. Where are there conflicts? Using the same procedures described above, students can role play members of various factions within the school or community and come together to try to negotiate peaceful resolutions. Ask them to evaluate their mock negotiations and consider how they might make any of their ideas into realities.

Challenge

Students can organize a debate in which the topic is War or Peace: Which brings resolution? One half of the students can take the position that war is inevitable in order to arrive at peace, and the other can argue that nonviolent negotiations are the only way to build peace. Have students conduct research to defend their positions, and schedule a time for the debate in class.