Educating for Democracy in the 21st Century

re: Ask The Expert [05/16/06]: Educating for Democracy in the 21st Century

Carl Hopple — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 18:39:49 GMT

David Keller Trevaskis:

Project peace sound good- the attorney angle is not something I have heard about before but it makes sense. I'm wondering if there are any books you would recommend to learn about the conflict resolution skills that attorneys bring? I am convinced that students only really use skills if they get lots of practice in them. Are students taught negotiation in general or only when they are really in conflict? What resources would you recommend that show the positive side of conflict (other than the Lappe book)? What are the challenges in implementing this program in the real world of schools? It seems like a lot of students don't take conflict mediation seriously- they seem to not believe in it or feel it is weak. How do you sell it?

Carl Hopple

re: Ask The Expert [05/16/06]: Educating for Democracy in the 21st Century

Michelle Stasa — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 18:40:20 GMT

In most of your examples of civic engagement for young adults, you refer to "many studies and the data shows," where can I get this data and what web sites did you use to get other information?

Annenberg has given the teachers in Columbus an unique opportunity to have civic projects which may include local to state levels of participation. How do you keep students interested in these projects in the LONG winter months and at the end of the school year.

Thanks, Michelle Stasa

re: Ask The Expert [05/16/06]: Educating for Democracy in the 21st Century

Eric — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 18:40:41 GMT

Mr. Tevaskis:

I agree that modeling conflict resolution can be a constructive means of teaching kids how to deal with one another on a higher level. Having taken part in peer mediation training as well as having conducted peer mediation sessions, however, I have mixed feelings. Perhaps it was the training I went through, but much of what we covered and eventually attempted to put into practice focused on dealing with petty disputes between several students or groups of students, all of which borne in the petty dramas so often floating around in high school. Suffice to say that despite our best efforts, several grudges were settled outside of school. I don't mention this to discount the idea of mediation, rather, to support the idea of mediation based on "less petty, more substantial" issues. To that end, I support Mock Trial and trial simulations in general. Additionally, I would love to see real school government (with less debote over Prom themes) in which students, teachers and administrators deal with issues like: school lunches, detention policies, stalls on bathroom doors, community outreach, peer tutoring and the like.

I wonder if a forum like this could be used to coordinate/share ideas for setting up something like this?

Does the Ohio Bar Association support Project PEACE?

Eric

re: Ask The Expert [05/16/06]: Educating for Democracy in the 21st Century

DKTrevaskis — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 18:41:43 GMT

Carl Hopple:

I teach a graduate course in dispute resolution for Arcadia University (the old Beaver College) and the texts I use there are Joe Folger's Working through Conflict and the classic Fisher and Ury Getting to Yes. Folger's book is scholarly and a great foundation for anyone who wants to have a deeper appreciation of the nuances of the field; Getting to Yes is a much more popular and easy approach, but for folks who have never been exposed to it, it is a great start in learning about negotiation. (You can check out my course at http://www.leap-kids.com/resources/conflict-s06.php). There are tons of books now out both by attorneys and non-attorneys that discuss the skills of conflict resolution and add to the field, as well as numerous training manuals. I always use the Community Board materials out of San Francisco which have always been good but which have enjoyed a recent upgrade in their presentation through a collaboration with JAMS. The Community Board folks were one of the first groups to get involved in school-based mediation and conflict resolution and lots of the materials out in the field are derivative of their early work. Since schools, as do community sites, need to embrace the concepts and adapt them to fit each setting, whatever materials you begin with should ultimately be modified and institutionalized on the local level.

You are right to note that kids need to practice these skills and we need to sell them on their importance, not just in the heat of negative conflict but at all times. The best selling method is by having adults and peers practice what they preach. My 14 year old grandson will sometimes dismiss my messages about positive conflict resolution just because he is a 14 year old and he needs to challenge things in his world, but I do delight when he shares an "I" statement with his mother!

re: Ask The Expert [05/16/06]: Educating for Democracy in the 21st Century

DKTrevaskis — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 18:42:39 GMT

Michelle Stasa:

In most of your examples of civic engagement for young adults, you refer to "many studies and the data shows," where can I get this data and what web sites did you use to get other information?

There are lots of sources for information on civic engagement. The national Civic Mission for Schools effort is a good place to start (http://www.civicmissionofschools.org/) as is the Youth for Justice initiative of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (see http://www.youthforjustice.org--all of the programs listed there have studies to consider, especially the Center for Civic Education and the Constitutional Rights Foundation; this site will also allow you to link with your statewide law-related and civic education program). The National Council for Social Studies (see http://www.ncss.org) and your state and local social studies councils also have valuable information to share. I read everything Diana Hess of the University of Wisconsin writes.

Answering the second part of your question--how to keep things moving during the LONG winter months--is what makes for champion teachers. I only taught regularly in the classroom for 6 years and that was a long time ago, but I have the honor of working with many gifted teachers throughout the nation and the best message I can share is to keep things fresh by trying new techniques and exploring new approaches and materials. Our children in schools today have been raised in a high paced technological environment which makes a mockery of the idea of learning by sitting still and listening for long periods at a time. That doesn't mean you have to match technologies with them, though blogging, instant messaging, google searches and streaming videos--let alone Internet 2--should be embraced. Sometimes by going low-tech on kids you can bring them into the material at a deeper level than all the technologies out there can do. I still enjoy creating collages with scissors and glue. You also need to reach kids in as many ways as possible. I have a wonderful teacher I work with who gets middle school children to dance and sing to songs about Mahatma Gandhi and Aung San Sun Kyi instead of the rappers on their ipods (check out the CD she created at http://www.revolutionofthespirit.com/).

re: Ask The Expert [05/16/06]: Educating for Democracy in the 21st Century

DKTrevaskis — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 18:44:22 GMT

Eric:

I wonder if a forum like this could be used to coordinate/share ideas for setting up something like this?

Does the Ohio Bar Association support Project PEACE?

Thank you for your thoughtful reflection on your experiences with mediation, though I think you miss the importance of learning the skills of conflict resolution found dealing with the "petty dramas" of high school or of learning about the process of government by legislating over the prom. I treat all learning opportunities with respect, remembering a wonderful comment my friend and mentor Isadore Starr said when someone talked about a criminal getting off on a technicality. "These are not mere technicalities, " Starr noted, "but rather fundamental rights that people have fought and died for." One person's petty drama is another's core experience and if we can get students to use skills they learn fto handle the petty dramas in high school or to deal with the prom, perhaps they will have the skills to use for the conflicts of family, work and life that will surely follow.

I appreciate that not all disputes get resolved peacefully, but I always wonder how many more would result in violence if we did nothing. I share your love of mock trials and other forms of simulations and encourage such exercises as great ways to learn about dealing with conflict in positive ways.

Finally, as regards the Ohio Bar Association, it does not use the Project PEACE model but it has wonderful programs for schools and is a tremendous resource.

re: Educating for Democracy in the 21st Century

rangerspaul — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 20:53:25 GMT

Do you think trading winfield for Beatty was a good deal?