"Eighth-graders make me angry," declares Shane Turner, a seventh-grader. "They harass you and ask for money. When you step away, they follow you." Three classmates, a school board member, a grandmother and a mother join Shane at a roundtable discussion on anger management as a tool for creating a violence-free learning environment.
After Shane describes what makes him angry, he is asked to outline a short-term goal for managing his anger. "I think I'll stop hanging around where the eighth-graders hang out the most," he says. As for a long-term goal: "I'll try not to be like them next year. And I'll be patient, because after a year they'll be gone."
Engaged in a discussion about how they would create a violence-free learning environment are GATE students at Eich Intermediate School in Roseville.
The group throws out suggestions for coping with anger, such as hitting a pillow or an inflatable dummy, or laughing it off. They take turns describing what makes them angry and how to cope with that anger.
Other discussion groups are also gathered around tables in the library of Warren T. Eich Intermediate School, located in Roseville. No one is assigned to any group; students and adults (including parents and community members) can choose freely where they wish to sit. One table is discussing how to be non-judgmental with others. Another is focusing on how to avoid putdowns. And two boys at a table by themselves intensely discuss how humane treatment of animals can lead to humane treatment of people - and the pros and cons of animal dissection.
Shane Turner reviews a document about safety at school.
The children and adults are wrapping up the final day of a Future Search conference titled "Our Past, Present and Future: Creating a Violence-Free Learning Environment," which was sponsored and facilitated by CTA. While there have been other Future Search conferences, this is the first one geared toward students, who participated from 9 a.m. to lunchtime on four consecutive days.
"This was a real experiment, but it worked out fantastically," says Betty Owens, who teaches the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) language-arts students who participated. "The kids are definitely into it."
Student participants were selected from the GATE program because they are future leaders at the school. "Next year, when they are in eighth grade, they will do a more efficient job within the school environment," says Owens. "These kids are capable of so much more than we give them credit for."
Cady Andelin addresses classmates in an anti-violence discussion.
A Future Search conference is both a teaching and learning strategy. Students, parents and community members, referred to as "stakeholders," participate in a highly intense, fast-paced process where they assume an active rather than passive role. They are encouraged to speak freely and hold open-ended conversations. Participants are not supposed to argue or debate; the goal is to look for common ground and create a temporary community.
At the end of the conference, students develop action plans that will be self-evaluated during the school year. Ideas and action plans will also be integrated into the classroom curriculum. Finally, a Web site with an online discussion page summarizing the information generated during the conference, as well as follow-up activities, will be constructed and remain up for the school year.
Parents were somewhat skeptical at first, says Owens, who serves as chair of CTA's Capital Service Center in Sacramento. "They said, 'This is a safe school, why do you want to do this?' We told them, 'Everyone thinks their school is safe - and people in Littleton did too.'"
Jon Kinzel, Shane Turner and Kevin Kwoka engaged in a discussion about how they would create a violence-free learning environment.
And while people tend to associate violence with blood or getting physical, "I want people to be aware of the other violence, which is silence, negativism, hostility, and lack of acceptance for differences and diversity," says Owens.
Students were asked to submit notes on important historical events described in the textbook Across the Centuries. "I learned a lot about how the past affects the present and the future," says seventh-grader Cady Andelin. "The past shows how people treated each other and how wars were started by violence."
"It was really cool that we got to be in charge, instead of adults," she says. "I focused on treating everyone with respect. I want to be nonjudgmental and not judge people by what they are wearing or their appearance."
Her mother, Darcy Andelin, also participated all four days. "I think it's an excellent program to increase awareness," she says. "It certainly raised my awareness as a parent. I'd love to see everyone be aware of what helps make a nonviolent learning environment. I wish this could start in kindergarten or preschool."
At the end of the conference, students were asked to describe their feelings in one word. Among the conclusions: "Creative. Inspiring. Wonderful. Tiring. Very. Wow."
