Make a storyboard of a particular event in history that involves a social injustice (slavery, women’s rights, settlers coming to America, Hawaiian history). Have youth create a supporting narrative and present to the class, highlighting the social injustice and how it may have been prevented. Display storyboards and have the youth do learning walkabouts while …
Find current events that may be similar to situations occurring in school or the home. For example, if youth discrimination, violence or mistreatment is an issue, find a current event that involves these issues. Deconstruct what happened—how does it apply to the current situation in our school or home? In addition to connecting school/home with …
Identify the things that everyone in a group needs to resolve problems. Identify how decisions will be made in families, schools and workplaces to ensure that everyone feels comfortable and heard.
An international evidence-based early childhood (age 3-5 years) program started in Canada in 2005 as the “younger sibling” of the Roots of Empathy K-8 program. The mission is to raise social/emotional understanding and literacy, and develop empathy in the youngest of children. See: seedsofempathy.org.
Teach youth the importance of face-saving in a conflict. Teach them how to calm themselves or another angry person through deep breathing and validation of their needs. Restate the needs or issues involved in the conflict if the person has trouble understanding. Don’t be remembered as the person that “lost it” and let their emotions …
Ensure there is always a safe space for conversation. This is a space to gather, a place that honors, respects and makes people feel they can collaborate safely inside. Safe spaces also need to be developed for youth after school to ensure they have a safe place to be, away from any violence of their …
There is usually one piece of paper and one pen for the team. A subject, idea or problem is introduced. One youth makes a written contribution and then passes the paper and pen to the next person. The paper and pen go around the table until each person has contributed. Round Robin is the oral …
A way to build commitment, buy-in and skills is to alternate between facilitators during family meetings or classroom group work. Teach youth the skills of effective facilitation, including courtesy, careful listening, time management, and organization of ideas. They should routinely reflect on the challenges of effective facilitation and brainstorm solutions to address those challenges. Thus …
Use a tangible object like a stick, a flower, a ball, or something important to the group to facilitate civil discussions and collaborative activities. Three rules are: 1) only the person with the item speaks, 2) all others focus on the person with the item in hand, and 3) anyone has the right to pass. …
A very simple communication and exploration exercise that can take place with youth and adults just about anywhere. Ideally, it would be used in a calm setting with all participants focused on the activity, such as at mealtime or bed time. Each person is asked to share a rose (the best, special, or most positive …
An international evidence-based K-8 classroom program (started in Canada in 1996), which has shown significant effect in reducing levels of aggression among school children while raising social/emotional competence and increasing empathy. The mission is to build caring, peaceful, and civil societies through the development of empathy in children and adults. The “emotional literacy” taught in …
A way of seeing situations play out and encouraging individuals to think critically about how to intervene, and in the process build compassion for alternate perspectives. Here are some scenarios that can be role-played with youth, in order to encourage them to think (and act) outside of themselves. * You see a kid looking sad …
