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Sidebars & Stories
Parent Education and Training
 In the last year, the Western Justice Center provided more than 500 parents with conflict resolution education and training so they can effectively resolve conflicts in schools, and successfully overcome language and cultural barriers as they interact in the school system.
Arts and Conflict Resolution Education
 For three consecutive years, the Western Justice Center has partnered with B.E.S.T. (Building Educational Success Through the Arts) Arts to explore the boundaries of conflict resolution education and the arts by training hundreds of preschool teachers to use the arts in their classrooms as peaceful tools to resolve conflict.
With expert leadership from the Art Center instructor, Igor Burt, Corrine McGuigan, PhD, provost, Pacific Oaks College and Children's School and Western Justice Center Executive Director, Najeeba Syeed-Miller, Art Center's product design class focused on the development of innovative ways for children to discover the capability of resolving conflict by the creation of child-centered products that would promote conflict resolution and play.
The result: Innovative products to help advance the public discourse surrounding fear and violence as obstacles to learning in our nation's public schools.
"It was powerful to realize that [principles of conflict resolution] can translate into the birth of products that can be both instructional and fun for children.. Igor Burt grasped the importance of joy and play for children and harnessed this energy to design products that do more than teach, they transform."
Changing the World of Conflicts
 The Western Justice Center trained representatives from Armenia, Bangladesh, Columbia, Egypt, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uganda and Zimbabwe in effective conflict resolution methods and how to prevent ethnic-based conflicts.
Diana
"Diana" is a teenager from the Los Angeles area. She has had previous "run-ins" with the
law and is involved in a boot camp program. She thought all police officers were
disrespectful and she did not understand why they hassled her.
Diana was a participant in one Western Justice Center police/community quarterly
dialogue which focused on youth. She engaged in facilitated dialogue with other youth
and a volunteer Pasadena Police officer. Initially, Diana only expressed negative feelings
toward the police, but at the same time, was the most interested in hearing from the police
officer and engaging in the discussion.
By the end of the dialogue Diana had a new understanding of why police officers acted
the way that they did. She also said that she never thought she would like a police officer,
but after her experience in the dialogue she said she liked the officer in her discussion
group and would smile and say "hi" if she ever saw him again. She also recognized that it
is very important to continue programs that bring police officers and youth together for
discussions like the one she just had so that they could have more humane interactions
with each other, not just negative encounters. Diana said she would continue to come to
such events and tell her peers to come as well.
Peter
In the process of recruiting youth facilitators for a Pasadena Police Department and
community dialogue, I met "Peter" - a young man with limited facilitation skills who
was insecure about his ability to facilitate a potentially explosive interaction between
police and youth.
After participating in our orientation session for youth facilitators and being provided
with the materials developed specifically for this program, "Peter" successfully co-
facilitated his very first community dialogue session.
He had this to say, "What I liked about this event was its uniqueness - police and youth
in dialogue seeking answers . a discussion in which each perspective was shared took
place . both groups learned more about the other and left with . a slightly greater
appreciation of the other . I appreciated the opportunity to lead and I would be willing
to take part in future dialogues." |
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 In the last year, the Western Justice Center provided more than 500 parents with conflict resolution education and training so they can effectively resolve conflicts in schools, and successfully overcome language and cultural barriers as they interact in the school system. read more »
 For three consecutive years, the Western Justice Center has partnered with B.E.S.T. (Building Educational Success Through the Arts) Arts to explore the boundaries of conflict resolution education and the arts by training hundreds of preschool teachers to use the arts in their classrooms as peaceful tools to resolve conflict.
read more »
 The Western Justice Center trained representatives from Armenia, Bangladesh, Columbia, Egypt, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Uganda and Zimbabwe in effective conflict resolution methods and how to prevent ethnic - based conflicts.
read more »
"Diana" is a teenager from the Los Angeles area. She has had previous "run-ins" with the
law and is involved in a boot camp program. She thought all police officers were
disrespectful and she did not understand why they hassled her.
read more »
In the process of recruiting youth facilitators for a Pasadena Police Department and
community dialogue, I met "Peter" - a young man with limited facilitation skills who
was insecure about his ability to facilitate a potentially explosive interaction between
police and youth.
read more » |
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