Sutherland,+Jocelyn

=** Assignment #1 **= My name is Jocelyn Sutherland and I am the EdTech Coach at the International School of Zug and Luzern, in Switzerland. I’m originally from Canada but have been teaching in the international circuit for 9 years. I’m also an Apple Distinguished Educator and am passionate about innovation and purposeful tech integration in the classroom. This is the fourth overseas country I’ve lived in since my teaching career began in 2006. Previously I've taught in Ukraine, China and Indonesia. This July, 2016, my wife and I will be moving to Singapore to teach at United World College Southeast Asia. I look forward to returning to the classroom to work with grade 5 students. We hope this is our last stop for a while!

Below is a picture of me in the Canadian-owned "[|Abbey Book Shop]" in Paris (Feb 2015). I love this dorky photo because it represents my passion for travel, wandering new cities, practicing my French, and exploring used book shops.


 * Journal Entry #1 **

Conflict resolution and peaceable schools is a topic I’m very interested in learning more about. My two years as an EdTech Coach has exposed me to some harsh realities of growing up in a media rich world. As all students in today's schools are digital natives, there is a new layer of responsibility teachers have to educate parents and students on digital footprints and cyberbullying. The world has become smaller and through blogs, social media and Skype, students have opportunities to connect globally with others and extend learning beyond classroom walls. Still, there are many aspects to personal, social and emotional development that are specifically related to social media pressures, which need to be better addressed in the curriculum. Many schools are trying to play catch up, but there needs to be a lot more time invested in identifying what conflicts are arising due to wide access to media on smartphones (extreme violence, pornography, 24/7 social media pressures and cyberbullying etc).

For these reasons, I hope through this course we will explore some of the following topics:

**1) Strategies for schools (admin, teachers) to address on-going abuse/bullying between students.** What policies and procedures need to be in place and how often should they be modified to reflect the changing culture and realities of conflict? Nowadays, due to 24/7 social media access, school-related conflict often starts outside school hours.

**2) The role of students & student-initiated groups (student council; LGBT awareness groups; diversity groups etc) in preventing conflict in schools.** How can schools help students take responsibility for conflict and how can we support these initiatives?

**3) Current preventative measures (units/curriculum) schools provide to support students and prevent conflict within schools.** The culture of conflict is changing faster than curriculums can keep up; what kind of review processes and committees are needed to stay ahead of conflict in schools?

**4) Educating parents and working with them to provide support for all students and help them feel safe at school.** How can parents and teachers work as a team to support children who are being bullied, and how can we support those who are bullying others?

**5) Creating and maintaining a culture of respect and tolerance within a school.** Many schools have these key concepts plastered on their walls, but how often does the school culture reflect these values? What are some identifying factors of schools that promote and adhere to respect and tolerance? How can teachers and admin begin to change an existing climate that is disrespectful and intolerant?


 * Assignment #2 **

For this assignment, I decided to analyse the most recent season of **American Crime (S2)**. For a preview of the series please watch the youtube video below: media type="youtube" key="VkPQ87xNw_c" width="560" height="315"

**For a detailed recap please click** this link to ABC
=**Journal Entry #2**=


 * [|American Crime Season 2] **explores a variety of modern conflict issues in today’s digitally connected society. Most of the conflict in this series is a result of nurture, where students are not given the support needed to make good choices and thus, conflict ensues.

In the first episode, the conflict begins with a typical cyber bullying scenario where a new student is humiliated on social media for being drunk at the basketball team’s ‘Captains Party’. To protect the school’s image and reputation, the victim is immediately suspended and, due to continued bullying, is forced to move to the neighbouring public school. This was an unfortunate reaction to the situation, as the treatment of the issue was to ignore the victim of the bullying and persecute him to protect their reputation. This seemingly ‘minor’ conflict at the prestigious private school is the catalyst of a series of more serious conflicts that, over the course of 11 episodes, explode outwards and affects the entire district and community.

Shortly after his expulsion, the victim of the cyberbullying confesses that those photos were taken immediately after he was raped by a member of the boys’ basketball team. The enraged mother reports this to the headmistress of the private school who takes careful measures to handle the situation internally, even though it is a federal crime. In this initial conflict alone, there are several bullying scenarios involved: **Classism** is explored as the victim of this situation is from a low income family with a working single mother and the school bullies her to be silent and even tries to offer a bribe. These attitudes seem to be based on nature as the culprits are from upper class communities who cannot empathise with the reality of a working, single parent family. **Sexism** and **homophobia** are also explored, as the mother’s complaint is not taken as seriously by the school because some members of the staff find it hard to believe that a boy can be ‘raped’, and none of the basketball players will admit to this crime. The result is the basketball coach causing further conflict as he tries to elicit a confession, but none of the players will confess to a homosexual act, for fear of being labeled ‘gay’. These attitudes appear to be based on nurture as the students’ bigotry are reinforced by a lack of open-mindedness by peers, administration or teachers. After a suicide attempt by the perpetrator, the school attempts to welcome him back with a superficial ceremony (celebrating ‘open-mindedness’ and ‘tolerance) and forced speech by the coach and a teammate about supporting each other. Behind the closed doors of the locker room, the perpetrator is ostracised for being gay, and the lack of teamwork is revealed in their basketball games. At no point did admin or teachers discuss the crime of this perpetrator, and when homophobic comments were made by his teammates, they were simply ignored. Finally, **racism** is addressed as journalists, catching wind of this crime, name the only member of the team who is 18 years old (legally an ‘adult’), who happens to be African-American. The protective parents fear racial exploitation as his college applications are in jeopardy because his name is linked to a school sex crime. These fears are very real for the African-American family and the parents nurtured a resentment for white entitlement. Throughout the series they continuously remind their son that because of his race, he will always need to be one step ahead and thus, this rape association is catastrophic for his future. Conflict ensues as every corner of the community tries to protect itself, rather than working together to find justice for the victim.

