S.O.S.

Solutions-OpportunitiesSuccess
Klcsey Ferenc Highschool SM, Romania

You can`t shake hands with a clenched fist.

In dira Gandhi
SEPTEMBER Workshop nr. 1 Introducing the topic

presentation of the topic to the new students by the coordinating teachers, as well offering interesting and useful information about our partner school and the Icebreaker: name game meet your teammates- students who are from different classes should present themselves offer a short characterization, as well tell in few words why they participate in the project , how do they approach conflicts.

Games:

Anger Ball-Toss Find a soft ball. Have the class stand in a circle. Begin by completing the sentence, "I feel angry when ..." Ask for a volunteer who is willing to restate what you just said. Toss that student the ball. That student restates what you said, then completes the sentence for herself. She then tosses the ball to someone else, who repeats what she said, then completes the sentence for himself, and so on. Feelings Check-ln Pass out markers and 5x8 index cards. Ask each student to write on the card in large letters one word that describes how he or she is feeling right now. Then ask students to hold up their cards and look at the variety of responses. Point out how rare it is for different people to bring the same feelings to an experience or situation. Invite students to share why they wrote down the words that they did.

 Open discussion- Open your heart, we are listening to you they should mention conflicts they experienced at school (group secret) homework task : they are asked to follow the news and gather articles from local media, news from internet, all that is connected with conflicts around us.

OCTOBER Workshop nr.2- 3 The ship of ACES landed in Satu Mare

The representative student (Barabas Levente) shares his experience from the Kick- off -meeting Senec, presenting materials, pictures etc Wall of Shame : students should stick items of news on a cardboard Short presentation of the word conflict and related activities:

BACKGROUND Conict is such a natural, important, and inescapable part of society and our own lives that it is difficult to give it a single denition. After all, how can we reduce conict to a single denition when there are so many different kinds of conict? The following two activities are designed to allow students to explore underlying similarities in conict situations ranging from family arguments to international wars. Rather than imposing the theoretical views of conict on the students, these activities provide the students with the opportunity to develop an understanding of conict on their own.

MATERIALS Is This A Conict? and Most Conicts activity sheets, paper, pencils, chalkboard and chalk (or large paper and a pen) ACTIVITY I 1. Divide the class into groups of four to six.

2. Each group chooses a representative who will report back to the class highlights of the small groups discussion. 3. Give one copy of Is This a Conict? to each group representative. Tell each group that it must decide whether or not each situation is a conict. Stress that the groups must think of reasons to support their decisions. 4. Once the groups are nished, the representatives from each group report their conclusions and reasons to the whole class. 5. Record on the chalkboard or large paper the major points made by each group. Have the students discuss these points openly, telling them that it is okay to disagree.

ACTIVITY II 1. This activity is fun and easy. Divide the class into pairs. 2. Hand out a piece of paper to each pair. 3. Tell students that they are going to create denitions of conict. Write the phrase Conict is... on the chalkboard. Ask the students to complete the sentence and record all responses on their papers. To stimulate ideas, offer the students examples such as, Conict is terror, Conict is something I deal with every day, and Conict is fun. Encourage each pair to think of at least ten ideas. 4. Once the students have exhausted their ideas, ask them to think about which ones can be grouped together as positive and which can be grouped together as negative. 5. One of the students in each pair draws a circle around every idea that seems positive. The other draws a square around every idea that seems negative. 6. The pairs will nd that some of the denitions could be either positive or negative. 7. The pairs use their denitions to help them create a denition of conict. Their denitions can be more than one sentence. For example, a pair might decide that conict is: Something that people do every day. People in conict ght, hurt each other, and also get what they want. Not all conicts are bad. 8. Each pair shares its denitions of conict with the whole class. 9. Discuss the following questions. a. Which denition seems like the clearest denition of conict for us? b. Did you nd that you thought of more positive or negative denitions of conict? Why? What are some of the positive denitions of conict? 10. Tell the students that you would like to share with them dictionary denitions of conict. Have them compare their denitions of conict with the dictionary ones. 11. Have students note that the dictionary denitions are not the perfect, only denitions of conict. * The word conict comes from the Latin language. The Latin word conictus means to strike together. * A simple denition of conict is: a disagreement between two or more persons or ideas. ACTIVITY III IS THIS A CONFLICT? Directions: Read and decide whether or not each of these situations is a conict. Write down reasons to explain your decisions.

