Early on in my role as a TREE facilitator, I was feeling preoccupied trying to juggle our lesson while keeping my attention on our time limit. I was inattentive to…
To be inclusive means to welcome and accept others, not in spite of their identity, but with all aspects of their identity celebrated; this means people of different cultures, sexual…
Being able to change the subject mid-conversation is really more of an art than anything else; being able to redirect a conversation is useful and powerful. No matter how gracefully…
In times of high stress or anxiety, we respond in very different ways (see also: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn); some of us are extroverts, some are introverts, some people…
As someone working in the peace and conflict field, friends often often ask for advice about a conflict they're experiencing. Sometimes this is an issue with a friend or family…
The teen years are a time of rapid change for the youth in our lives. During this time period, youth are further developing their concentration, reasoning skills and perspective-taking, while…
The pre-teen years are a time of rapid change for the youth in our lives. Young people are busy working out who they are and where they fit into the world,…
Between the ages of 5 and 18, I rode the bus to school nearly every morning. Each day was different; some days were calm, and others were boisterous, but most…
In conflict situations, my natural tendency is to avoid the conflict. For me, this would mean avoiding all conversation and interaction with the other party. If I did need to…
When I was in grade four, I was in the same class as my best friend. We at lunch together, played soccer together, and we liked the same things; clothes,…