If you have been through high school, you are probably aware that those years might not always be a smooth ride for a lot of people.

Millions of young people across the world experience issues such as bullying, discrimination and other types of conflict. If the institution does nothing to prevent or correct such issues, the climate often normalizes and instituting change becomes more challenging.  Does your school need conflict management protocol?

 If you’ve ever found yourself responding to incidents involving conflict ranging from threats, cyber bullying to school yard fist fights, chances are that you need to do something to raise awareness and equip your students with tactics other than intimidation or violence to resolve problems.  People on the receiving end of callous behaviour have a myriad of ways in dealing with it. For instance, some students might purposely be absent and find excuses to avoid attending school, while others may seek protection from their peers to avoid harassment. Children have been also known to isolate and live in fear. In serious situations some students have turned to self-harm and substance abuse as a means of coping.  The worst case scenarios have seen teens resorting to suicide when they feel helpless and hopeless. Currently suicide is the sixth leading cause of death among teens, in the Canada. Reckless or disruptive behaviors are also signs of an underlying abusive environment.  When this group feels that life is unfair or it doesn’t really matter, risky self-destructive patterns behaviours often accompany their insight. It is always vital to keep an eye out to ensure the well being of your entire student body. Taking a preventative/proactive stance towards conflict and aiming to mitigate anti-social incidents with conflict management strategy education makes sense. Before conflictual behaviour can become a social norm take a proactive approach and incorporate anger management and conflict resolution within your school’s fabric.

Remember that ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Raising the bar with Roderick