A community mediation service in Oregon has received a grant for $1000 to help teach fifth-graders in Coos County schools the basics of resolving conflicts peaceably.  The award reflects a growing understanding among those in the mediation field that the techniques of alternative dispute resolution need not be limited to use by adults.

Community Mediation Services Meet Local Needs

The story is as old as time itself: children often experience difficulties in getting along with one another and with adults in positions of authority, such as teachers and parents.  Schools have long been in the position of having to deal with conflicts, both those that result from day-to-day transient situations and those that come from long-term issues that have never been properly resolved.  In the past, school discipline has been one way to try to end conflicts: perceived troublemakers were punished in hopes that this would encourage them to alter their behavior enough to avert future conflicts.

Now, however, schools are adding another strategy to their discipline toolbox: mediation.  With the help of skilled personnel working for community mediation services, many of them non-profits, schools not only hope to resolve existing conflicts, but also teach children the skills they will need to deal with conflict on their own.   

Find an Mediation Attorney in the National Mediation Directory.