Jan. 5, 2020 9:20a
(WGTD)---A non-profit that’s dedicated to promoting good behavior among elementary school students has more business than it can handle.
The Peace Learning Circles organizaition is currently conducting two-hour-long workshops and follow-up booster sessions in ten schools in the Racine-Kenosha area. They’re moving into Kenosha Unified’s McKinley Elementary this month.
The curriculum is presented by eleven mostly retired teachers and administrators who usually receive a nominal fee. The group is primarily funded by the Mary Frost Ashley Foundation and the Denis and Kay Wikel family.
Organizer Joe Mangi tells WGTD that a growing number of schools are requesting help, and for an expanding number of grade levels. The program is designed for fourth graders, but on occasion they’re being asked by school principals to expand into both lower and higher grade levels.
Peace Learning Circles uses a variety of techniques and exercises to discourage bullying, build resiliency, diffuse tensions and promote attentive behavior. Teacher Terry Andrews recalls one incident in which a brewing conflict in class faded away with the help of a breathing exercise. "Just the other day in one of our Peace Circle lessons, a couple of kids came in and one boy was hollering or calling the other names and we went right into the 'peace breath' and the boy who was being hollered at all of a sudden started smiling," she said. "He didn't care about the other boy or what he was saying. It did work and it helped."
The idea, says Mangi, is to get students to automatically adopt the techniques when confronted with a difficult situation.
Peace Learning Circles workshops are designed to complement what behavior strategies the schools already have in place, Mangi says.
The group is constantly looking to recruit additional teachers in order to fill the number of requests for workshops, according to Mangi.
A recent Education Matters program focused on Peace Learning Circles. Click here for the program.
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