Two UD students serve on team to design national conflict resolution calendar
1:31 p.m., Sept. 12, 2011--The University of Delawares Conflict Resolution Program, a program unit of the School of Public Policy and Administrations Institute for Public Administration, was selected to serve on a national team to design and publish the third edition of the Conflict Resolution Calendar for Teachers.
The 2011-2012 school-year calendar will be distributed to thousands
of teachers across the country to assist them with integrating
conflict-resolution activities and information into their curriculum.
This project is sponsored by the Conflict Resolution Education for
Teacher Education (CRETE) Program, the Association for Conflict
Resolution (ACR), and the JAMS Foundation. The calendar is viewable on CRETEs website.
Stephanie Patterson and Corinne OConnor are the School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA)
students responsible for gathering most of the material in the
calendar. Patterson and OConnor spent several months searching the web
for the interesting conflict-resolution activities, quotes, websites,
holidays, and pictures that are featured in the calendar.
Patterson is a second-year master of public administration (MPA)
student specializing in health policy. This past summer she interned
with Westside Family Healthcare, the largest nonprofit community health
system in Delaware. She is currently working as a public administration
fellow with the Institute for Public Administration on the Senior Center
Grant-In-Aid Project.
Beginning in January, she will be working as a Legislative Fellow
in the Delaware General Assembly. Following graduation, she hopes to
combine her interests in health policy, policy development, social
media, and program planning.
OConnor is a senior majoring in public policy with a minor in
political science. This summer she interned with Delawares Congressman
John Carney. She, too, is currently working as a public administration
fellow with the Institute for Public Administration, focusing primarily
on conflict-resolution projects and trainings. She also coordinates
events for the Delaware Association for Public Administration, a professional organization that promotes public service throughout the state of Delaware.
Following graduation in May, OConnor plans on entering SPPAs MPA
program. She is very interested in education reform and hopes to
incorporate more conflict-resolution programs into classrooms across the
state.
The theme for this years calendar is holistic wellness and how
various conflict-resolution strategies can help students, as well as
teachers, resolve conflicts they encounter during the school year. The
goal is to incorporate physical, social, and emotional wellness into
daily life to improve well-being. Wellness also includes the prevention,
management, and resolution of conflict, which is what the calendar is
meant to highlight.
Even though these calendars are being distributed to teachers, they
offer conflict-resolution tools that are applicable to everyone.
Families, community groups, and nonprofits that serve children will also
benefit from the resources featured in the calendar.
The first two editions of this calendar were a huge success, but the
workload was taken on by a very small group of individuals. This time,
the CRETE staff decided to team up with the most engaged professionals
in the conflict-resolution field nationwide to create an interactive
calendar for teachers and students. As in previous years, it is
anticipated that the calendar will foster awareness about alternative
dispute resolution.
Reilly Megee, a Delaware high school student, also contributed to the
calendar. Last year, she won first place in an art contest sponsored by
the Delaware Conflict Resolution Network (DCRN),
a collaborative partnership of individuals who are committed to
advancing the understanding, availability, and utilization of
alternative dispute-resolution options through education, public policy,
and advocacy.
Article by Kathy Wian
Photo by Mark Deshon
Originally published by UDaily.
