Workshops

ELEMENTARY/MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL
How Can I Change My World Through Mediation?
Students can learn how to help their peers resolve conflicts without violence through the mediation process, and at the same time gain invaluable skills that will be theirs for a lifetime. The changes begin in their own lives and in their school as they help students take responsibility for finding solutions to their own problems, resulting in agreements that are kept. The school climate changes as students learn they don’t have to “just live with it,” “get even,” or “write them off.” Offenders are held accountable. Kathy has worked with student mediators for over three decades and finds it absolutely awesome to see what they can do. “We literally rob children and teens of one of life’s most powerful learning experiences when we fail to offer them this opportunity to serve and to solve,” Kathy says. Any doubts? Email to ask about the young man who had a history of violence at school and what brought about the change in him that resulted in his threatening a classmate with the most amazing and transformational “threat” ever heard.

Session length: 2 days
Number of students: Up to 24
Fee: $800

Hammers Don’t Really Work for Conflict Resolution. What Does?

Kathy was invited by Kodaikanal International School, Tamil Nadu, India, to present an online workshop on conflict resolution and problem-solving for Parent Week –2020. Though speaking to parents and students of KIS (which is a school she loves and invites you to learn more of), the workshop covers great tips for anyone, on any continent. Here is what you’ll find:

Conflict is a part of life. What we do with conflict is what matters. Join in for some practical tips on setting our “hammers”aside and using tools that really work to strengthen relationships as we solve problems – at school, at home, anywhere. Discover, along with Mr. Nogginbody and his picture book adventure, a great truth about tools. See how the Shift-Listen-Create problem-solving model works in family meetings, in mediation, and in person-to-person confrontation.

PARENT/TEACHER AND COMMUNITY WORKSHOP
“If You Choose Not to Hit”—A Dozen Skills That Make Kids Powerful Problem Solvers—What Parents and Others Can Do

  • What is the world’s top communication skill for parents and other adults to model?
  • What is the most effective “consequence” of all?
  • How can parents and teachers enhance their natural role as mediators?
  • How can kids most effectively get other kids to stop negative behavior?
  • What is one process families & classrooms can use that will help kids become lifelong problem solvers?

Session length: 2 hours
Number of participants: Up to 36
Fee: $200, plus If You Choose Not to Hit
book purchases of $10 each

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL WORKSHOPS
What Will Be On Your Picture Book Shelf in Fifty Years?
Believing picture books are treasures for a lifetime, Kathy encourages kids to never stop reading them, and to start a fifty-year library collection now—to include both uniquely published works of their own and traditionally published works of others. Reasons for writing and ways to make it happen are explored, along with the questions: What three books must you positively read before the year is up? What happened that made Kathy a writer? What book is waiting for an author to write it, this year?

Session length: 45-60 minutes
Number of students per session: 25
Fee: $400 per day or $200 per half day.

What Could I Learn by Starting A Picture Book Club?
Using her picture book Playing War as the Book Club selection, Kathy will facilitate a Picture Book Club process that students can start in their own families or with friends and classmates. Reading the book, opening with a circle question, and then moving to questions about the story lets students share their reactions to what happened with Luke, Sameer, and their friends. “Questions About Life” and an activity based on Sameer’s wooden top help apply and anchor the Book Club experience to the students’ own lives. Students also help create a Book Club Agenda for a second picture book.

Session length: 45-60 minutes
Number of students: 10-25
Fee: $400 per day or $200 per half day.

MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL
What is The Role of Teens and Pre-Teens in
the Prevention of Sexual Abuse?
Using the Book Club format, Kathy’s YA novel Critical Mass will be discussed. A sampling of activities from the Leader’s Guide will show projects teens can take on to have an impact in this critical area of violence prevention.

Session Length: 2 sessions, 1-1/2 hours each, with staff follow-up for projects. (Students to read novel in advance.) See “Books” for more information on the novel and Leader’s Guide.)
Fee: $400

HIGH SCHOOL/COMMUNITY: Considering War As a Resolver of International Conflict
Workshop participants will, through a game and a gallop through US History, confront the assertion that America’s wars have generally been a last resort to defend the nation, uphold justice, and protect human rights and our freedoms. Then they’ll explore questions such as: But what about Hitler? How does war sell? What have US leaders said about our wars – after the fact?
Session II of the workshop will include: Seven great myths nudge America toward acceptance, even enthusiastic support, of war. Are we aware of them and their impact on us? After a little myth busting, participants will delve into stories of seemingly impossible-to-resolve international conflict being transformed nonviolently. We’ll also explore such questions as: Am I a green frog in a lima bean pot? How were Americans first encouraged to celebrate November 11th? What do we know about the treaty – still U.S. law – that bans war? The opposite of war is peace, right? Or does that idea get us into a world of trouble? What one thing can I do that will help more than anything else to bring a world beyond war?

Session Length: 2 sessions, 1 ½ hours each
Fee $400

Program fees quoted above are for local schools and community groups.
Distance travel needs to be discussed.