Exercise 8.3. – Family and peer conflict

Procedure

1. The students read the worksheet “Resolution of conflicts in six stages”.
2. The teacher lets the students come forward with examples of typical conflicts at home, in school or in the playground, for example:
   At home:
   • The child wants to play, but the parents think he or she should study.
   • The child wants money for the cinema / a concert / a parry / a picnic, but the parents have other expenses to take care of.

   In the playground:

   • Boys and girls want to use the playground for different purposes.
   • Boys disturb girls while they are playing.
3. The students choose one conflict to work on and form groups of four to six.
4. Each group then divides into two, half of them taking the role of parents and half the role of children (or boys/girls).First parents and children come together separately to work out their position. Then they meet with their opponents and start negotiations following the six stages.After a given time negotiations stop and the groups get back into class.
5. The whole class feed back on their work in groups. What kind of solutions did they arrive at? Were there many different solutions?

Variation

This exercise could also be done with a mediator, for example with one student taking the role of a grandparent who leads the conflicting parties through the negotiations.