Sadly, the increase of school fights is a realistic dilemma in T&T and it is very distasteful when videos of such life-threatening fights are uploaded on chat sites and media forums. In some of these videos chairs are seen being launched to and fro and used as "weapons of mass destruction," and students are heard speaking fluent obscene language.
For this reason the Ministry of Education must consider implementing conflict resolution as a subject for study in all primary and secondary schools throughout the nation. By giving students skills to express and resolve conflicts on their own, educators build their self-esteem and their sense of responsibility. Each student becomes more aware of the unique qualities of other children, thus reducing the likelihood of further conflict.
Conflict resolution in the education system should be a spectrum of processes that utilise communication skills and creative and analytic thinking to prevent, manage, and peacefully resolve conflict.
There are compelling, valid reasons for every school to implement a programme to teach conflict resolution; the problem-solving processes of conflict resolution (negotiation, mediation, and consensus decision-making) can improve the school climate. Conflict resolution strategies can reduce violence, vandalism, chronic school absence, and suspension.
Conflict resolution training helps students and teachers deepen their understanding of themselves and others and develop important life skills. Training in negotiation, mediation, and consensus decision-making encourages a high level of citizenship activity.
Conflict resolution training increases skills in listening, critical thinking, and problem solving–skills basic to all learning. Conflict resolution emphasises seeing other points of view and resolving differences peacefully–skills that assist one to live in a multicultural world and negotiation and mediation are problem-solving tools that are well suited to the problems that young people face, and those trained in these approaches often use them to solve problems for which they would not seek adult help.
Implementing conflict resolution as a subject in all schools has the potential to reduce student violence and conflict in schools and it should be considered a possible solution to the problem of school fights and violence.
Alicia Giles
Mc Bean, Couva