There are so many layers of conflict to explore, but the underlying theme of this season is the injustice experienced by minority groups; in particular, homosexuals, african-americans and low-income families. When the basketball team find out who the perpetrator is, they ostracize him with homophobic comments and lead him to commit self-harm and further crimes. The victim, who admits to being gay and who never received support from his community, is driven to isolation and experiences further bullying. He eventually has a psychotic break resulting in a tragedy that affects the entire community. The conflict between the headmistress and the parent community highlight her protective attitude for the elite families, and the exploitation of the low-income families. It also reveals her priorities of protecting the image of the school over protecting its students. This complex plotline is a reflection of how important a teacher’s role is in supporting students and providing transparency in times of conflict. So many issues were swept under the rug that tensions rose and conflict began to explode in unexpected areas. It was evident in the way the school handled the cyberbullying, the rape, the suicide attempt and the homophobia, that no measures were in place to help students feel safe and to ensure a peaceful resolution.

= Assignment #3: =

A school that promotes peace, tolerance respect for its students and community. A school that models and hosts workshops/conferences about this topic. I believe a preventative approach (prevention through education) is more effective than a reactionary approach (ex: punitive in response to bullying scenarios).
 * A. **
 * What would a peaceable school or community look like? **

Schools need to be communicating with parents and students about issues of conflict happening at the school. Rather than try to bury or avoid dealing with bullying events, as witnessed in American Crime S.2, administrators and teachers need to work with students to develop a support network and protocols for how certain issues will be dealt with. This was communication was lacking at both the public and elementary schools in the show. As a result the issues continued to snowball because no stakeholder felt supported : students, parents, teachers, admin; all groups were looking out solely for themselves rather than trying to work together to reach a peaceful resolution. The parents were worried about their children’s future being impacted by accusations of rape and bullying; the teachers were worried about their jobs; the administrators were concerned about protecting their job and the image of the school; and the students ~ who were directly affected ~ were concerned about
 * What elements of communication would be included? **

There should have been a ‘zero tolerance’ policy for any aggressive act of bullying (digital posting of inappropriate photos of others). Students need clear guidelines and boundaries to operate within. The problem in today’s digital age, is that many schools and administrators are ‘behind the times’ in knowing how to confront the hidden bullying issues that happen online and on smartphones. I think the term ‘bullying’ needs to be defined to include the digital (cyber) bullying that can seem harmless at first, but quickly escalates, posing a risk to the student (victim) and their school community. As witnessed in the American Crime S2 series, a not-so-innocent Instagram post resulted in loss of employment, broken school moral, further bullying, attempted suicide and a school shooting. The small private school tolerated the cyberbullying and punished the victim (suspending for indecency). This empowered the perpetrators who posted the photos, and made the victim feel even more helpless, which led to violence. Had there been a ‘zero tolerance’ policy, then both the victim of the cyberbullying and the students who posted those photos would have faced consequences and the future acts of violence may have been avoided.
 * What would be tolerated and what would not be tolerated? **

I think a peaceable community needs to value a feeling of safety and security in its students. The moment a student feels unsafe, whether due to physical or digital threats, they need to know where they can go and to whom they can bring their concerns to. I think this question is difficult to answer because it also depends on the community of students and size of the school. A small private school might offer more resources than a large public school, hence the level of tolerance/consequence would need to be adjusted. Anything beyond a digital or physical threat (violence) would also need clear guidelines and consequences. At a certain level, the school needs to be prepared to involve local police, such as in repeated violence or severe assault cases.
 * What would the rules be? **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">The expectations would be that students follow a clear set of guidelines and procedures and have a community of adults whom they can report to if they are in trouble. Likewise, there needs to be intensive training for all staff on how to handle different crisis scenarios to maintain a consistent approach for students to understand. There needs to be clear documentation made throughout the disciplinary process, when a conflict arises, and depending on the severity of the conflict, the necessary stakeholders need to be involved as soon as possible to prevent further incidents (parents, school district, superintendent). When I was researching for some ideas on how schools foster peace, I saw there are many programs available for schools to adopt such as [|__PeacefulSchools.org.uk__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> and [|__PeacefulSchools.com__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">. These programs offer training and resources for staff, parents and students to ensure a consistent and comprehensive approach to fostering peaceful resolutions in schools.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Would would the expectations be? **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">The responsibilities would be different for each member of the community but they all need to be clearly outlined, and consistent with the end goal. The admin would be responsible for developing a program and/or policy and training for staff and students. Teachers would be responsible for following the program and embedding conflict resolution strategies in the curriculum. Students would be responsible for upholding school values, seeking help when problems arise, and doing their best to communicate with each other in a peaceful way. Parents would also have a responsibility to check in with their children, especially with their online social networks, to ensure that all friendships and relationships are healthy and manageable for the child.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">What would the responsibilities be? **

