How would you, as a teacher, help children understand that violence is not a normal or healthy way to respond?

Question

how would you, as a teacher, help children understand that violence is not a normal or healthy way to respond to conflict

Answer 1

Well, it depends on how old the kids are and what sort of environment/home life they have.

If you've got upper-class suburban kids, you would probably use a theoretical view - bring in articles and stories of people using anger in a right and wrong way and have them compare and contrast to build their conclusions.

If you've got inner-city kids who have gangs in their neighborhood and/or get beaten at home, that's another story.  These kids live the violence every day of their lives, so you'll have to get more in-depth with them.  Bring in examples of people who rose above this and what they were able to accomplish.  Let them journal or voice their thoughts and work through it together.  Because it's ingrained in their lives, they'll take longer to learn to react in a non-violent way.

There really isn't a lesson plan that would fit every kid - it really depends on their age and situation.  Tiger Woods' foundation has a really good (free) curriculum available for all age groups on goal setting and making right choices, I believe it has materials on non-violent conflict resolution as well.

Answer 2

I don't think you CAN help children understand that it is not normal, because clearly it is!  However, it isn't healthy.  What about some role plays in which you show one person hitting another, who then is mad and hits back, so that the first person then gets madder and hits back harder, etc, compared to a verbal response which resolves the initial issue.  Depending on the age and background of the kids, you can bring in examples of what happened to people who were damaged by violence, either political (Israelis and Palestinians), community (gangs) or personal (domestic violence).

Answer 3

The biggest thing that I have learned is that the behavior I model to the kids is more valuable than any teaching I can do.  The way I interact with other teachers, visitors and students in conflict is huge.  

Many kids are so used to being around chaos and yelling, they don't know any different.  They cringe when they do something they know will get them in trouble, but when I handle the situation in a calm and rational manner, they start to see there is a different way.  

Yes, we only have the kids 7 hours a day, 180 days a year, they spend a lot more time at home, but every second can help!

That said, I have found a great web resource that is very helpful:  stopbullyingnow.com

There are 12 webisodes that are short clips in which 3 main characters face struggles with bullying, sometimes violence.  It works for my third graders and the content would still be applicable for up to 8th grade (and probably much better suited for 6th - 8th, I used the program out of sheer desperation, and it helped a lot!)  

Lastly, and this sounds so simple, I constantly tell the kids that when in a conflict, "violence is never the answer."  I remind them that they do not like it when other people touch them, they have no right to put their hands on another person either.

Hope this helps!