How to Come Back to Conflict Conversations: Part 2
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 see them, I might act as though the conflict never happened. If you watched me in these situations, you might say, “Wow! She’s a natural.” […]
How to Come Back to Conflict Conversations: Part 1
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, music, movies. We spent most of our time at school as a duo. One day, about halfway through the school year, we began to fight. […]
Making Self-care Routine This Year
A new school year is just around the corner, which has us talking a lot about new routines and new schedules. These new patterns can make us feel anxious or overwhelmed, which can feed into interpersonal conflict. One thing we’re making time for this year as a preventative measure is self-care. In the book, Heart […]
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 […]
My Wall of Peace
This post was originally written in June 2018. I learned about Sister Norma Pimentel today. She is a recipient of the 2018 Laetare Medal; a prestigious award she received in recognition of her efforts to advocate for migrants and refugees she has encountered in her work near the United States-Mexico border. She was in the […]
How to Become an Empathetic Listener
Empathy is one of the most important skills we can develop in ourselves and in our children. It helps us build more positive relationships because we have a better understanding of one another and an appreciation for different perspectives. Brené Brown, author and research professor University of Houston, describes empathy as, “the skill set to […]