Two other Sources:
 * B. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Oscar Arias Sánchez **
 * [|__Nobelprize.org__] **
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[|__Encyclopedia Britannica__] **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Journal Entry #3: **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Describe how if Hank came to your classroom or community he would observe the elements of a peaceable community. What evidence would he see? **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">In my classroom I promote and display key attitudes for successful learning. They include tolerance, respect, open-mindedness, and empathy. One of the first things Hank would notice would be the student-created posters describing these characteristics and attitudes. At the start of each year I spend time allowing students to discuss their perspectives on these terms, and using various sources, they create a definition of the word themselves. Then, they are encouraged to create a symbol or drawing to represent the term. These are clearly displayed on the walls for children and teachers to refer to during discussions and different conflicts that arise. As a classroom teacher, I also host weekly meetings at the end of each week to discuss problems that may have arising and find solutions as a group. There are many formats for class meetings and I am still looking for ways to improve the model to be more student-centred and relevant to them.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">One resource I’ve used previously is the [|__Tribes__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Approach which promotes resilience, collaboration and a positive approach to teaching and learning. Next year I will be moving to grade 5 class teacher, so I will have opportunities to improve and create new routines with students.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">How will you promote peace in your community? **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">One thing I would like to improve is documenting evidence of students displaying these traits throughout the year. I’m thinking perhaps of snapping photos or having students be responsible for writing a post-it or taking a photo when they notice students displaying empathy, open-mindedness, tolerance and respect. Within our school community, we can promote these traits by modeling them ourselves as teachers, and also by hosting workshops, presentations and case-studies where students (and parents) can explore different scenarios where conflicts were resolved.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">The presence of a counsellor also greatly increases potential for peaceful schools as students have an additional resource they can turn to, and teachers also feel supported and can work with the counsellor to build a conflict-resolution toolkit for their classrooms. I would pair with the counsellor when possible to team teach lessons about conflict resolution and preventative measures students can take to handle stressful situations. One tool I would like to implement when I go back to the classroom next year is the [|__Conflict Resolution Wheel__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> which provides students with some choices they can make when they find themselves in conflict with someone else. Since a lot of conflict takes place in the digital sphere, providing students with opportunities to practice Digital Citizenship and promoting a positive digital footprint through blogs, teaches students the value of good relationships both online and in person.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Finally, as mentioned in Oscar Arias’ speech, embedding examples of peaceful resolution into the curriculum, and giving students opportunities to unpack how peace was accomplished will help deepen their understanding and promote peace at school. Role-playing conflict scenarios can also help students learn coping techniques and alternative solutions. If students have blogs to practice airing their thoughts and opinions, students could choose a topic of conflict in current news and provide examples of how it could be solved. Posting discussions on an online platform also removes some of the emotion and teaches students to consider their responses and craft their arguments respectfully. This discussion/debate format would then open up opportunities for students to agree or disagree using feedback and comments, and would promote a positive digital footprint, and strengthen students’ understanding of healthy versus unhealthy conflict. When students are thoughtful and can provide arguments in a respectful way, they are modeling and practicing healthy conflict and disagreement.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">I also really like the posters below which I could modify and develop with my students so they feel included in conflict resolution management of our class. These posters were taken from [|__Sunshine Parenting__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> and there are plenty more resources there too.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline;">

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Since I’ll be working with 11-year-olds, I also think developing an understanding for a ‘meaningful apology’ will be valuable to them and promoting peace within our community. **Beverley Engel** dissects the three R’s of a meaningful apology [|__here__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">: = = = Regret, Responsibility and Remedy =

Step One: Admit your offense to yourself.
No whitewashing, no excuses, no blaming others. Just brutal honesty.

Step Two: Take time to consider the ramifications of your action or inaction
What effect do you feel your actions or inaction had on the other person? How did you behavior affect the person's life?

Step Three: Put yourself in the place of the person you wronged and try to understand how he or she felt.
Try looking at the situation from the other person's perspective and imagine how he or she felt. Was he or she angry? hurt? disappointed?

Step Four: Forgive yourself
Apologizing to the person you hurt or harmed will no doubt help you to forgive yourself, especially if he or she is able to forgive you. But ironically, you will need to begin the process of forgiving yourself if your apology is to be effective. If you approach the person you wronged feeling overwhelmed with guilt you will be distracted from where your focus needs to be--on the person you wronged and their feelings.

Step Five: Forgive the person you are apologizing to
You will find it impossible to make sincere apologies to others for your side of a conflict unless you have forgiven them for the harms they have caused you. Even if you don't bring up the other person's mistakes directly, your ill will toward him or her will come through in other ways.

=** Assignment #4 **= **Here are the results** from the violence perception survey. I sent out a google form and created a bar graph to show results.


 * Quiz Results Page**: T, F, F, F, T




 * Reflection on Quiz:**


 * 1. Why do you think the rate of homicide violence has gone down in the last 800 years? **

I think that people are more educated and have found new ways to solve conflict peacefully. There is more value for life and there are more support structures in place (government, law enforcement etc). Also the fact that there is a transparent and consistent democratic judiciary process and clear laws make it easier for citizens to determine right from wrong. These procedures and policies also empower citizens of the US to make different choices because they are aware of the possible consequences of a violent act. Finally I think the technological revolution has provided access to information (digitally), and has helped keep people informed about resources and possible peaceful resolutions.


 * 2. Did you over or underestimate violence in the United States? **

I definitely over-estimated the amount of violence in the US. I think because there is more media coverage, and violence is increasingly present in TV, movies, games and in the news it skews the perception of overall rates of violence.


 * 3. What did your 4 subject colleagues think about violence in general? 4. Why? **

Three of the four adults who took the quiz also predicted that violence was increasing consistently over time. They also used their perception from media coverage, online news and increasing violence in TV and Movies as a reflection of violence today. T.F (an American from NJ) mentioned that the numerous debates over gun laws/control and constant emphasis on school shootings and terrorism indicated there was a crises in America. Only one colleague (H.M) had prior knowledge that violence was in fact decreasing, because she had taken some law courses. Still, the quiz in general was difficult for any of us to answer because we were not informed of all the recent facts. It felt somewhat futile to predict the total numbers of serious violent crimes, however, looking at the predictions was interesting and insightful to how we perceive crime in America over the past 30 years.


