Something is Wrong – Exploring the Roots of Youth Violence

A 382-page pdf curriculum guide addressing violence in the lives of youth. From the introduction:” The Chicago Freedom School, Project NIA and Teachers for Social Justice have partnered along with other volunteers to develop a curriculum guide in order to contribute to the ongoing efforts by young people and their adult allies to analyze the root causes of youth violence and to create local solutions”

The authors “wanted to create a curriculum that would provide a holistic view of violence in the lives of young people across a number of arenas. Through this curriculum, we want to challenge youth to think about a) the roots of violence in their lives; b) the enforcers and victims of violence; c) the effects of violence on both victims and perpetrators; and d) how violence can ultimately be minimized through systemic changes.”

For the Sake of Children: Peacebuilding Storytelling Guide

Online version of a book of story-based activities focused on promoting peace awareness in young people. “The intention of the peace-building stories and activities presented in this book is for any person involved with children, whether a parent, a grandparent, a teacher, a child-care worker, or a health care professional, to ignite children’s imaginations and expand their understandings about peace and how it can be created and become an active part of the creation process.”
The activities promote the development and sharing of stories with the following identified peace-building elements.
– happy endings
– everyone winning
– nonviolent resolution
– imaginative and creative
– challenges existing stereotyping
– faith and hope
– peace with the environment
– finding personal peace
– elements that support the idea that peace is possible

Peer Mediation Invitational Coaching Information from WJC

This web page provides sample materials used to host a Peer Mediation Invitational Event. The Western Justice Center Peer Mediation Invitational is an annual event and an opportunity to increase and deepen nonviolence and conflict resolution training for students who serve as peer mediators on their campuses.Ê During the invitational, students from all over Los Angeles County participate in demonstration sessions where they take on the role of disputing parties as well as the role of mediator, managing each state of the mediation from welcoming the parties to writing the agreement. Attorneys, judges, professional mediators and peers provide feedback and coaching so the students’ skills can be recognized and improved.

Promoting better resolution of conflict with “learn for free!”

Pdf article from Conflict Management in Higher Education Report, Volume 5, Number 1, (Sept 2004), which presents a project at Dalhousie University College of Continuing Education in Halifax, Nova Scotia called “Learn for Free! … a day of one-hour sessions — each of which provides a glimpse into the content of our workshops, the expertise of our instructors, and the skills we seek to develop, the objectives of Learn for Free! are to expand our reach with an alternative approach to handling conflict, to boost our profile within the community, to provide a service to the community in which we live, and to attract new workshop registrants.”