From the Himalayas in Nepal to Machu Picchu in Peru, from the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands to the border between Israel and Jordan, and all the way to the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory in Vermont, people around the world have “planted” more than 200,000 Peace Poles over the last three decades as monuments to the goal of achieving peace. This week, Horace Mann School added to the number of Peace Poles installed worldwide by placing four of these simple white staffs with their inspiring messages on the school’s grounds—one on each of HM’s four campuses.

The “plantings”—as the act of securing and dedicating the Peace Poles has come to be known—took place at HM in the days leading up to International Day of Peace, on September 21, 2013, a day declared originally by the United Nations in 1981. Peace Pole dedications at HM will culminate on that day, when one is installed at the school’s John Dorr Nature Laboratory in Connecticut, during Dorr’s annual Family Picnic for all members of the HM community. By the end of the week each campus will be graced by a gleaming white hexagonal pole inscribed on each of its six sides with one of these thoughts: “May peace prevail on earth; May peace prevail in our hearts; May peace prevail in our communities; May peace prevail in our nations.”

The event stemmed from a Social Artistry initiative in which a number of teachers at Horace Mann are involved. The Social Artistry movement defines itself as a way of enhancing human capacities in light of social complexity, with having a transformative effect on culture an ultimate goal. HM Middle and Upper Division theater and dance teacher Denise DiRenzo participated in a social artistry workshop in Georgia last winter, and learned about the Peace Pole movement and the flag ceremonies that usually accompany their dedication. Moved by the ceremony and what the Peace Poles represent, she suggested to HM Head of School Dr. Kelly bringing the idea to Horace Mann School. He agreed, feeling that the Peace Poles represent so much of what Horace Mann aims to pursue in the character of the school and in its core values. “This was a very fitting way to begin the school year. I think it set the tone for how we hope students and our entire community will feel and interact with one another,” Dr. Kelly said.

Ceremonies at HM’s Bronx campus took place during separate special assemblies for students in the school’s Upper, Middle and the Lower Divisions that featured a musical “Peace Medley” sung by student and faculty performers together, and inspiring words by the renowned peace activist Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mohandas “Mahatma” Gandhi. Visual and Social Artist Uran Snyder of the World Peace Prayer Society led those gathered at the assemblies in different versions of the flag ceremonies that have become a part of Peace Pole dedications worldwide. Students and faculty members held up flags of each of the Nations officially recognized by the UN and intoned together the words of the Peace Poles: “May peace prevail on earth.” The colorful display of flags, and the powerful sound of voices raised as one gave the occasion a significance that students who participated in this day of ceremonies will long remember.

The students will also surely remember the words of Arun Gandhi, and the stories he told of learning about peace and how to practice non-violence from his grandfather—the world’s foremost teacher and practitioner of non-violence, who served as inspiration to such luminaries as Martin Luther King, Jr., Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama. Arun Gandhi captivated the students with the story of how he came to live with his grandfather when the younger Gandhi was the same age or not far from the age of many in the audience. His tales also established a comfort zone that enabled the students to ask profound questions at the end of each session. And, finally, he offered practical steps a person can pursue, no matter what their age, to address the anger individuals harbor within that contributes to making peace on a larger scale—among communities and nations—so hard to attain.

To each of the assemblies Arun Gandhi presented the story of how, as a young boy growing up in apartheid South Africa in the 1930s, he developed a deep-seated anger in response to the abuse and beatings he suffered at the hands of schoolmates. Coming from India, he said the color of his skin made him stand out. “I was not light enough for the whites, and not dark enough for the Blacks,” he told the students. The object of “hatred all around” he said he decided to learn how to fight, and began working out and lifting weights. Observing how their son’s reaction to violence was more violence, Arun Gandhi’s parents decided to take him to live with the world’s greatest teacher of non-violence—who, conveniently, happened to be his grandfather. In story after story Arun Gandhi demonstrated to the audience how his grandfather, and his parents, turned such daily occurrences as tossing away a partially-used pencil, into opportunities for learning to practice peace—within oneself, toward others, and toward nature, and the natural resources that must be shared worldwide in order for peace to be realized.

Arun Gandhi also shared with the students a lesson he learned from his grandfather about keeping an anger diary, and noting not only what makes one angry, but what a person can do to turn those experiences into positive ones, so that “We can be the change we want to see in the world.”

Thoughtful questions followed each session: “After the time you spent with your grandfather, what were the ways you implemented what he taught you?” asked one student. “What do you think is the scope of peace that is attainable?” asked another. Arun Gandhi answered each with the patience and respect he asked the students to cultivate within themselves.