subject: In Praise Of The Peer Mediator [print this page] Over the past few decades, mediation has grown in popularity by leaps and bounds. Today many potentially ugly disputes over business issues, politics, and family disagreements are settled through mediation. The essential structure of mediation is conducive to cooperation and out-of-the-box problem solving, and as a result, disputes are settled peacefully and efficiently.
But adults are not the only ones who attend mediation procedures. There are peer mediation programs, aimed at helping students to work out their problems, which are cropping up all over the country. These students are trained at facilitating the mediation process, and can work with their fellow students to "hash-out" their differences without the threat of punishment, and can deal with problems before they escalate to becoming painful confrontations. Student mediators are known as "peer mediators."
While peer mediation programs may be a step in the right direction, there are still a lot of negative influences that are bombarding our youth. Over the previous decades we have been witness to juvenile violence escalate in alarming ways. Students regularly bring weapons to school and minor skirmishes often end in tragedy. Considering the amount of violence that kids are constantly exposed to through television, movies, and video games it is no surprise that the natural choice of dispute resolution amongst them is all-too-often verbal, or even physical, confrontation. Many adults feel that there is almost no way to get through to "kids these days." So who is left to teach the next generation to deal with conflict in a healthy manner?
The experts are running out of ideas, and we need people that are able to communicate with the youth in a way that they can connect to. This is one of the main successes of peer mediation, it lets the youth communicate the ways of peace and cooperation to one another. In this way, peer mediators are often able to do what adults are not able to accomplish by themselves.
In order to work out their differences students either volunteer for peer mediation or can be volunteered by another student or teacher.
The subject of peer-mediation can be just about anything that causes friction between students.
The peer-mediated discussion proceeds much like any adult-mediated case. The mediator's job is not to judge but rather to facilitate the cooperation of both parties in order that they should ultimately come to a compromise which suits everyone.
There are several benefits to implementing peer mediation programs in schools. The benefits of peer mediation to the mediated parties are clear, it helps them to work out problems before the problems become detrimental. The youth that are the mediators also benefit by having valuable pre-professional experience in the growing field of mediation, and being responsible for mediation provides a confidence boost. The school as a community benefits from mediation because it fosters a more nurturing and cooperative environment for learning and growing. The peer mediation program in schools truly provides a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Although today's youth have a lot of negative influences bombarding their collective psyches on a regular basis, there may be a light in the darkness of rampant conflict and violence. Peer mediation has a lot of potential for helping us to communicate good values to the next generation.