 * 4. What did you think about this lesson? **

At first I thought the lesson would seem pointless since I didn’t have any prior knowledge and felt like I was ‘guessing’ at the rates of violent crime. However, after completing this exercise and involving 4 other colleagues, I understand that the inquiry process and using my own prior knowledge has made this activity more meaningful as I can relate the facts and results to my own understandings. As soon as I realised the huge discrepancy in my knowledge vs the facts, I wanted to find out more on why and how violent crimes have decreased. And also, why it has increased in the media.

As I mentioned above, I was really shocked to find out, through the quiz, that the homicide rate is actually decreasing in the US. When I shared the results of the quiz with the 4 other adults who completed it, they were equally surprised (except for the one person who had predicted that media sensationalises crimes in America). It just goes to show how my perception of crime is skewed by what we read in the news, and the heavy focus on violence in TV and movies. I think it was a very useful activity to help me understand the misperceptions that exist, but also to understand how the increase in government laws and clearly defined judiciary practices over the past 800 years might have contributed to a reduced number of homicides.
 * Journal Entry #4 **

I am still unclear about how/why the past 30 years has seen a decrease, as I would have imagined with an increased population that a larger population would contribute to violence. I wonder if the technological revolution has contributed to to this decrease as a larger population has access to resources that may either help inform them of their rights and responsibilities as citizens of the US, but also there is a wider support network online, providing counselling and resources for those who may alternatively seek violent resolutions.

Watching the video of the waterboarding was actually quite insightful as I had never really understood what it entailed. Although I wasn’t outwardly as arrogant as the journalist in the video, I did wonder ‘how bad’ it could really be. I definitely didn’t expect him to drop the metal object so quickly, and after hearing him describe what it felt like made me understand more just why so many people in media consider this to be actual torture versus an ‘interrogation technique’.

I feel that I’ve already gained some insight into how this course might relate evolution of judiciary systems with peaceable communities and peaceable schools. Looking ahead to some of the topics we will discuss, I think I will learn a lot about how to properly teach conflict resolution with my students.


 * [|__A.L.I.C.E method__] (extra credit) **

When I first skimmed [|__this article__] (before watching the short news clip), I was definitely flabbergasted and thought the idea was ridiculous and only perpetuated violence in schools. However, after rereading the article and watching the accompanying video clip where the intention of the ALICE method is more thoroughly described, I definitely see some advantages to this strategy.
 * Possible Pros of this strategy: **

Firstly, it is common for traumatic situations to render students ‘paralysed’ with fear. As [| __Psychology Today__] describes this fight-flight-freeze reaction, it is the body’s way of protecting itself from the incident:

“ if you’re not putting up a fight, the person or animal aggressing against you just might lose interest in continuing their attack. But whatever the provocation, if you can’t make the assailant disappear, you’re much better off “disappearing” yourself, by blocking out what’s much too scary to take in. So, in its own way, the freeze response to trauma is—if only at the time—quite as adaptive as the fight/flight response.”

Clearly, helping students practice a physical reaction, through the use of canned goods as weapons, may allow students to escape if they act together against the shooter. The video used in ALICE training showed how one student was killed but many were saved because they acted together as an ‘army’ throwing objects to stun the assailant. The question however, is whether students would be able to act accordingly in the traumatic event that they witness a peer or teacher being murdered in front of them. That is why the importance of practicing this drill, to trigger muscle memory’ in a traumatic incident would be key. As [| __this article__] describes,

// “...repetitive practice reinforces muscle memory development. It also helps keep us from having to use our conscious minds in a real defensive situation, resulting in brain stalls, which could cost valuable seconds in reaction time...the more you train, the more you can overcome these types of difficulties.” //

Having a plan of action such as the ALICE method definitely prepares students better for traumatic situations such as a school shooter. It also places the onus on individual students defending themselves, rather than placing the onus on one teacher, responsible for 30+ students plus her/himself. I also appreciate that the method doesn’t use guns/obvious weapons. The article mentioned how some schools are arming teachers, but that still leaves students defenseless if the teacher is immediately shot/wounded. It will be interesting to see if this approach reaches beyond the US, and into the international school system. Currently we only have a ‘lockdown’ procedure where we ‘hide’ if there is a code red. But that relies on students and teachers being informed before the intruder reaches the classroom. Our school is an open campus with many entry points, and while we’ve practiced the ‘lockdown’ procedure, in reality, there is no way we could be prepared for someone sneaking onto campus without the one security guard being informed.


 * Possible Cons of this strategy: **

There are definitely many Cons to this strategy, including the fact that students, teachers and parents will be constantly reminded of a supposed 'potential threat' of a school shooting. It also removes the responsibility the school has to educating our next generation on peaceable conflict resolution. The message being received by students who ‘arm’ themselves with cans of food is: violence must be met with violence. Young children in particular will be especially impressionable to this solution, and may choose to use their can at an older (student) bully, since the message has been that they need to use violence to protect themselves. Even if schools set rules on when/where the can can be used, it has been described as a ‘weapon of defence’ for students, and that message can be misunderstood and misperceived.

