EDUC 348B, SpTp:

Transformative Leadership, Peace Making, and Non-violent Communication

Wednesday 1:00 – 2:30pm

Atwood 32

INSTRUCTORS	Kathleen Buckley Office: Gunnison Chapel, Chaplain’s Office Telephone: 229-5256 e-mail: kbuckley@stlawu.edu Office Hours: M 3:30-5:00 (Chapel), Wed 3:00-4:30 (Student Center 326) & by appt.	Peg Cornwell Office: Student Center , room 236 Telephone: 229-5552 e-mail: pcornwell@stlawu.edu Office Hours: M-F by appt.
	Anne Townsend Office: Hulett-Jencks Common Area,Rm. 112 Telephone: 229-5652 e-mail: atownsend@stlawu.edu Office Hours: M-Th by appt.

Useful Websites:

ANGEL: http://angel.stlawu.edu/

Academic Planning, Advising, and Services: http://www.stlawu.edu/advising/

Web readings resources: http://eres.stlawrence.nnyln.net/eres/ (password: Peacemaking)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course will provide an opportunity for students to be introduced to the central theories associated with peace making, transformative leadership, and non-violent communication. As a team taught course each week we will focus on a different aspect of these three disciplines. Included in the course is a required spring break trip to Los Angeles , California . Students will be trained in experiential learning models related to peace making. Subsequent to the training they will work directly with youth in LA inner schools to teach these skills in a supervised school setting. Upon return to SLU, students will conduct a service project on anti-bullying in the local school system under the supervision of school administration and SLU faculty. Permission of the instructor required.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives for the course are as follows:

• Los Angeles
  ’ inner city areas
• Design and implement an anti-bullying workshop for the local school system

TEXTS, ARTICLES, AND OTHER RESOURCES

Texts will be read before traveling to Los Angeles.

Cashman, Kevin. (1998). Leadership from the Inside Out: Becoming a Leader for Life. TCLG:

Minneapolis, MN.

Other readings are included in your online packet (http://eres.stlawrence.nnyln.net/eres/):

password: Peacemaking

ASSIGNMENTS OVERVIEW

There will be several kinds of assignments throughout this course.

Before every class, you should take notes on the reading assignment, and think of one good question about the reading that you will submit to the appropriate forum on ANGEL.

For every class, you should bring the notes you took on the reading assignment, and modify these notes in light of what happens in class. There will be three unannounced short quizzes given through out the course, on the reading assignments.

There will be: a written journal while in Los Angeles to document your experiences in the on site component of this course, a final integrative paper, and a self-assessment logbook (see ANGEL).

The class will be required to conduct an anti-bullying service project at the Canton Middle School upon your return to campus.

DETAILS REGARDING ASSIGNMENTS

Submitting Questions

Prior to each class, you should come up with one good question about the topic to be addressed that day. Usually, your question will emerge from the readings(s) due that day. Please note that there are different kinds of good questions to ask: questions of clarification; questions for discussion; critical response questions; etc.

You will submit these questions to a special discussion forum on ANGEL, by 11:59:59 pm the night before each class. This forum will be set up so that others in the class cannot see your questions or our possible responses to your questions. This gives you a private space to share your questions with us. If we use your questions in class, we will protect your anonymity, although you are free to take credit for your question if you recognize it and wish to do so!

These questions serve three purposes. (1) Your learning to ask good questions significantly aids your learning. (2) Your questions give us good feedback about what interests you and what puzzles you. The more we understand how you approach the material we are studying, the more effective we can become as teachers. (3) We will make use of these questions in class at times, to help explain the material, or to spark discussions.

Thus, we will not be responding personally to every question via the question forum, but at times we may do so. Sometimes this will be to offer our own response; other times it will be to give you feedback about a given question.

Note-taking

Taking notes while studying is not only an important general study skill, it is essential for one’s intellectual development. Note-taking in the humanities is equivalent to working problems in science and math courses, staying in shape for athletic participation, or regularly practicing or rehearsing in preparation for artistic performances. Therefore, throughout the course, you should keep a notebook. Your note-taking should include: taking notes while reading (summarizing the major questions, conclusions, and arguments presented in each reading selection), confirming, modifying, clarifying, and expanding these notes in class, and spending some time reflecting in writing on what you are learning and developing your own evolving ideas.

