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Experience in implementing School Understanding Services was presented in Chernihiv
On February 26, 2020, a roundtable was held in Chernihiv to discuss the results of the activities of School Understanding Services (SHS) in educational institutions of the Chernihiv region, as one of the mechanisms for preventing adolescent aggression.
At the request of the administrations of educational institutions, during 2019-2020, the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights participated in the creation of more than 10 School Understanding Services in the Chernihiv region.
The participants of the event were social educators, practical psychologists (coordinators of the created understanding services) of schools in the city of Chernihiv and the region, experts on the implementation of restorative practices in the educational environment, and representatives of local authorities. The event was opened by the project manager of the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights
Kateryna Dankova
.
According to her, in Chernihiv, the creation of the first pilot mediation services took place back in late 2018, when mediators from gymnasium No. 31, lyceum 22, and school 29 of Chernihiv were trained.
“After training in basic mediator skills, our organization organized a training for trainers, the participants of which were student mediators from the already established SHSPs. Therefore, now school activists can independently conduct training for the next generation of student mediators,” emphasized
Kateryna Dankova
.
The social educators present noted that at the beginning of the creation of mediation services it was difficult and they “swayed” for a long time. But after the presentation of their SHSP for student self-government, the teaching staff and at parent meetings, the student mediators began to be asked for help in resolving conflict situations.
“Our school participated in 2 trainings on basic mediator skills in 2018 and 2020. I remember how, when selecting participants for the second series of training, there was already a queue among those who wanted to take the training, many wanted to undergo training, since they already knew what mediation was from the student mediators who had undergone training in 2018,” emphasized
Natalia Kolotylo
, deputy director for educational work of gymnasium No. 31 of the humanitarian and aesthetic profile of the city of Chernihiv.
Deputy Director for Educational Work Larysa Lebid and practical psychologist
Oleksandr Zhuk
from Chernihiv Secondary School No. 33 shared their experience and showed presentation videos of the functioning of the mediation service.
According to them, there is still some distrust and skepticism on the part of class teachers, who sometimes find it easier not to “take out the trash” and simply seat students in different corners of the classroom in whom a conflict situation has arisen.
“We are trying to show a successful example of conducting mediation and convey it to all skeptics in our school. To show that mediation is an effective mechanism for resolving conflicts. That it is better to spend more time on understanding the problem and the causes of the conflict and trying to resolve it than to “preserve” it,” – noted
Larysa Lebid
.
According to Iryna Sheremet, a social educator at Chernihiv Specialized Secondary School No. 2, after training in basic mediator skills, children have a new social status, they are motivated and self-confident, because they understand that they are now an example for others.
The relevance of implementing modern restorative practices in the educational process was emphasized by
Tetyana Gontar
, a representative of the methodological center of the Education Department of the Chernihiv City Council.
“We must promote the dissemination of experience in creating a safe school environment among all schools in the Chernihiv region, the formation of skills in creative conflict resolution and the involvement of children in this process. Currently, 38 social educators and 40 practical psychologists work in Chernihiv. All colleagues must learn and evaluate that experience, its effectiveness and efficiency. I hope that the dissemination of the successful experience of the functioning of the SHSP will be an impetus and motivation for others,” said Ms. Tetyana.
Also present at the event were student mediators from Gymnasium No. 31 and Secondary School No. 33, who shared the difficulties in the work of the created SHSPs.
The main obstacle to the work of a mediator is the distrust of individual teachers, who probably think that it is easier to simply “crush” with their authority.
According to the mediator from Gymnasium No. 31, a 10th grade student
Anna Isaeva
, adolescence is now very difficult, and conflicts arise constantly. Therefore, we are happy to be part of the spread of mediation, because after conducting such a restorative practice as a “circle”, the climate in the classroom improves significantly, children become kinder and more open, and begin to show more respect for each other.
“I still remember my excitement at my first training as a trainer. When I saw that the participants were delighted with the training, how their eyes “burned”, I realized that these skills and knowledge of mediation are needed primarily for the children themselves,” recalled a 10th grade student
Kateryna Maksymenko
.
In Chernihiv College No. 11, thanks to the support of the school principal, the school’s understanding service began to actively present itself, telling class teachers and students about the service’s activities.
“One of the good examples of our SHSP’s work is when the mother of an 8th grade girl contacted us. According to her, her daughter constantly came home from school upset and in tears. The parents believed that the reason for this was bullying at school, so they turned to student mediators. During the conversation, we managed to understand the true reason for the girl’s situation and understand the problems that she did not tell her parents about,” shared the experience of the SHSP’s work by the social educator of college No. 11
Lalita Ved
.
For almost six months, mediation services have been operating in two schools in the Mensky district of the Chernihiv region.
Social educators also shared their experience of how they convinced teachers that mediation is effective and efficient.
“I simply said that there are currently attempts to establish mediation at the legislative level as an effective mechanism for resolving conflicts peacefully. After that, many skeptics began to monitor the work of our SHSP,” noted the social teacher of the Menska gymnasium
Anna Dondyk
.
Among the difficulties in the functioning of the SHSP, social teachers also pointed out the lack of a separate office for the work of the mediation services. In many schools, mediators conduct their activities mainly in the offices of social teachers or practical psychologists. And this is a problem, since sometimes the office is busy, and the conflict needs to be resolved now.
Deputy of the Chernihiv City Council
Regina Husak
proposed one of the possible ways to solve the problem with the offices, namely to try to attract funds from deputy funds for the arrangement of offices.
“I am personally ready to help with the arrangement of one of the SHSP offices, as I believe that the implementation of School Understanding Services is a clear victory for the Chernihiv community in ensuring safety in educational institutions,” emphasized Ms. Regina.
At the end of the event, all participants agreed that the implementation of School Understanding Services as one of the components of the formation of a safe educational space should be extended to all educational institutions in the Chernihiv region.
The event was organized by the Chernihiv Public Committee for the Protection of Human Rights with the support of the Canadian Foundation for Local Initiatives.