The Peace Love and Understanding in Schools Programme
The Coalition is very concerned about the rising levels of stress, and the resulting violence, among young people in our society and has been attempting to put in place support systems for dealing with this problem. We feel that an effective way of implementing a prevention programme would be to intervene in the schools. This has proven to be successful in many countries, and in Trinidad in the Servol model, for example. The PLUS programme addresses this area.
What is PLUS?
The Peace, Love and Understanding in Schools (PLUS) Programme started in 2000 at the request of the Association of Secondary School Principals, as a response to the increasing tides of stress and the resulting violence among young people.
It is an emphatic and positive support programme for teachers to help them cope with the increasing demands of their role.
The core belief of the PLUS Programme is that the school is a major socialising agent in the child’s life and that teachers are the catalysts for making a positive difference.
Focus of PLUS
• Promotion of the Rights of the Child
• Working with the MOE to influence the whole system towards becoming more humane
• Prevention of violence and abuse through teaching and promotion of models of healthy relationships from emotionally intelligent teachers—this involves also engaging teachers in bringing their practice in line with humanistic, child centered theory.
• Whole school intervention—teachers, parents, students, non-teaching staff, community.
• Empowering people and helping them to put in place systems and structures that will support sustainability
Principles of PLUS
- Respectful intervention: Facilitation NOT lecturing.
- Focus on process: Planning– action—reflection—modification—evaluation.
- Implementation: Focus on self first, empowerment of all stakeholders, practical applications to school issues/ concerns.
- Partnership with stake holder groups whose work affects school.
- Action research that will inform system.
Offerings currently available
• One day workshop on alternative discipline – offered to ALL schools: This is offered to the complete teaching staff of a school and is intended to start the process of change to a more child-centred approach to teaching.
• Workshop Title: Alternative Strategies for Building Classrooms of Peace.
Other workshops offered to schools:
• Anger and Stress Management (duration 2 days) – This workshop will provide participants with an understanding of the courses of anger and stress in the school situation, and some basic stress management skills.
• Teaching and Learning (duration 2 days) – This workshop continues the process of change to a more child-centred approach to teaching. Participants are assisted in coming to an understanding of how people learn and how they need to align their practice of teaching to support this.
• Education in the 21st Century – Strategic Planning (duration 2 days) – In this workshop participants are asked to examine the needs and expectations of the different stakeholder groups in the school, including the wider society. They then formulate a strategic plan for the school based on this.
Whole School Pilot programme for Primary schools:
This is a prevention programme that seeks to involve all the stakeholders of the school in providing a place of safety, both physical and emotional, in which children can learn models of behaviour that demonstrate respect for self and others and in particular, non-violent responses to conflict.
Parenting:
A series of ten, three minute video clips entitled Around Again has been produced by the Coalition which highlights some challenging parenting issues, such as:
• The importance of modelling the behaviours that you want children to learn
• Self discipline vs. external discipline
• Respect and trust
• Socialisation of children into gender roles
• Parental responsibilities
• Parental abuse – especially verbal and emotional abuse
The format is that of the popular soap opera. The atmosphere is light and the characters are easily identifiable to local audience. The intention is to provoke reflection and discussion rather than to preach.
The videos are also intended to support the work in schools which promotes a more respectful, humanistic approach to children and highlights the critical importance of positive adult role models.