Many students try to claim that they don’t need to take notes because they use a highlighter while reading. However, passing a brightly-colored marker over words is not effective in helping you to retain and understand material; taking good notes is very effective. It is true that it is harder to take notes, and it requires more time, but this is why note-taking is effective: the effort and time you put in is what contributes to effective learning.

A good set of notes is something you can be proud of. You should find it useful and interesting to look back on, certainly towards the end of the semester, but possibly also when studying more of this subject in the future. Also, you will be allowed to consult your notebooks during the quizzes.

Quizzes

Believe it or not, we have found that most students like for there to be regular quizzes in a course, as quizzes help students to learn what kinds of information they need to focus on when they do readings for different subjects. In this course, there will be short quizzes approximately once per week, covering all of the readings for that week. While these quizzes will not be open-book quizzes, they will be open-notes quizzes. That is, you will be allowed to consult your notebooks. Thus, an added benefit of these quizzes is that they will help you to learn how to take really helpful notes.

Class Participation

Discussing ideas is a great way to absorb a working knowledge of these ideas and to develop your own ideas in response to what is studied in class. Often you will find that your classmates have a different perspective and raise good questions about your ideas, or add further insights to your ideas. You do have a lot to learn from each other—we certainly find our own continued study enriched by hearing your ideas and perspectives, and so we are sure that you can learn as much from each other as we learn from all of you! Please note that class participation includes both venturing forth with your own ideas and questions, and also listening attentively to each other. Making connections—with the readings, with topics discussed in previous classes, and with the comments that others have made in class—is especially helpful to you and to everyone else, and therefore is especially noted and appreciated. Also note that participating in discussion is an important kind of oral communication.

Written Journal

Journaling is much more that a log of events. Rather it should be a reflective activity in which you consider the service experience within the context of the learning objectives. Your written journal will be used to help you make meaning of the week long experience in LA and to encourage linking personal experiences with course content. The journal should have daily entries with two components (reflection and content) for each day. One component will be a one page entry describing your personal thoughts and reactions to the daily learning experience. The other component will be to write about key content issues from class discussions or readings that apply to your reflection journal entry. The instructors will give you key phrases to consider from the day’s experience which you will integrate within the content component of the journal.

Final Integrative Paper

This 5-7 page paper will be an integration of the theory presented before and during the L.A. trip, the journal, and the school project. You will want to address such questions as: How has the experience changed you? How do you anticipate using this experience in the future? What gaps in your learning did this experience bring to light and how will you address them? Use a minimum of 3 specific examples and 5 text citations to document your learning experience.

GRADING

Here are the weightings of the different graded components of the course:

The grading for this course will be based on self-assessment. Details are available in the Active Learning and Self-Assessment Handbook.

OUR RIGHTS CONCERNING YOUR WORK

We reserve the right to make copies of any of your assignments to use as samples of the work that our students do in our classes. In cases in which we choose to share these samples with others, we will always use these samples anonymously, except in cases in which we want to cite your ideas in our own academic writing, in which case we will cite you properly and send you a copy when it gets published. If you would prefer our not keeping copies of your work for any reason without permission, or if you would prefer to be informed when we do so, you must write, sign, and date a statement to that effect, detailing the restrictions you wish would be applied, and giving three copies of this statement to us personally, which we will then sign to acknowledge receipt, returning one copy to you. Your not following these steps is implied consent to let us use your work for the educational and academic purposes outlined above. We hope that all of you will indeed so consent, as you can trust us to use your work respectfully and to preserve anonymity when we use your work for educational purposes, and to cite your work when proper acknowledgment is required and when doing so is complimentary to you.

A NOTE ON ACADEMIC HONESTY

Please remember that the written work that you submit must be your own work. Do not have anyone else write your papers for you, and do not represent anyone else's ideas or writing as your own. When referring to someone else's ideas, do so with proper acknowledgment (as detailed in a separate handout). Important note: At St. Lawrence, professors are required to report cases of suspected academic dishonesty to the Academic Honor Council. See your Student Handbook for details. Please do your share in helping create and maintain an atmosphere of trust—you will benefit much more in the long run by taking your education seriously and participating fully in this wonderful opportunity you have!

