We need to start somewhere. We can begin in our homes and our schools. Plant the seed, nurture it and watch it grow. I wrote these words in 1995 as I set out on a mission to bring understanding of the root of conflict and propose solutions beyond Band-Aid fixes to our schools. Four years later, as our world sits on the brink of a new millennium, with all its hype, I read headlines reporting one more incident of tragic school violence.
Many people say the problem is being addressed.
It is being addressed in bits and pieces and 45-minute lessons here and there once a week for X weeks. It is being addressed with metal detectors and police officers in our schools. It is being addressed by training the cream of the crop in our schools to be peer mediators, ignoring opportunities to include all the other children who need the skills. It is being addressed in one or two hour staff development workshops for teachers once a year. It is being addressed by expanding prisons, trying children as adults, creating tougher laws.