At the Lindenschule, we learn and live together, we value the promotion of community and the social skills of our pupils with the aim that they accept themselves and respect others. We see the need for a reflective approach to emotions in order to develop a holistic personality.
To enable pupils to face future challenges, not only their independence but also their community skills and willingness to take responsibility are encouraged. Comprehensive measures and framework conditions have been defined in the Lindenschule school program to ensure successful cooperation between all school groups involved. We have now installed a further element to promote the social skills and personal development of our pupils, which we would like to introduce here:
The peace bridge, also known as the peace carpet, is a method of dispute resolution that enables children to resolve low-level escalated conflicts independently. The aim of this method is to promote children's independence and to resolve minor disputes quickly. In addition, all parties involved in the conflict should be recognized for their needs and treated with respect.
The Peace Bridge consists of four fixed steps in which the children approach each other and deal with the problem. The Peace Bridge process is highly ritualized because the children need to be able to fall back on familiar rules and reliable procedures, especially in the event of a dispute. In an emotional situation, the individual steps of the Peace Bridge provide a firm orientation and create the necessary conditions for rational clarification.
All pupils learn the method under the guidance of the school social pedagogues or a teacher and practise the individual steps.
We now not only have the Peace Bridge as a portable carpet for flexible use in the school building. A Peace Bridge has now also been permanently installed in the school playground.
Initial experience shows that the children find the Peace Bridge very helpful for conflict resolution. During the breaks, the Peace Bridge is also a good tool for the pupil helpers, who provide support in the event of minor disputes.