This strategy also creates a controversy for schools as a ‘peaceful place’ as armed students and teachers will be on the offensive, rather than defensive. What is the point of carrying cans of food if not to be used at some point over the year or years? This could lead to possible accidents if someone comes on campus and is misunderstood to be a perpetrator by paranoid or frightened community members. This [|__Crime Research site__] (while biased towards Gun Ownership) documents 8 cases of mistaken intruder identity in homes over the course of one year. It seems that the chance for mistaken identity is rare, but there is still a chance. How is arming students with canned goods any different than arming them with a gun, when they have been given permission to throw it at whomever might be an intruder?

Finally, schools have a responsibility to prepare students for the ‘real world’. While school shootings receive a lot more media coverage, especially in affluent ‘white’ neighbourhoods, the reality is that homicides and school shootings are decreasing on the whole. [|__Business Insider__] shared statistics on school shootings over the past 30 years that indicate that gun violence in schools has been rather consistent:

//<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">"When you have events that occur with relative rarity … there's going to be natural variability in the numbers," Fox said. "We tend to focus on the times when they cluster and we don't pay attention when they don't." // //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">In fact, by some measures, schools have been getting safer. A Bureau of Justice Statistics report released last year shows that [|crime in schools has been steadily decreasing] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;"> since 1993, and [|a recent report] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #222222; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;"> from the Department of Education shows that school homicides are still extremely rare. //

A major con of this strategy is the distortion of reality and the perpetuated fear it promotes in students, that the world is generally unsafe and violence can happen to them at any moment. When they graduate school, should they continue to arm themselves in the case of a terrorist attack on their place of work? Teaching students that they need to arm themselves with a weapon is only promoting violence, rather than educating students to find peaceful resolutions.

=** Assignment #5 **=

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">Definition of Amygdala from [|__Science Daily__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">:

=<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #004276; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">Amygdala: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">The amygdala (Latin, corpus amygdaloideum) is an almond-shape set of neurons located deep in the brain's medial temporal lobe. =

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">Shown to play a key role in the processsing of emotions, the amygdala forms part of the limbic system.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">In humans and other animals, this subcortical brain structure is linked to both fear responses and pleasure.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">Its size is positively correlated with aggressive behavior across species.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">In humans, it is the most sexually-dimorphic brain structure, and shrinks by more than 30% in males upon castration.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">Conditions such as anxiety, autism, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and phobias are suspected of being linked to abnormal functioning of the amygdala, owing to damage, developmental problems, or neurotransmitter imbalance.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">Personal experience with someone’s amygdala being ‘hijacked’: **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ll never forget my first experience with conflict in the classroom over a decade ago. I was 21, and a student teacher in a grade 5 inner city classroom in Montreal Canada. I had already been there for the first 3 weeks of school so had developed a relationship with students since they started the year. The teacher was on duty so as students came in from recess, I was left alone in the classroom to get the students started on their spelling lesson. There was a boy named Shaun who was reputed to have some anger issues and low frustration tolerance but I hadn’t witnessed any major outbursts yet. All of a sudden, as students came in, I noticed him turn red in the face and begin to grab and shove another student. I observed his face contort in anger as he reacted to whatever the other student did or said, and he completely lost control and began to grab the chair and tried to throw it. Luckily, I arrived before he could do this, physically positioned myself between him and the other student and led him outside. All I knew was that he needed to be physically separated from the rest of the class in order to calm down. When we were outside, his emotions seemed to dissipate and he began to cry out of frustration or exhaustion. Other physical reactions I noticed were heavy breathing, teeth clenched, brow furrowed and an inability to communicate verbally. I remember he was too overwhelmed to speak and could only cry, breathe, and pace while he tried to calm himself down. I didn’t say much to him and instead just let him cool off away from the other students. When the class teacher returned she summoned the learning support teacher and counsellor to come talk with Shaun. He had a strong relationship with this student and explained to me some of this child’s history and the reasons for his violent outbursts. When Shaun was just 3 years old, he witnessed his father shoot his mother dead and then watched him commit suicide immediately after. Since then, he had been in and out of foster care. Learning this history helped me empathise further with Shaun, but also led me to feel somewhat concerned for his well being and wondered how he would cope later in life with his own anger. Shaun would be 25 years old now.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">J**ournal Entry #5: Reflection on Amy Cuddy’s Power Poses**

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">This was the second time I saw this TedTalk and I watched it with my wife so we could debrief and discuss our observations. I also recently heard an interesting podcast discussion on [|__Slate’sDouble X Gabfest__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">. In the podcast they talked about whether power poses were necessary to help provide confidence for women who were about to enter an interview or presentation situation. Their opinion was that it seemed somewhat trivial, superficial and unnecessary, which I completely disagreed with. I wondered if the women on this podcast had difficulty empathising with others who have spent most of their life feeling powerless, because they are women who are natural alphas. As someone who spent most of my childhood and adolescence trying to fade into the background and not draw attention to myself, I can definitely attribute my confidence and self-esteem as a teacher a result of ‘faking it till I became it’. It wasn’t until I was in my early 20s, starting my overseas teaching career that I made more of an effort to participate and ‘act’ confident in staff meetings. At the time, I didn't term any of my actions as ‘power poses’, but simply mimicked the postures and behaviours of staff members I respect, so as to appear on the same level as them. I think it was a result of too many parents of my grade 1 students asking me how old I was during parent teacher interviews. Or perhaps I just needed to be put in situations where I could practice power poses to demonstrate that I had value and knowledge. Regardless, I think the science behind this TedTalk and <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">__ [|Amy Cuddy’s study] __ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13.3333px; vertical-align: baseline;">is spot on and should be taught in classrooms to help those who are part of a cycle of abuse and/or powerlessness, feel empowered. My wife agreed that it’s important to remind students that body and mind are interrelated and they need to be aware of how one can influence the other. She also admitted that before interviews she would often exert some power pose behaviours such as squaring her shoulders and sitting up straight to prepare for the socially stressful situation of interviewing for a job. The science behind the poses was especially fascinating as Amy Cuddy revealed the hormone changes after high-power and low-power posing. It’s another example of how unaware humanity is about factors that influence who we are today. More students and teachers need access to these simple techniques they can practice to feel powerful in powerless situations. Perhaps if this science is shared, as Amy Cuddy hopes it will be, the rate of violence and conflict will decrease more rapidly.


