Conflict Resolution

What Should We Do?

Show pictures and/or video of certain situations at school and in the surrounding neighborhood. Examples include: seeing garbage on the floor, an elderly person dropping their cane, a person not able to get through a door because their hands are full, a child crying or looking sad, or classmates arguing or fighting. Hold a classroom …

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Structured Academic Controversy

An opportunity to explore controversial issues and divergent positions and work to reach consensus on what may have happened– highlighting the complexities of particular perspectives, opinions and events. Have youth argue one side of an argument and then have them switch sides before negotiating an agreement between the two sides. The controversial issues can be …

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Stoplight

To help young people deal with feelings of anger and frustration, try using the visual of a stoplight: green is calm, yellow is frustrated, and red is angry. Ask them to recognize and briefly describe their color. Are they moving up or down to a different color? What can they do to get to green? …

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Shuttle Diplomacy

A strategy for people to use when they see potential for solutions but don’t feel comfortable or safe bringing their ideas up publicly. A form of shuttle diplomacy is asking one of the people in a conflict, “Have you considered…?” or “What if you tried…?” in order to encourage them to share their ideas.