The first site is actually a preteen/teen chat board entitled "Please Stop Violence" found at http://www.pleasestop.com/violence.html The chat board is moderated by a licensed mental health professional and offers students the opportunity to discuss hate, violence, racism, drugs, and all the other problems they may encounter. The site is obviously a good resource for teens, but the links it provides to other resources are what make this site of value to anyone interested in conflict resolution and school violence prevention. One link in particular, the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, offers a wealth of information through its Directory of Topics. The topics are alphabetized, hypertexted, and summarized. The list includes conflict resolution, but also much more. In fact, I think it would be safe to report that any topic having any relevance to youth violence prevention is listed in the Directory.
The second site is an article on peer mediation, the type of conflict resolution most often used in school settings in which the students themselves work out solutions to the interpersonal problems that arise. The article was originally published in the Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology, but I happened upon it at http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/g2699... Entitled "Peer Mediation," the piece presents one of the clearest, best defined descriptions of peer mediation I have ever read. It discusses the history of peer mediation, its purposes, and the success of existing programs. The article also outlines the routine stages in the peer mediation process and the important factors in the selection and training of peer mediators. The article concludes with a list of resources for those interested in further study of the subject.
Check out both sites as part of your back-to-school preparation.
Until next time...
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