Students explore conflict resolution through 'Letters To Gabby.'
As a social worker, I have created a venue for students to voice concerns regarding a variety of topics including bullying, racism, family discord and typical conflicts among peers.
Students submit anonymous letters to "Gabby" (my identity is known only to staff) and selected letters are published bi-weekly in a "Letters to Gabby" newsletter. "Letters to Gabby" is distributed to all students in 3rd through 5th grades to be read individually and then brought home to their families.
"Letters to Gabby" has several purposes:
The goal of the newsletter is to encourage independent problem-solving and teach students to think and act with empathy.
As an offshoot of the "Gabby" concept, I began a program in which 5th-grade students respond (in much the same way "Gabby" responds to their letters) to questions from 1st- and 2nd-graders. Many of the older students were selected due to their own reputations as bullies; the exercise helped them develop empathy.
Through structured activities, students began to develop sensitivity to the needs of the younger letter writers. Over time, they looked beyond the overt content of the questions to underlying conflicts, concerns and fears even older students could identify with.
Cooperative problem-solving among 5th-graders and group discussions of concepts such as empathy, building self-esteem in others and tolerance of differing abilities resulted in a productive experience for all students involved.
Carol Bloch
Timothy Dwight Elementary School
Mill Hill Elementary School
Fairfield, Conn.
For more on helping students develop a caring environment as the foundation for growth and learning, order Tribes: A New Way of Learning and Being Together ($32.95) at Center Source Systems, 85 Liberty Ship Way, Suite 104, Sausalito, CA 94965. Phone: (707) 838-1061. (ISBN# 0932762409)