Conflict resolution is an important part of the child’s education. Montessori classrooms use different techniques to facilitate communication and conflict resolution in the classroom.
The Peace Table
Children need to learn conflict resolution if they are going to make it as adults. They need to be removed from the situation, find neutral territory, and try to talk it out. The Peace Table is the perfect place to do this.
The Peace Table is a set of small child-sized table and two chairs that is set in a quiet part of the classroom. In the middle of the table should be a Peace Flower.
When one child is upset with another, he should invite the other child to the Peace Table. The child who does the inviting begins the conversation, holding the Peace Flower. He tells the other child how she hurt his feelings and why she was invited to the Peace Table. Then he must pass it to her so that she can respond. The children keep passing the flower back and forth, speaking respectfully to each other, until their conflict is resolved. Only the child holding the Peace Flower may speak. When the situation is resolved, they can hold the flower together and say, “We declare peace.”
Some children may require mediation by another student or a teacher. Especially in the beginning, adults should demonstrate proper use of the Peace Table. They can also model appropriate words and problem solving skills. Adults may need to interpret each child’s feelings for the other one as they are learning to interpret the feelings of others.
The Peace Rose
The Peace Rose can be a single real, or fake rose that is in a bud vase and placed in a specially designated location in the classroom. When a child is having difficulties with another child, she can get the flower and bring it over to him. The conversation between the two children is conducted in the same fashion as if they were sitting at the Peace Table. The difference is, the conversation can happen anywhere in the classroom. Sometimes a third child may witness an altercation between two friends and can take the Peace Flower over to them.
The Talking Stick
The Talking Stick can take a variety of forms. It can be a literal stick that was chosen by the children on the playground. It can be a miniature Peace Pole, with words of peace written in various languages printed around it. Or it can be any other stick-shaped object, designated as a Talking Stick by the teacher. It can be used in a similar fashion as the Peace Rose between two children anywhere in the classroom. It can be used at circle time or during a community meeting to emphasize taking turns talking.
The teacher can implement whichever technique of teaching communication she desires in her classroom. Some teachers may wish to use a combination of the three.
 |
