February 21, 2020 – The World Day of Social Justice is observed each year on February 20 to encourage people to examine social justice issues such as poverty, exclusion, gender equality, unemployment, human rights and social protections. At the Whitaker Peace & Development Initiative (WPDI), one of the ways we seek to promote social justice at our youth-based programs in Los Angeles is by training student leaders in peer mediation. This is a type of conflict resolution led by students for students in need of support when in dispute with other students.
WPDI’s peer mediation program encompasses a 12-hour training for students at our school partner sites. Students in the program either personally apply for the program or are nominated for the program by a teacher or counselor. They are interviewed by their school counselors and WPDI’s Domestic Program Director before they begin their training. During this past academic year alone, WPDI has trained a total of 80 peer mediators across all of our partner schools, which include Ball Jr. High School located in Anaheim, California, and Stephen White Middle School and Carnegie Middle School in Carson, California. All of these 80 students graduated from WPDI’s training in peer mediation in the Fall of 2019, and continuously demonstrate an eagerness to learn, help others and strive for excellence.
“The Peer Mediation program has been amazing because it is teaching students how to resolve conflict with one another,” said Mr. Hill, a counselor at Stephen White Middle School. “It is allowing students to communicate and resolve the issue with each other without getting any adults involved. The program has not only been amazing for the students whose conflicts are being resolved, but also the student mediators who have been taught the skills to lead these discussions. These are skills that can carry on and be beneficial later down the line.”
The program’s impact is being felt by students and teachers alike. One middle school student, Hunter, mentioned how “as a student, it can be nerve-racking to be talked down to by an authority figure. Through disputants’ eyes, they feel more comfortable in an environment where they don’t feel like they’re in trouble. Peer mediation is a safe, unbiased, and confidential place to peacefully resolve your problem.” Another student, Cindy, told us that “peer mediation doesn’t always end with friendship. Sometimes it’s best that the two disputants don’t end up being friends but that is the reason we do mediation, to understand their problem and find a solution that makes both disputants happy.” Ms. Nguyen, a counselor at Ball Jr. High School, similarly reflected that “I was amazed by the professionalism that the two peer mediators showed during our first real peer mediation. I saw how they effectively utilized the skills that they learned in training. They did a great job helping their peers.” Results like this demonstrate that we can all become a part of positive change and become social justice leaders no matter our age or background.
The Domestic Harmonizer Program was created by WPDI and launched at Carnegie Middle School in Carson, California in 2016. WPDI expanded the program to two additional schools in September 2019: Ball Jr. High School and Stephen White Middle School. The program is guided by its one-of-a-kind curriculum, which spans all three years of middle school and infuses conflict resolution concepts and principles with math, science, social studies, English, art, and physical education. The program emphasizes project-based learning and the use of technology to get students and teachers engaged and excited to problem-solve, communicate, and create. The program is free to these participating schools, thanks to the generous support from WPDI’s supporters: Bank of the West and Verizon.
