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Peace Keepers Programme

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What Is the Peace Mediators Programme?

Peace Mediators is a programme at Earl Kitchener school which teaches children to solve problems and to help other children solve problems. A Peace Keeper is a Grade 5 student who has been taught the leadership and problem-solving skills necessary to help other students resolve their conflicts peacefully in order to maintain a safe playground environment.

How it Works

Around the beginning of each school year, the Grade Five teachers show their students how to mediate. The training lasts for about one month. Each Grade Five class mediates one recess a day. There are three Peer Mediators out at both 20 minute recesses. Each Grade Five student mediates one recess a week and the schedule changes every month.

Each time a problem arises, the Peace Mediators go through the following steps with the people who are having the problem:

They ask: “Is there a problem?” and “Do you want to solve it?”

If so, everyone involved moves to a quiet place then…

  • Everybody involved gets introduced to each other and the Peace Keeper will fill out a form
  • The Peace Mediator states the ground rules
  • Disputant #1 tells story and gets feedback
  • Disputant #2 tells story and gets feedback
  • Disputants search for a solution
  • Disputants select a solution and if they can not find a solution the problem is referred to the office
  • Close of mediation

What are the Benefits?

A Peace Mediator helps solve problems on the playground to make it a safer place. They take a load of trouble off the teachers and also allow more problems on the playground to be solved at one time. The Peace Mediator benefits by learning to understand how problems work and how to solve them. They are trained to be fair without taking sides, to try to understand the source of the problem and the feelings of the disputants. They strive to treat the disputants with respect and to model peaceful conflict resolution behaviours.

 

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Updated on Thursday, May 15, 2014.
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