Reframing: How to Shift Your Perspective in Conflict
When we hear a hurtful comment in a conversation, it is challenging not to respond from our feelings. Our emotions can be helpful to us but they can also derail us. During one particular conversation with a friend, I had intended to comfort them but my impact turned out to be harmful. Tension began to […]
Giving and Receiving Feedback Effectively
We often hear the word “feedback” used in many different situations, whether at work, school, or even just when a friend wants our opinion on their new haircut. But what is feedback, and how can we use it effectively? Feedback is a response to a message by someone else. Feedback can be given verbally or […]
This Sentence Will Help You Start Tough Conversations
My first year as a facilitator with The Ripple Effect Education has been a wonderful experience. This year I have not only learned from the lessons and students I have taught, but I have been able to better understand what peace and conflict actually means and how I can apply it in my own life. […]
Five Children’s Books That Inspire Peace
We all have a favourite book from childhood. Mine was the Chronicle of Narnia series. My father would read me a chapter before bed every night, and we would curl up on the couch together until I couldn’t fight my eyelids from closing. Children’s books have a particular way of bringing us back into a […]
Why Peace Education is Important for Youth
In a world where acts of violence fill our newsfeeds and there is a prevalence of pain and hurt around us, peace takes root in the form of education. Peace education is important for people of all ages, but when is the most effective time to engage in peace education by learning about transformative conflict […]
Three Tips for Teaching Conflict Resolution to Kids
They say if you give someone a fish you will feed them for a day, but if you teach them to fish they will feed themselves their whole life. Today I want to talk about teaching our youth easy and practical conflict resolution strategies that they can use their whole lives too. We both play […]
The Phrase That Will Revolutionize How You Handle Conflict
Have you ever experienced someone putting words into your mouth? Or assuming you did something just to annoy them? How about the other way around? Do you ever assume things about others? When we are in the middle of conflict we are often instinctively defensive of ourselves and sometimes that natural instinct can lead to […]
Three Mindfulness Practices for Stronger Relationships
It’s the little things. Your child gets you out of bed thirty minutes before your alarm goes off. The car won’t start. You forgot about an important deadline at work. You don’t have time to make dinner, and your kids won’t eat it when you do. Suddenly, someone says one more thing out of line […]
How Restorative Justice Changed My Parenting and Teaching
As a parent and an educator when dealing with a child who has done something wrong, my first response was to consider the rule that was broken and how to prevent that behaviour from occurring again. Many times, whatever the child was doing would stop, for a while. However, I became increasingly frustrated with the […]
Two Practical Ways to Build Emotional Intelligence
When someone asks you how you’re doing, do you ever respond with an automatic “good” or “fine” out of habit? It’s something most of us do from time to time. We often don’t think about how we are feeling and how it impacts the way we interact with others. The truth is, however, the way […]
