By Lauren Kross, AmeriCorps Member
On February 23, I provided AmeriCorps members at the mid-year retreat with an interactive presentation on conflict resolution and violence prevention. As adults, we tend to think about ways to eliminate violence or neglect the issue of violence altogether instead of engaging in activities to strengthen our own conflict resolution skills and discuss the root of violence. Around the room, there were several questions pulled from topics taught to our Take Ten students.
Some of the questions include:
What is violence?
Where is violence?
What are the causes of violence?
How do you solve conflicts?
What are anger triggers?
What are your values?
How can you eliminate violence?
Where do you “Take Ten”?
Having an open discussion about violence and conflict is important for people of all ages. It is never too late to learn how to effectively communicate to others during a conflict, avoid violence, and calm down during a disagreement. In addition, it is important to know when and how to Take Ten deep breaths, steps away or other non-violent method of calming down. This presentation was to prove that we are all a part of the movement towards non-violence and, as adults, we need to serve as role models and promoters of non-violence to children.