 * Assignment #6 **

[|__Dictionary.com__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> defines the verb ‘conflict ‘as to come in “collision, disagreement or opposition” and the noun is defined as a “prolonged struggle” or fight.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">What is a conflict? **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">What is conflict resolution? **

[|__Community Tool Box__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">defines ‘conflict resolution’ as “ <span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #191919; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">a way for two or more parties to find a peaceful solution to a disagreement among them. The disagreement may be personal, financial, political, or emotional.” They also outline 7 steps to conflict resolution which I think can be applied more widely to conflict between groups and communities: <span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #191919; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">There are seven steps to successfully negotiating the resolution of a conflict ( [|__ctb.ku.edu__] <span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #191919; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">): <span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #191919; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Unfortunately I don’t think most individuals, groups or communities follow these steps because there is often so much emotion involved.
 * 1) <span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #191919; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Understand the conflict
 * 2) <span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #191919; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Communicate with the opposition
 * 3) <span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #191919; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Brainstorm possible resolutions
 * 4) <span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #191919; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Choose the best resolution
 * 5) <span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #191919; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Use a third party mediator
 * 6) <span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #191919; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Explore alternatives
 * 7) <span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #191919; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Cope with stressful situations and pressure tactics


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Journal Entry #6 Part A: **

=
<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Analyze one conflict that you have observed or participated in in terms of a "Hijacked Brain". This would be a conflict that started and escalated because of an emotional engagement. Describe what happened in the conflict, Who was involved in the conflict, and how the emotional engagement of the Amygdala were all working to hinder the conflict. =====

I will never forget a particularly difficult conflict I had with a student when I taught G4. Shun Yi was a non-English speaker from Korea who was having a challenging time adjusting to his new school in Indonesia. Despite the EAL support and efforts to help him integrate, he grew more and more stressed out about the routines of the school day. He had arrived late to school one day, while I was planning with our curriculum coordinator (Lauren), and all the students were at PE. However, he had arrived to school late with older his sister but he didn’t have his PE uniform. Since our school was located in a tropical climate, it was school policy that students needed to have their uniform in order to participate, otherwise it was unhealthy for them to sit in sweaty clothes (in air conditioning) all day. I tried to explain to him that he would need to stay in the class and read or do other work until the lesson was finished. His sister translated and he immediately started to look panicked. We explained to his sister (who was in middle school and spoke a bit more English) that she needed to go to class as her teachers were waiting for her. She reluctantly left, and her departure seemed to be a trigger for Shun Yi and he started to lose control and cry and pace the room. He desperately wanted to go to PE, but we were trying to help him adjust to the routines and felt that it wasn’t helpful to send him there if he couldn’t participate. I tried to explain this to him and he proceeded to cry harder and resist any contact (moving away, pushing me away, when I tried to touch his shoulder reassuringly). I remember keeping my voice calm, in reaction to his high emotions but it only seemed to escalate his state. All of a sudden he started walking towards the stairs that led out the building. He was still crying and Lauren and I followed him out and called his name. He would turn around but continued to walk down the stairs. I caught up to him and tried to hold him back from leaving the building, but Lauren wisely told me to ‘let him go’. He ran away through the main foyer and coincidentally (and conveniently) ran right into our principal, Bryce, who stopped him physically and tried to talk to him. All three of us were down in the foyer and luckily he had stopped running. Somehow, his sister must have sensed that he was unhappy with her departure and had wandered back into the building and when she saw Shun Yi frantic and crying she also started crying too. We ended up having to involve the Korean teacher who came over and tried to talk to both of them, explaining the dangers of running away on campus and not being supervised by adults. Meanwhile, our principal needed to call their parents and explain the routines that were broken and the dangers of being on campus unsupervised. It was a complete disaster, and although at the time we had handled it as best we could, I would do it entirely differently next time. In hindsight what I realise happened was that his sister leaving him possibly triggered some fear of abandonment issues in Shun Yi and caused his amygdala to respond with ‘fight or flight’. When he tried to protest he was trying to fight his way to get to PE, and when that wasn’t working and he feared being left with only English speakers (myself and Lauren) his brain reacted and he ‘fled’ the environment and ran towards the only sense of comfort he’d had since leaving his home in Korea and moving to our suburb in Indonesia. The experience wasn’t just traumatic for Shun Yi, but for me as well as I felt completely helpless when he reacted the way he did. Initially I was cross and frustrated that he was trying to leave and wouldn’t simply stay as we’d asked him to, but after he reacted so emotionally I immediately felt empathy and wanted to try and find a way to connect with him to help him feel more secure. Ultimately, he understood and always remembered his PE uniform and never ever missed another PE lesson. I learned over time that PE was his strongest subject where he felt most confident, and hence another reason he was so desperate to participate. I learned that I need to more quickly identify the strengths of each of my students so that if a similar situation presents itself where a student’s brain becomes emotionally ‘hijacked’, I can better respond and hopefully offer an alternative solution that would help them feel more secure.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Question: Do the involvement of emotions and the Amygdala always hinder conflict resolution?

