Educators Strive to Reduce Physical Violence In High Schools

Building a positive culture where everyone respects one another is key, educators say.

Incidents of school crime and bullying are on the decline, according to a new federal report, but high school educators are still working to eliminate physical violence on campus...

"That's a hard thing to do. It's a constant battle," says Michael Allison, principal ofHopewell High School in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, and president of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. "It's something that you teach your staff, it's something that you teach your students and it's something that you model as a leader."

Allison provides a means for peer mediation and conflict resolution at his school, but trying to resolve issues before they happen is a top priority.

Read more from USnews.com [HERE]. 

How to stop conflicts from damaging your bottom line

Bill English/BizJournals.com- When emotions run high, the ability to reason one’s way to a resolution of a conflict is low.

The emotions involved need to be understood and “heard” before a resolution is reached. This is true for people in general, but is especially important to consider as a business owner, because conflict can, eventually, impact the bottom line...

Validate emotions

Mediation experts recognize that understanding the emotion involved in a conflict is a core method to helping the parties reach an agreement. Often, one or both parties will simply want the other to validate their emotions before they consider a resolution to the conflict. If those emotions are not validated, one or both parties will pivot to demanding money (or something else of value) as a way to express their hurt, pain and frustration. This isn’t necessarily nefarious on their part; it’s just human nature....

Business owners can take the following steps to help conflicts at work gain resolution:

• Listen, listen, listen. Nothing will help resolve conflicts better and faster than to simply listen and work to understand the experiences and emotions of others.
• Don’t move to a solution too fast.

Read more [HERE]. 

Candidate touts mediation skills as ‘a way’ to solve problems

Based on his life experience, Moreno said, he would take the approach of a mediator to solve problems in county government.

“There’s usually one side, two sides, maybe three sides. And what I learned was there is a way to get where you want, to where they want to go, or where they need to go,” Moreno said.

Read more [HERE].