Students Resolve Playground Disputes
Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, Anaheim City School District
The PAL program at Thomas Edison Elementary School has been training students in the use of Conflict Management skills since 1991. Each new school year, the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade teachers select students to be in PAL who are good listeners and team workers. PAL meetings are held at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesdays (before school) each week. The Conflict Management training begins with activities and games that teach active listening skills. The next step is to learn the role of the Conflict Manager using the process outlined in the training manual.
Once all the students are trained (they have 60 PALs), partners are selected. The Conflict Management partners spend their time during recess roving the playground and when conflicts arise, they ask disputants what they can do to resolve the problem. PALs often encourage groups of children to play a game in a different way. The PAL students fill out a report form and those forms are discussed at the weekly meetings. This gives the students the opportunity to validate each other’s feelings and process their experiences. By working together, the students learn the best method to help others find the best resolution to their conflicts.
TALK Method
Shorecliffs Middle School, Capistrano Unified School District
Shorecliffs Middle School has recently adopted Conflict Mediation as a new way of solving problems peacefully. Several students from their PAL class were trained in the TALK method and now serve as neutral arbitrators between students having conflicts.
T ell your story
A sk for what you need
L ook for solutions
K eep the best solutions
Shorecliff's PAL advisor writes, "We have utilized these new skills through several positive learning experiences. In February, our PAL mediation team was sent to a local elementary school that was having trouble with bullies and gossip. The group of four mediators addressed a group of fourth grade students and demonstrated negative outcomes of bullying and inconsiderate actions through skits and relative experiences. The mediators also shared the TALK method to prevent further conflict.
Several students from school have also benefited from the program. Any student who is faced with a problem can apply for mediation. They are set up privately with a pair of mediators and can discuss their concerns with the disputing student. Many students have already been able to work through problems with their peers and have gained the skills and understanding necessary to achieve this among themselves when future arguments arise. The Conflict Mediation program has not only helped broaden the perspective of PAL students but has also spread the virtues of peace and unity to our community."
Practice Makes Perfect
Huntington Beach High School, Huntington Beach Union High School District
Written by Joyce, 12th grade PAL Student
"Every PAL student at Huntington Beach High School is issued a Conflict Mediator Student Handbook that contains guidelines and information about how to handle Conflict Mediation. Using the handbook, our advisor, Mr. Ostrowski, goes over the different stages of mediation with his students. The class discusses what things to say or do (such as active listening) and what not to do (take sides). After going over the guidelines of a mediation, students then practice role playing in which they work in groups of four and practice mock simulations of a mediation. There are always two mediators, two disputants, and sometimes one observer. Once everyone learns the roles of a mediator, Mr. Ostrowski selects a group every week to practice role playing in front of the rest of the class. Two students act as the disputants and create a problem for the two other students to mediate while the rest of the class observes. Afterward, the observers comment on what the role players were doing right or wrong and what they could improve on.
PAL members generally get the opportunity to participate in real mediations once they have finished a semester of training. Mediation is offered as an alternative to Saturday school for students who have gotten into trouble. There are approximately six mediations per semester. If the students choose the mediation, a date is set up for the meeting in which two mediators and usually one observer is assigned to each mediation. Mediations tend to last around fifteen minutes, depending on the type of conflict."