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">From my personal experience and observations of loved ones and my own students, yes. We know that the amygdala causes some primitive reactions (fight or flight) which After some research I found an article that supported this too. [|__Kanske__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">published a journal in Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience where they studied how conflict & conflict resolution impact “coherent goal-directed behavior”. His conclusion was that “Conflict processing is directly influenced by emotion” but it differs with individuals “in temperament and emotional state, as well as the task-relevance of the emotionally valent stimuli critically determining if this influence is an enhancing or a hindering one.” I do think the involvement of emotions and the Amygdala definitely hinder our capacity to resolve conflict. [|__Wikipedia__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">, however, mentions the ‘positive hijack’ response, where some people are able to think rationally and immediately respond, such as the man who jumped in to save a toddler, because he saw a girl “staring petrified into the water” (Wikipedia).


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Journal Entry #6B **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Swearing is definitely something I can write about. As someone who grew up in a very conservative household where fighting was meant to be unseen and unheard (and always conducted behind closed doors), my world was blown wide open when I went to boarding school at age 16 and was able to test out whatever language I wanted (not to mention, pick up a few new words along the way!). As mentioned in the Huffington Post [|__video__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> definitely think there is a sense of camaraderie developed between colleagues when they can swear openly in front of each other, especially when retelling a frustrating or humorous story (usually conflict-related). However, I do also think (due to my ingrained upbringing around conflict & swearing) that my stress levels tend to rise when someone is volatile and using swear words at the same time. Even if it’s a release for them, I do think it can prolong an emotional state, though depending on the situation it may be warranted to get all the f-bombs out in that moment to release some of the anger. Personally, I do find it a huge release when I can indirectly use swear words to express a feeling I have towards someone or something that caused me pain. However, I think directly addressing someone by calling them a swear word oversteps a boundary of respect that needs to be there. In my own relationships with students I would definitely ask that students be mindful of the language they use, but would never penalise a student for letting an f-bomb slip if they were frustrated or in pain (injured). However, I would definitely draw the line at any name-calling (with or without swear words) as I find that breaks down not just a respect boundary, but a person’s character as well. While swearing may be beneficial in the short term as it releases some anger, I still hold some ‘traditional’ beliefs, that there are certain codes of conduct that need to be maintained in public spaces, like school and work. I do wonder if, as the ‘classroom walls’ expand to digital spaces, and relationships become more distanced between learners and teachers, if it will eventually be more acceptable to use swear words when describing events and conflict. Even the fact that the Huffington Post was able to publish research and findings about this using the [|__swearmaps__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> demonstrates our society’s flexibility and acceptance of formerly ‘taboo’ subjects.


 * Assignment #7 **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Said to my colleague at work: **

//<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">When you leave your mugs all over the desk, I need to spend time clearing them and I feel more stressed about catching up with work. //

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">My colleague was very apologetic but also kind of surprised as it never occurred to him that leaving the mugs would be an inconvenience. We have a good working relationship so it was easy to communicate this message in a casual way, without him feeling offended. He’s definitely made an effort to keep my side of the desk clear (we share a desk) so since I mentioned that to him, he keeps the mugs off to the side (his side) rather than letting them creep into my space and pile up.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Said to my partner: **

//<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">When you do the laundry on the weekend I can easily find clothes for work and I feel relaxed about the start of the work week. //

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">I’ve very lucky to have someone I love who doesn’t mind doing laundry! (We have our shared tasks..I cook and clean the kitchen). She was very happy to get this feedback and it definitely helped us feel closer.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Said to my partner: **

//<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">When you unload the dishwasher and put things away, it’s faster to clean up after dinner and I feel grateful for the extra time we have together afterwards. //

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">So this comment had a bit of a different reaction as it was initially interpreted as criticism for not cleaning up enough. Usually she is very good at unloading the dishwasher but the items tend to stay on the counter. I’ll admit it was kind of a passive aggressive approach to addressing a behaviour that is helpful, but could be more so. We were able to discuss it and I think she also appreciates when we have time after dinner to relax and watch a show, rather than wait for me to put things away and clean up.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Suggested “I” Statement for Gigi: **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Corrective: **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">“When you come into my house and go through my belongings, items are moved around and it’s difficult for me to find what I’m looking for. I feel like my privacy is invaded and it causes me stress.”


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Positive: **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> “When you call before you come over, I am able to set time aside and prepare for a meaningful visit and I can look forward to spending time with you.”


 * Assignment #8 **


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Journal Entry #8 **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Managing daily conflict has always been a challenge for me as a teacher. I’ve tried all sorts of strategies from top-down authoritarian to class meetings to conflict resolution wheels. I quickly learned that superficial apologies are not a lifelong skill, but have struggled to find the time to manage more grass-roots approaches such as creative problem solving through class meetings & 'compassionate talk'. I was very intrigued by some of the preventative measures implemented by the Odyssey school in [|__this article.__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">The clear steps students need to abide by create a formula they have ownership of, and it puts responsibility on the ‘bully’ to take action and make amends. Working to ‘uphold community values’ is more reflective of our current society and will better prepare them to have a toolkit of conflict management. I agreed strongly with this approach too:

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Rather than merely uttering an apology or receiving suspension or detention, Fairness Committees get creative in their solutions to repair harm, sometimes asking the "author" to bake food, make a film, or otherwise take action to rebuild the relationship that was broken.” Creating compassion councils & committees is an excellent way to model democratic practices and to address a situation at the student's’ level, rather than superficial ‘values’ held by the teacher and imposed on students during ‘anti-bullying week/month’. While I’ve always led class meetings, I’ve never had the sort of structure in place to foster compassionate dialogue. The article mentions “exploring rather than solving emotional experience to improve awareness and acceptance of emotional life. they make time for them between or even during class when it's necessary -- because it is necessary.” I agree that recognising and naming emotions, and working through identifying them for the purpose of promoting compassionate dialogue during conflict, is a much more valuable skill than simply redirecting students to examine ‘choices’ and ‘action’ on a paper “ [|__conflict resolution wheel__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">”. I especially liked the 4-step approach to address ALL conflict at ALL levels:


