Voices Against Violence

A new program uses storytelling to teach conflict resolution to children

By Ken Gewertz

Gazette Staff

Patrick Walker first became seriously interested in dealing with the problem of violence when he found himself living next door to a crack house.

Walker was forced to call the police repeatedly in an effort to curtail the activities of his drug-dealing neighbors, resulting in a series of nasty altercations and threats to his life. The experience acted as a catalyst, starting him thinking not only about how he could change his own situation, but about what could be done to reduce violence in general.

Walker, an assistant professor of education at University of Massachusetts, Boston, began sharing ideas with Robert Selman, a psychologist with dual appointments at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Harvard Medical School. The two met while Walker was pursuing a master's degree at Harvard Divinity School.

Walker and Selman later collaborated on the development of a school program to teach conflict resolution. Their research was supported by the Judge Baker Children's Center, a Harvard Medical School affiliate.

The program Walker and Selman came up with is called "Voices of Love and Freedom." Its aim is to teach young children to resolve conflicts peacefully by helping them to develop their communication skills. Walker is currently the program's executive director, and Selman is its research director. Voices of Love and Freedom has recently been adopted by the Boston Public School system for use in grades K through 12.

"Our answer was to place the emphasis on the student's voice, to encourage and support their expression of ideas, feelings, and yearnings," Walker said.

Last Thursday, Judge Baker Children's Center held a roundtable discussion on violence prevention at the elementary school level featuring a distinguished panel of scholars, educators, and others involved with children's issues. The discussion, which was moderated by Law School Professor Martha Minow, began with the showing of a short film about Voices of Love and Freedom, demonstrating the program in action.

The film, Voices of Love and Freedom: A Storytelling Program, produced by Cindy McCowan, shows Marilu Alvarado, a teacher at the Raphael Hernandez School, working with fourth-graders on the program's key concept -- developing an appreciation of the other person's point of view through the use of narration.

Alvarado begins the session by telling a story of how she was not allowed to play on the school volleyball team when she came to the United States from Puerto Rico because the coach said her English was not good enough.

Her story elicits similar reports of discrimination from the students. One Latino girl tells of being rejected by both whites and blacks when she first started school. A Jewish girl tells of pretending to be Christian to fit in with classmates at Christmastime.

In later scenes, the students read Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman, a story about an African-American girl who is not allowed to take the part of Peter Pan in a school play because she is black and female. Afterward, the students literally step into Grace's footprints as an aid to understanding her point of view. They explore the issue of discrimination further by writing essays about their experiences.

In the discussion that followed the showing of the film, many of the panelists emphasized "perspective-taking" as a key to the program's effectiveness.

"The emphasis on storytelling leads to the sharing of personal experiences and to the awareness that we're all vulnerable in some way, that we all partake of a shared humanity," said David Hamburg, president of the Carnegie Corp., which is funding an evaluation of the program.

Hamburg said that the program also helps to develop basic cognitive skills, such as understanding the consequences of one's actions, becoming aware of options, and learning to choose among them.

Selman, who is known as a leading theorist on the subject of perspective-taking in young children, said that teaching this skill early in life is an important part of violence prevention.

"Research shows that teaching perspective-taking is important because it doesn't naturally develop to its highest level. People who do not develop these skills end up forming primarily abusive relationships with others," Selman said.

Some of the panelists addressed the issue of whether programs like Voices of Love and Freedom belong in the school curriculum. Robert Gittens, chairman of the Boston School Committee, replied to critics who say that schools should concentrate on teaching the ABCs and leave character development to families.

"Character education is an important part of our mission," he said, "It's important for the schools to reinforce the values that are taught in the family."

He added that in some situations, the school may provide a child's only opportunity to learn the kinds of skills that programs like Voices of Love and Freedom seek to inculcate.

"Family situations have changed drastically for many children. For some of them, this will be a totally new concept. If they don't learn skills like conflict resolution in school, then they just won't learn them."

Alvin Poussaint, clinical professor of psychiatry at the Medical School and director of the Judge Baker Media Center, questioned whether teaching conflict resolution in the schools is enough to overcome negative experiences at home.

"I don't know of any research that shows that children commit violent acts because they don't have the skills to resolve conflicts," Poussaint said. "What if you teach conflict resolution to children and then they go home and get beaten? It's an experience that can fill a child with rage. It also sends a strong message about how you cope with the world, much more powerful than taking a course in conflict resolution once a week."

Poussaint said that emphasis needs to be placed on working with parents to diminish violence in the home. Nevertheless, he still supports Voices of Love and Freedom because it is a comprehensive program that teaches valuable lessons.

"It helps a child to grow and develop, to become literate, to build hope and self-esteem. I think perspective-taking is a very good goal because it helps to promote tolerance and understanding. It should be part of a multicultural curriculum."

Walker said that he is very excited about the program's success thus far as well as its potential for the future. He sees it "not just as an add-on, but as an attempt to change the way teachers teach."

He added that the program is difficult to administer properly, requiring a great deal of training on the part of teachers, who need to be ready to handle difficult situations as they arise. But he finds the program to be worthwhile in spite of this difficulty.

"Watching the children make meaning of their lives, struggling to overcome the abuse around them, that's what makes it all worthwhile."