1. Andreea, Veronika, and Irena talk during their biology class. They whisper and write notes to each other. The biology teacher gets angry with them one day, yells at them, and sends them out of the classroom. He tells them to clean the blackboard every day for one month. 2. Jelena and Eva are good friends. Last week they both took a history test and received good grades. Jelena thinks that Eva received her good grade because she is the teachers favorite student. Eva says that she studied and honestly deserved the grade. The two girls now argue and shout with one another. 3. A lot of kids like to play games in the schoolyard at night, but recently, a few stray dogs bit three kids there. Now many parents do not allow their children to play in the schoolyard at night.

analyzing a PowerPoint about conflict (Conflict.PPT) Facebook discussions with the partner students

Workshop nr. 4

Conflict box, two boxes were disposed in the school, students were asked to write their own conflicts and put them into the box Conflict team was divided into small teams and they had to identify of the conflicts, family, school, interpersonal, inner conflicts, trying to offer solutions for them, and show them in front of the others

Games:

What Colour is Conflict? Cut up a large quantity of 4x4 construction-paper squares in a wide variety of colors. Be sure to have plenty of red, black, brown, and gray. Ask each student to choose a color or group of colors that she thinks represents conflict. Either in the large group or in smaller groups of five or six, have participants share the colors they chose and why they chose them. (If you split up into smaller groups, come back together at the end and have volunteers share with the whole group which colors they chose and why.)

 analyzing 1 PowerPoint ( Bullying in the Classroom PPT)

NOVEMBER Workshop nr. 5 Previous task: kids were asked to draw their picture of conflict, in several classes Conflict -team has chosen the best ones and stick them on a large cardboard They had to find reasons what causes conflict and write the keywords on cardboard: The Roots of Conflict

large

ACTIVITIES

1. Write the word conict in big letters on a piece of paper and place it on the oor in an open, clear area of the classroom where everyone can see it. 2. Hand out one sheet of paper to each student. 3. Instruct students to count the number of letters in their rst name and to cut (or rip) their sheet of paper into that number of pieces. 4. Students then write a different word or idea that they associate with conict on each small piece of paper. 5. One at a time, each student lays his/her words on the oor around the sheet of paper that says Conict. As each student puts his/her words on the oor, he/she should say them aloud. If students have words that are similar to other words already on the oor, they should place them close to one another. For example, if the word ghting is given, a word like hitting could be placed beside it. Students are permitted to explain their words if they would like to.

6. Discuss with students whether most ideas about conict are good or bad. Ask them how conict can be good. Make sure they give specic answers. Ask them to offer examples of times when conict was useful or helpful. 8. In groups of four to six, students share their stories.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Why do people have conicts? 2. Should we avoid having conicts? Why or why not? What are some examples of times in your life that you avoided having a conict? How did you feel by avoiding the conict? 4. How are conicts resolved: a. within yourself?. b. within our class? c. within our school? d. within our community? e. within your family? f. among you and your friends?

Group activity: The Tower of Babel

BACKGROUND

We often label other people. Labeling can be helpful, for it helps us to organize our world. For instance, when people have stomachaches, we may label them as sick. We use the label as a quick description of how they behave and feel. However, labeling is not a totally harmless way of organizing the world. When we label people, we often treat them in ways that reinforce the behavior and feelings. By treating people with stomachaches as sick, we develop a new way of relating to them, and they develop a new way of relating to us. Our relationship changes, and it becomes difcult for the sick people to break out of that label. Stereotyping is a way of labeling groups of people. When we stereotype, we affect others behavior as well as our own. We may, for example, treat all tall people as athletic; our treatment of them affects how they relate to us, and in turn, this affects how we relate to them. MATERIALS Plenty of space, tape, index cards, or small pieces of paper for each student On each index card, write one of the following messages:

 Smile at me Frown at me Make a face at me and tell me I dont know anything Listen to everything I say Do everything I do Keep changing the subject Dont listen to anything I say Talk to me as if I am six years old

You may need to write the same message on more than one card so there are enough cards for each student.

