Meridian schools host nonviolence workshops

Press Clip Source: Midland Daily News
Written By: Matthew Woods
Date: February 16, 2014
Read Original Article: Here

Jeanne Lound Schaller asked a group of Meridian 10th grade students a hard question last week during a workshop geared toward dealing with their problems by using non-violence techniques.

“Are you part of the problem, or part of the solution,” she asked the group of kids.

Lound Schaller, along with Randi Kawakita of the Nonviolent Peaceforce Midland Chapter, have been working with Meridian 10th grade Early College students on dealing with situations within the halls of the school, as well as the world outside, without resorting to violence.

Although most people may think that non-violence solutions seem more at home on the global stage amongst world governments, Kawakita said that when teaching people better ways to solve conflicts, the younger the better.

“We are so confrontational as a people,” said Kawakita. “If we can teach kids before they become adults, then we are that much farther ahead.”

Early College 10th grade English and history teachers reached out to the group early in the school year to see if they could bring something to the table for discussion with the students.

“As a New Tech school, we need to have partnerships with whatever projects we are doing and we were thinking about doing something with non-violence and religious aspects of past cultures,” said Joseph Ribarchik, world studies facilitator, Meridian Early College. Ribarchik, along with English Language Arts co-teacher Susan Sampson, have been happy to have the folks from the Nonviolent Peaceforce Midland Chapter in for a few sessions.

“It dovetails nicely with what we are learning about right now,” Sampson said, adding that the students have been involved with learning about the beginnings and histories of many of the world’s major religions. Sampson said that at the end of the lesson plan, students will write an argumentative paper about what they have learned.

The training mentors said that the younger a person is when it comes to learning non-violent solutions to conflicts, the easier it is for them to carry those skills on with them in their daily lives.

“It really is so much harder to practice them as an adult,” Kawakita said.

The pilot program began at Meridian in January when the 10th grade students from the world studies classes hosted the “Promoting Nonviolence: Classroom to Community” evening. Several guest speakers from many different churches and local organizations came to speak with students and parents about violence avoidance and how other solutions are available. Following the speaking portion of the evening, the students facilitated small group discussions that touched on issues like advocating diversity and acceptance in schools, and promoting peace in their school and the world beyond their campus.

“The students actually ran the whole show,” Ribarchik said. “When it was over, they didn’t want to leave.”

“Some of the kids actually missed going to the basketball game that night,” Kawakita said. “That is quite a testament.”

Ribarchik said that teaching this type of awareness of cultural and religious differences, along with giving students the tools to de-escalate problems they encounter, is what a program like this is all about.

“We want to teach them these skills so that they don’t repeat the past problems of history, and so they can be part of the solution,” he said. “We want to keep students current on the best tools for conflict resolution.”

Some of the issues the moderators discussed with students include cyber-bullying, what to do about gossip and rumors, and expanding their friend base through diversification.

“It is about stepping out of their comfort zone and being able to handle rejection,” Lound Schaller said.

Lound Schaller also talked with the students about not manipulating situations for their favor.

“Try not to shame your friends in to doing a desired behavior,” she said. “Instead of saying ‘I don’t want to hang out with your friends,’ trying saying ‘I would rather spend time with just you right now.’”

Besides the students, the teachers found the workshops beneficial and enjoyable.

“I couldn’t have planned this any better,” Sampson said of the integration of the lesson plans and involvement with the Nonviolent Peaceforce staff. “We have really enjoyed them being here.”

The students are meeting again this week with moderators to work on more of what they have learned through their various workshops and mentoring events. As to where the program will go from here for the 10th graders, Lound Schaller said that she hopes things will continue for more grade levels at Meridian, and possibly other area schools.

When asked what the future holds regarding more involvement with local schools, Kawakita said that her group is looking at more options for the future.

“We are here as just a pilot program at this time,” Kawakita said. “But we would like to see this eventually include more grade levels here and in other schools.”

Lound Schaller agreed.

“I hope students will continue to practice what they have learned for the rest of the year,” she said. “We would like to see this continue. Its all about walking the talk.”