 * 1) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Make an observation without judgment.
 * 2) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Identify your feelings.
 * 3) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Explain your needs.
 * 4) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">State your request.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">I think many adults need practice doing this (including me) as too often we express our feelings, but dont go further than that. This makes it impossible for the other conflict participant to grow or correct the behaviour if no request/need is stated. The other articles and resources [|__here__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> were very useful too and I was especially impressed with the wide array of resources at the [|__GLSEN network__] <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> to promote tolerance and open-mindedness about the LGBT community. If the school community is open to addressing these topics I would definitely like to incorporate some of these resources in my teaching grade 5 next year. We have a Personal & Social Education curriculum framework, but the different learning engagements are flexible and depending on the theme many of these resources on bullying would be useful. The last article I read was about teachers being ‘bullies’. As a teacher, I felt quite vulnerable that at any point a student could call me a bully, although I agree that students need to feel empowered to speak up if they feel mistreated and emotionally abused by their teacher/coach. Too often I have witnessed teachers making bad decisions in how they handle a particular situation or student, and repeated cases of targeting/singling out a student need to be addressed before the student develops a negative sense of self. I thought it was an important topic and definitely one that more teachers need to read about. I will post that on Twitter and Facebook to share with peers and fellow teachers. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">Bullying and emotional conflict need to be a part of everyday conversations so that our response is preventative rather than reactive. If students learn ‘habits’ and procedures to solve or at least explore the emotions behind conflict, they will be better equipped at identifying ‘bullying’ vs. ‘conflict’ and there won’t need to be such rash reactions if teachers are taking the social ‘temperature’ of their students on a daily or weekly basis.


 * Assignment #9 **

The Baum & Nicols Personality Test Results: PP = 25 LE = 27 CPS = 26 PM = 22

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">I was really surprised to get my results from my personality test. I’d always associated myself as predominantly a ‘people person’, but surprisingly I had a balance between three main types: ‘Learned Expert’ (27), ‘Creative Problem Solver’ (26) and ‘People Person’ (25). This first type ‘Learned Expert’ is a personality trait that developed primarily in adulthood, when I started my vocation as an educator. When I was in school myself, I never felt like I was a strong student. I relied heavily on other people’s approval and validation (People Person characteristics) and if I wasn’t receiving it, I doubted my abilities. It wasn’t until other people started recognising these traits in me (friends, partners, administrators) in the workplace that I realised I did have knowledge to offer and was highly stimulated by other people I admired. As I embarked on my professional journey learning more about best practice, the International Baccalaureate and trends in education, I realised that I had a natural thirst for knowledge and loved to find things out and try them in the classroom.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">This particular comment from the Prototype Analysis spoke true to me: //“Learned Experts are happiest when engaged in some sort of intellectual pursuit or interacting with others whose abilities they admire. They engage fully when allowed to give their opinion and make their points of view known.”// I love to argue both sides, and group discussions are my favourite way to develop my own learning. I feel we have so much to learn from each other as experts, and enjoy the freedom mobile technology provides in allowing us access to any answer to any question at any time. Again, when I was school-aged, I had little confidence in myself as a student and didn’t realise it was a result of possibly not being challenged enough and not having enough people around me that could admire and learn from. I also fell in the ‘people person’ and ‘creative problem solver’ range (only with a 1-2 point difference from Learned Expert) which was more what I expected. I am a highly sensitive and emotional person who can pick up on the atmosphere of a room the minute I walk into it. I also tend to take on other people’s emotions (positive and negative) and sometimes defer to the group’s choice to avoid conflict. Still, as I’ve matured in my 30s I’ve notice that I seek different kinds of relationships and social interactions which may be why the ‘people person’ traits aren’t as prominent as they used to be. Five-six years ago I would have definitely wanted to be the social butterfly on a cruise, but now I would much prefer some solitude and a good book. I think the biggest surprise was that I recognised some changes in myself since the last time I did a personality test (which was in my early 20s...over 12 years ago) and my values and work ethic have also evolved. This test was very interesting to do as a self-reflection, and I enjoyed reading the thinking behind each prototype.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">I asked a close friend of mine (also a teacher), JW, to complete the survey as well. He said he used to work at an arts school where they had all teachers and students complete a personality test and wear the results on a card. This allowed the teachers and students to better understand each other, and the kind of learner and individual they were. He said: "...My art school had us do this (if we wanted) - a bunch of teachers were walking around with a little laminated card on a lanyard that had 4 coloured bars of different lenghts. I would hear them saying "oh yeah...well I'm high on PP and low on LE".


 * Assignment #10 **

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">As my final project I decided to build an educational website about practicing compassion in the classroom as a preventative approach to conflict. The website was created on Wordpress and is called "**Cultivating Compassionate Classrooms**". I plan to use it in my teaching next year when I go back to the classroom (Grade 5) and in the meantime will share with all the grade levels I work with as EdTech Coach (PreK to Grade 5). The lessons I've included cover a range of grades for this reason: I really want to make this website accessible to teachers of all grades. I also plan to share it on Twitter using the hashtag **#compassion**, which is also embedded in the blog. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #434343; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden; vertical-align: baseline;">