Conflict resolution
Two UD students serve on team to design national conflict resolution calendar
1:31 p.m., Sept. 12, 2011--The University of Delaware’s Conflict Resolution Program, a program unit of the School of Public Policy and Administration’s Institute for Public Administration, was selected to serve on a national team to design and publish the third edition of the Conflict Resolution Calendar for Teachers.
The 2011-2012 school-year calendar will be distributed to thousands of teachers across the country to assist them with integrating conflict-resolution activities and information into their curriculum. This project is sponsored by the Conflict Resolution Education for Teacher Education (CRETE) Program, the Association for Conflict Resolution (ACR), and the JAMS Foundation. The calendar is viewable on CRETE’s website.
People Stories
'Resilience Engineering'
Reviresco June run
Stephanie Patterson and Corinne O’Connor are the School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA) students responsible for gathering most of the material in the calendar. Patterson and O’Connor spent several months searching the web for the interesting conflict-resolution activities, quotes, websites, holidays, and pictures that are featured in the calendar.
Patterson is a second-year master of public administration (MPA) student specializing in health policy. This past summer she interned with Westside Family Healthcare, the largest nonprofit community health system in Delaware. She is currently working as a public administration fellow with the Institute for Public Administration on the Senior Center Grant-In-Aid Project.
Beginning in January, she will be working as a Legislative Fellow in the Delaware General Assembly. Following graduation, she hopes to combine her interests in health policy, policy development, social media, and program planning.
O’Connor is a senior majoring in public policy with a minor in political science. This summer she interned with Delaware’s Congressman John Carney. She, too, is currently working as a public administration fellow with the Institute for Public Administration, focusing primarily on conflict-resolution projects and trainings. She also coordinates events for the Delaware Association for Public Administration, a professional organization that promotes public service throughout the state of Delaware.
Following graduation in May, O’Connor plans on entering SPPA’s MPA program. She is very interested in education reform and hopes to incorporate more conflict-resolution programs into classrooms across the state.
The theme for this year’s calendar is holistic wellness and how various conflict-resolution strategies can help students, as well as teachers, resolve conflicts they encounter during the school year. The goal is to incorporate physical, social, and emotional wellness into daily life to improve well-being. Wellness also includes the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict, which is what the calendar is meant to highlight.
Even though these calendars are being distributed to teachers, they offer conflict-resolution tools that are applicable to everyone. Families, community groups, and nonprofits that serve children will also benefit from the resources featured in the calendar.
The first two editions of this calendar were a huge success, but the workload was taken on by a very small group of individuals. This time, the CRETE staff decided to team up with the most engaged professionals in the conflict-resolution field nationwide to create an interactive calendar for teachers and students. As in previous years, it is anticipated that the calendar will foster awareness about alternative dispute resolution.
Reilly Megee, a Delaware high school student, also contributed to the calendar. Last year, she won first place in an art contest sponsored by the Delaware Conflict Resolution Network (DCRN), a collaborative partnership of individuals who are committed to advancing the understanding, availability, and utilization of alternative dispute-resolution options through education, public policy, and advocacy.
Article by Kathy Wian
Photo by Mark Deshon