Waging Peace in School

The authors, longtime teachers and educational activists, are both associated with the Resolving Conflict Creatively Program (RCCP), which began in Brooklyn and has spread across the country, now serving 325 schools. Here they present with impressive clarity the details of how this mediation approach has worked. Lantieri and Patti convincingly argue that, because of media glamorization of violence, the proliferation of weapons among students and the difficult home lives of many children, a method for achieving nonviolent solutions to problems of communication is as important as those for teaching reading and writing. The authors describe many examples of how RCCP has worked in the school to reduce physical violence, foster appreciation of cultural diversity, enhance learning and promote greater communication between students and their teachers, as well as between students both in and outside the school environment. Included is a history of the RCCP, a working model of the program for professionals who want to adopt it for their schools, as well as suggestions for parents who want to create ""peaceable homes."" Author tour. (Sept.)