CLASS SCHEDULE PRIOR TO TRAVELING TO LOS ANGELES

STRUCTURED USE OF TIME IN LOS ANGELES

While in Los Angeles, students will be involved in classroom and/or service activities for six days for a minimum of eight hours and a maximum of ten hours per day. In the evening, they will have time to enjoy the city, work on their take-home project, or review reading materials.

The activities for the week are as follows:

Saturday, March 18

Travel Day (introduction to the city, general information on goals and expectations for the week)

Sunday, March 19

9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Teamwork/Teamplay. Work on not only group bonding, but also the ideas behind building a team. What is the process of team-building? When is teamwork most useful? How does social interaction affect the communication process? How can these processes be used with youth? Method: experiential activities and Project Adventure resources.

1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Asset-Building. What are the 40 Developmental Assets as defined by the Search Institute? Why did the identification become important? What do assets tell us about communication with and among youth? Does the recognition of asset-building in youth lend itself to the creation of leaders? How does asset-building affect violence among students? Method: experiential activities and Search Institute resources.

5:00 to 6:00 p.m.

Discussion: Personal Mastery – What does it mean to lead through “authentic self-expression?” (Cashman 1998)

Monday, March 20

9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Bullying Prevention and Intervention. What are some of the root causes of violence among students? What are interventions that can be used when bullying is known or suspected? How does bullying at school translate to bullying in other areas, such as Greek hazing on college campuses or bullying in the workplace? Are there parallels between oppressed groups and those who are bullied? Method: experiential activities and Colorado Trust anti-bullying initiative resources.

1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Diversity as a Cause of Violence. Visit to the Museum of Tolerance . How does race, class, gender, country of origin, religion, language, or other forms of diversity create volatile situations? How do economics exacerbate these issues? What are the opportunities for leaders in these situations? How can a leader affect change given systemic social issues that can cause violence? What is the difference between being a transactional and a transformative leader? How does the difference between being a transactional leader and a transformative leader play out given these differences between people? Method: discussion following tour of the museum and Peace Jam resources.

5:00 – 6:00 p.m. Discussion: Purpose Mastery – How can each of us best express our gifts to add value to our work? (Cashman 1998)

Tuesday, March 21

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Introduction to Peace Games. What are “peace games?” What is their mission? How do they spread their message of nonviolent communication for youth? Why is this peace making process important in schools? How do peace games make changes in diverse and sometimes charged communities? What are the benefits to a leader of investing in nonviolent communication skills for youth? How can these skills be extrapolated and used in other situations outside of schools?

The students will spend the day discussing these issues and learning the repertoire of Peace Games activities and materials, along with supplemental information from Project Adventure and Peace Jam. They will then spend the remainder of the day planning activities for the service projects to be undertaken in the following days. What resources will be needed? How will activities be implemented? Etc. Peace Games staff will give a general outline of expectations and then will work with students to bring their personal skills and interests to the service projects the following days.

5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Discussion: Change Mastery – How does one lead in the ever changing flow of life? Can change be captured to elicit learning and dynamic growth? (Cashman 1998)

Wednesday, March 22

8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Peace Games Service Project Day One – Interact directly with students in an inner city school [1] (both in the classroom and in larger group activities) using the skills learned in the previously.

4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Debrief – What worked and what didn’t? Changes for the next day?

5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Discussion – Interpersonal Mastery – How can we create more synergy in this group and use that to improve our work on Thursday? (Cashman 1998)

Thursday, March 23

8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Peace Games Service Project Day Two – Interact directly with students at a different inner city school (both in the classroom and in larger group activities) using skills learned to date.

4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Debrief – What worked and what didn’t? Changes for the next day?

5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Discussion – Being Mastery – How does one’s character affect one’s leadership? (Cashman 1998)

Friday, March 24

8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Service Project Three - Work with a third school or a different youth serving agency in the inner city. Interact directly with students using skills learned to date.

