Posted on 06/23/2002 9:41:31 PM PDT by Sweet_Sunflower29
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Following the shootings at Columbine High and other schools, a growing number of programs attempt to teach children and teachers how to defuse tensions and increase harmony.
At Leary Elementary School in Warminster, Bucks County, most classrooms have a "peace table," a place to settle playground fights and lunch-line arguments. Peacemaking skills are on the agenda along with reading and math.
"We say, stop this fighting," kindergartner Britanny Shortall said.
"Or we shake hands," said classmate Tyler Whiteside.
The nonprofit Peace Center in Langhorne has helped more than 120 elementary, middle and high schools in Bucks County, Philadelphia and South Jersey set up such programs.
"We know that kids are kids -- they aren't perfect," principal Gloria Wetzel said. "We don't want to take away their spirit, but we want them to learn to make good choices. What they are learning now they will carry with them through their lives. What we do builds peace."
The program helps students learn what to say to lower the temperature in a dispute or how to walk away, and how to recognize a bully.
Groups such as Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Devereaux Foundation, and Creating the Peaceable Classroom are also training teachers and students in antiviolence efforts.
In Philadelphia, for example, students at seven city schools spend an hour a week discussing bullying and other issues such as cliques, personal safety and family conflict.
Pennsylvania has awarded $9 million for violence prevention programs over the last two years. Legislation pending in New Jersey would ban bullying in schools and set up training to prevent it.
Authorities say physical violence has been on the decline in most schools for a decade, but verbal confrontations are common.
"What we're seeing is emotional and social cruelty in schools, and that's what we're addressing," said Debbie Burns of the Peace Center. "We help students to connect to what it is about them that is the same -- they all want respect, understanding, caring, appreciation."
Josh Harris, 8, admits he was getting into trouble at the start of the year. A dispute with a clasmate last fall sent him to the peace table at the back of Alicia Rizzello's classroom. Guidelines posted nearby helped the boys step-by-step through a talk about what went wrong and how to handle themselves next time.
"I started being a bully," Harris said. "But then I saw other people being mean, and I decided it was wrong. It is easier to be nice."
His mother, Wendy Harris of Warminster, is pleased with the admission and praised the Leary Elementary class.
"He realized that he needed to be nicer, and to watch out for other people's feelings," she said. "He learned that people would like him for himself. That he didn't need to be tough."
Proponents say such efforts are essential for safe schools, and dispute the suggestion that they may fail to toughen up youngsters for the harsh realities of life.
"Do little kids need this? Yes, absolutely," said Tim Bayard of a Delaware program called Creating the Peaceable Classroom. "By the time they get to ninth, 10th grade, it's a little late to try to teach them about conflict resolution."
Dispute Resolution! Yeah, that will stop evil.
Have the libs ever had a clue about what they are turning our kids into mush-minded fools. No wonder the Bin Ladens of the world think they'll win, they can point to this nonsense as a lack of "will" Betcha Palestinan kids don't get "Conflict Management". No, they get taught that "peace tables" are for suckers. Look, I think you should teach your kids early, as I will with mine:
"Never start a fight, but by god, if you can't avoid it, then finish it."
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