Mike Maday, a professional mediator and trainer, helps schools set up conflict resolution and mediation programs.
Mediators help kids move beyond conflict and get on with recess, with lunch, with life.
A student mediator's job is not to tell other kids how to solve their problem, to act like a judge, or to discipline those involved. The mediator's job is to help those in conflict find their own solutions to the problem. Mediators are trained to intervene. Because they are dealing with peers, they are often able to catch conflicts at an early stage, when adults might miss them. When it looks like a problem is coming, they ask the kids involved if they want any help.