ACTIVITY 1. Hand an index card with a message on it to each student, telling him or her not to show it to anyone else. 2. Hand each student a small piece of tape. 3. Have each student tape an index card onto the back of the person beside them, making sure that person does not see what is written on the card. 4. Divide the class up into groups of four to six, and tell the class that they are going to make a human statue about an incident in which someone helps someone else.* For example, they could make a human statue of a few children helping an old lady across the street, of children helping parents clean the house, and so on. 5. Each group must decide among themselves what they are going to sculpt. 6. Each group must work together to create the statue, but each student must treat the other students in accordance with the message on the persons back. For instance, suppose John has the message Tell me what to do on his back. Every time I see John, I would tell him what to do. 7. After about 20 minutes, have the groups sit down in their regular seats and have each group display their human statue. Tell the groups that they still cannot take the tags off their backs, nor can they look at them. Everyone must still treat everyone else in accordance with the message on each students back. 8. After all the groups have displayed their statues, tell the students that they can take the messages off their backs.

DISCUSSION 1. How did it feel to be treated in a certain way? 2. Ask students to name what message was on their back. How did that message inuence the productivity of the group? 3. Would your group have been more productive without the labels on your backs? Why or why not? 4. Do people label each other in real life? Do children and adults label others as good, bad, bossy, nice, or mean without even knowing them very well? 5. What is wrong with labeling people? 6. Has anyone ever labeled you in a way you did not like? How? 7. Suppose someone thinks you are a bad person because you have brown hair. How could you change this persons view of you? 8. Where do we learn many of our thoughts and beliefs about others? (From friends, parents, siblings, teachers, and so on.) 9. Is it easy or hard to get rid of a label once it becomes known? How can you get rid of it?

Workshop nr. 6

Be the brick :P stay among students, overhear their discussions, analyze their behaviour, way of communication, language, body language Students share their experience Questionnaire: different classes have to answer questions about conflict Workshop nr. 7 Role play activities:

1. Two multicultural students of different races confront each other by calling out racial slurs. 2. A teacher confronts a student that a paper written by the student was plagiarized.

3. A student body president counted votes for an election. Another student confronts him because it is believed he counted votes unfairly. 4. A basketball coach found a one page editorial in the back of the yearbook that denounced him as a fair coach or a good teacher. He immediately protests to the administration. 5. A local high school allowed up until now, a student smoking lounge. Because laws have changed, the student council calls for a joint meeting of the smokers, administrators, and student council. There is anger on the part of the smokers, as the jocks of the school invade the meeting and demand the lounge is closed immediately.

Games: Problem solving pool, Controlled dialogue ( ACES workshops, Katrin Luth) Nonverbal communication games

DECEMBER Workshop 8/9 Film club Take the lead / followed by salsa evening

Freedom writers followed by discussions starting from a Martin Luther King quote: I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia , the sons of the former slaves and the sons of the former slaveowners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhoodthat one day even the State of Mississippi , a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justicethat my four little children will one day

live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.

Line game

Xmas feeling be together, offer a helping hand, artistic programme pictures. PPT Our story. Our words. Students` thoughts about the films

JANUARY Workshop 10

Snowflakes:
BACKGROUND

This activity stresses the concept that, though differences in perspectives on an issue might exist, this does not mean there is only one correct perspective. In many scenarios, there is no right answer: Each persons perspective on the issue can be correct.. Who is correct?

MATERIALS

one piece of notebook paper for the teacher and each student

ACTIVITY

1. Give each student a piece of paper. 2. Explain that the following activity is not graded. Stress that it is important that each student not watch anyone else while doing the activity. Everyone must follow the teachers instructions while remaining quiet. Tell the students that no one is allowed to ask any questions on how to do the activity. If students do ask a question, tell them to do the activity the way they think they should. 3. Instruct the students to: a. Pick up the piece of paper. b. Fold it in half. c. Tear off the top right corner of the paper. d. Fold the paper in half again. e. Tear off the top right corner of the paper. f. Fold the paper in half again. g. Tear off the top right corner of the paper. h. Fold the paper in half again. i. Tear off the top right corner of the paper if they can. If students insist that it is too hard to tear the corner off, tell them that they do not need to. j. Unfold the piece of paper. 4. Tell students to look around the room, noticing how different each classmates piece of paper is.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Is anybodys paper torn incorrectly? Why not? 2. Why are so many students papers torn differently? 3. If students papers are torn differently from yours, does that make them bad people? Why not? 4. Do we judge people as good or bad depending on whether they do things exactly like us? Whats an example of when this happens?

5. In what ways do you think people from other countries (from different religious, ethnic back-grounds, etc.) view the world differently? How is their view different from your own? Whose view is correct? 6. What would the world be like if everyone saw everything the same way? How is the world more interesting because of the many different ways of seeing?

