Affective Education and Conflict Resolution

The goal for students at High Meadow School is to continually grow towards self-discipline. Mutual trust and respect is nourished, demonstrated and required from all members of the community. Students are guided in learning how to balance their needs as an individual with the needs of the group. We believe that self-discipline are best derived and reinforced…

…when students are involved in the creation of rules and consequences.

…through compelling, challenging, fun classrooms that offer many opportunities to examine human behavior and morals both through the content being studied and class meetings.

…through consistent modeling and reinforcement of desired behaviors and attitudes on the parts of all adults who work with students.

Where there are relationships there will be conflict. Learning how to manage the feelings that arise during a conflict, express oneself effectively, and derive solutions to the problem are what conflict resolution is all about at High Meadow School. Our view of conflict is that each party has a role to play.

There are three ways that conflict resolution is incorporated into the daily life of students at High Meadow School:

Morning Meeting: Each day, classes meet as a group to address the life of the class and shape a positive problem-solving culture of belonging in the class. These meetings are a forum for business of the week, working through problems within the class and discussing any variety of topics that are of interest to the group. 

Classroom Integration: Teachers use academic experiences in literature, social studies, and cooperative learning across the curriculum, to build understanding between students and strengthen the ideas and strategies of conflict resolution.

Mediation: When students have had a conflict, the Conflict Counselor or a peer mediator is available to help each party sort out the problem, facilitate communication between the parties and finally come to agreements about how they will manage the conflict. This process is introduced and reinforced every year in every class. In grades 3-8, outside presenters come in to work with the class on peaceful conflict resolution and effective communication. This process is the result of years of work on the part of students, teachers, and administrators at High Meadow School.