4:00 to 5:00 p.m. Debrief – Overall learning to this point? How does this learning play with the idea of Action Mastery? (Cashman 1998). Do you find your leadership style changing? Your skills growing? Do you have new perceptions? Do you find yourself able to be truly self-expressive and authentic?

Saturday, March 25

All Day

The idea of “balance mastery” as identified by Cashman is that we don’t work all the time. Sometimes, we play. Spend the day at Disneyland .

Sunday, March 26

Travel day. Early flight back to New York .

Credentials

Constance Scharff is a magna cum laude graduate of St. Lawrence University. She received departmental honors (Government) for her project on “People Centered Development” and was a member of four national honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa. After spending ten years as a volunteer and/or professional staff member with the Girl Scouts, where she met or exceeded all programming, membership and fundraising goals in her sphere of influence, she returned to school at the California Institute of Integral Studies where she is completing work on an MA in Transformative Leadership. Constance is a member of the National Academic Advisors Association (NACADA), the National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE), the American Camp Association (ACA), and the National Writer’s Union (NWU).

Constance is the overall project advisor/manager for the week in Los Angeles .

Lisa Scott has been leading team building activities for seven years and has brought her skills to Colorado State University- Pueblo, Girl Scouts in Columbine, Angeles and Mountain Prairie Councils, and has trained dozens of leaders to facilitate team play. Through grants from The Colorado Trust on obesity and overweight prevention and now bullying prevention, Lisa has amassed equipment, a library, and knowledge to create a comprehensive team building and bullying prevention curriculum for K-12. Through her volunteer work with PeaceJam, Lisa has led nine junior high youth through a curriculum focused on peace and social justice, conflict resolution, and service learning.

Lisa will facilitate the activities on March 19 and 20 and will assist with group process and facilitation for the remainder of the week

Tami Ross is a Peace Games Coordinator for Los Angeles . She joined Peace Games with an extensive history in experiential education, including volunteer and work associations with the City of Santa Barbara , Special Olympics, Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, and Girl Scouts. Tami spent two years in Japan teaching English. She especially enjoys working with children with special needs, including the disabled. Tami has received training from Project Adventure and is known for her enthusiasm and ability to relate well to diverse populations.

Tami will facilitate the activities on March 21-24, with support from Lisa, Constance, and Peace Games staff and volunteers. General information on Peace Games (from the Peace Games website at www.peacegames.org.) is attached in Appendix 2.

Appendix 2

Peace Games believes that children are peacemakers - not simply victims, perpetrators or witnesses of violence. Peace Games' mission is to support young people as peacemakers and to change the way our nation views young people in the context of violence.

Young people have traditionally been seen as playing three roles related to violence. These roles are stereotypes - partial truths fueled by national reports and headlines. School shootings like Columbine, attacks on teachers, and reports of school bullying dominate headlines and then disappear … until the next episode. Here is what we are likely to read in the morning paper or the latest national report:

· First, young people are victims. For example, statistics tell us that every day 14 children are killed with a handgun.

· Second, young people are seen as perpetrators. For example, statistics tell us that 315 young people are arrested daily for committing a violent crime.

Third, young people are witnesses. For example, statistics tell us that a child witnesses over 10,000 acts of violence on television before she enters school.

These well-documented roles are partially true. However, statistics and headlines often miss a deeper and more subtle truth: young people are peacemakers. Every day in schools and communities, young people cooperate, resolve conflicts without violence, and are engaged with others -- helping, healing and working to make the world a slightly better place. They just don't get much credit … or support.

Research tells us that violence is learned, that just as students learn how to read or ride a bike, our children learn how to fight, hate, and kill. If violence can be learned, so can the skills of peacemaking. However, this kind of learning takes a school-wide commitment: time, attention and sustained partnerships.

This is the role of Peace Games in schools and communities. We work in partnership with educators, parents, students and community members to support young people as peacemakers. We focus on four important actions that peacemakers take:

· Communication

· Cooperation

· Conflict Resolution

· Engagement

http://www.peacegames.org/About_why_pg.shtml. Downloaded September 8, 2005.