Description: post the 4 signs around the room; write the names of the 4 animals on them; discuss how each animal reacts to conflict. Possible interpretations: Fox= confrontation Lion= fights, dominates Turtle= hides, scared Bird= flies away Ask the participants to go near the sign that corresponds to the way they react to conflict. In each animal group have participants discuss what the people have in common at each animal station and how that`s different from the other animals. One person from each group should share what they had in common and how they are different from the other groups. Remind participants that everyone reacts to conflict in different ways. Why do conflicts occur- semi-guided conversation in pairs, then in smaller groups Conclusion: conflict -is a natural disagreement resulting from individuals or groups that differ in attitudes, beliefs, values or needs. -it originates from past rivalries, personality differences -is not always negative

Which type of animals you are: the purpose of this activity is to have participants recognize their personal reaction to conflict.

FEBRUARY

Workshop 11: Role plays :

1. Litter is everywhere in the school. The student body president is angry that the student body will not clean up after itself. Many campaigns were launched during the year to clean up the school. Nothing happened. The president proposes to close the student lounge during snack break whenever the litter problem gets out of hand. Members of the student council are divided on the solution and feel it is too harsh. 2. A teacher had a student miss his class because of a student council meeting. During the period absent, a test was given. The instructor is not only angry at the student, but also at the student

council advisor. The school constitution gives the students the right to call meetings, once a month, during the school day. The teacher confronts the student and the advisor. 3. The junior class feels it is superior to the senior class. During homecoming, the junior class prints shirts that proclaim the Juniors Rule. The seniors are furious and withdraw from homecoming activities. 4. In a local school district where there are three high schools, two of the schools are arch rivals in sports, academics, and bad attitudes. One night School A burned the grass in School B's football field. School B then plowed their field. The A.S.B. officers from both schools decided to hold a joint student council meeting. Anger was strong as to who was to blame for bad behavior. The goal to pursue a better relationship between the two schools needs to be resolved.

Let`s get loud! conflict resolution through music We know that music can have a very powerful effect on us. A very long time ago, Plato said, "Rhythm and harmony find their way into the inner places of the soul." Music is often thought of as a cultural expression with the ability to bring people together regardless of backgrounds. For this reason it is often deployed in multi-cultural projects aimed at bridging divides, and more recently in conflict resolution programmes. We used 2 musical examples to prove this, Spiders web by Katie Melua, and If we hold on together by Diana Ross. We have listened to the songs, talked about the lyrics and at the end we sang them together. We have learned that we can express our ideas through music and make it be heard by everyone. We can spend a lot of time together, knowing each other better by listening to music or singing, or dancing together. Music relaxes us, makes us better persons, so it helps us resolve our conflicts.
Wonders are waiting to start Live your story Faith, hope & glory Hold to the truth in your heart If we hold on together I know our dreams will never die Dreams see us through to forever Where clouds roll by For you and I Souls in the wind Must learn how to bend Seek out a star Hold on to the end Valley, mountain

Diana Ross: "If we hold on together" Don't lose your way With each passing day You've come so far Don't throw it away Live believing Dreams are for weaving

There is a fountain Washes our tears all away Words are swaying Someone is praying Please let us come home to stay If we hold on together I know our dreams will never die Dreams see us through to forever Where clouds roll by For you and I When we are out there in the dark We'll dream about the sun In the dark we'll feel the light Warm our hearts, everyone

Because the line between, Wrong and right, Is the width of a thread, From a spider's web. The piano keys are black and white, But they sound like a million colours in your mind. I could tell you to go to war, Or I could march for peace and fighting no more, How do I know which is right, And I hope he does when he sends you to fight. Because the line between wrong and right, Is the width of a thread from a spider's web, The piano keys are black and white, But they sound like a million colours in your mind. Should we act on a blame? Or should we chase the moments away? Should we live? Should we give? Remember forever the guns and the feathers in time.

Katie Melua: "Spider's Web" If a black man is racist, is it okay? When it's the white man's racism that made him that way, Because the bully's the victim they say, By some sense they're all the same.

Because the line between wrong and right, Is the width of a thread from a spider's web, The piano keys are black and white, But they sound like a million colours in your mind. The piano keys are black and white, But they sound like a million colours in your mind, But they sound like a million colours in your mind

Refr.

MARCH Workshop 12

Final feedback, impressions, finalize ideas