𝐏𝐄𝐄𝐑 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐄𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

𝙱𝚢: 𝙰𝚕𝚐𝚒𝚎𝚗 𝙰. 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚔𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚛-𝚒𝚗-𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚐𝚎, 𝚄𝚗𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝙽𝙷𝚂 𝚂𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚊𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚕 𝚂𝚞𝚛 𝙳𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿-𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗢𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (𝗠𝗬𝗢) 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗱, 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗦𝘂𝗿, 𝗜 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺-𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘁-𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗯𝘆 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗺, 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀. Conflicts between students in academic contexts are common and natural. But they must not go unchecked. Hence, the importance of Peer Mediation Programs as a branch of education providing techniques for settling disputes between young people comes to light. As the program tends to improve the educational environment within the school community, the need for disciplinary measures such as detentions, suspensions, and lockdowns lessens. Madrid National High School (MNHS) was the only secondary school in the DepEd Caraga Region to participate in the Pilot Peer Mediation Program sponsored by the Duyog Marawi, Peace Institute for the Young, and GIZ PH in 2021. The activities lasted three months (June 24 to September 24) and were conducted twice weekly with participants from Caraga, Region X, and BARMM. With the help of the training, our school was able to establish the MNHS Peer Mediators Club, also known as The Peace Builders, composed of Mary Ysabelle C. Mercado, Ariana Rose I. Sandag, Jasmin M. Aranas, Harlyn May D. Estrada, and Sean Paul F. Casano, the student mediators, and me as the adviser. As mediators, we trained to address difficulties without parental oversight, applied effective communication to avoid violence, and achieved an amicable settlement in a win-win situation. Relevant exercises during the sessions focused on the importance of having a peer mediation program to foster a respectful learning environment and help students draw meaningful conclusions from their understanding of the situation. The SiMex experience was one of my favorite sessions where we grouped individuals from different social classes. The personal differences did not matter since we shared the same objective. That is, create and spread peace. The beauty of peer mediation is that it allows districts and campuses to resolve conflicts and teaches students valuable life skills, such as practicing proactive and restorative handling of undesired behavior instead of resorting to finding fault and imposing punishment. With this training, we aimed to reduce, if not eliminate, violence in schools and increase the capacities of teachers and students to deal with conflicts in a nonviolent way. Given the mental and psychological difficulties incurred by the school community due to the pandemic, this program is timely since it led us to understand the dynamics of effective communication in the context of diverging perspectives and individual differences, developing listening skills, and fostering a sense of cooperation and teamwork in resolving conflicts. Through YOUCAP, we have effectively implemented the Peer Mediation Program in our school with the support of school heads. The students are now more aware that such an organization exists to help them. We also plan to promote this advocacy to other schools to establish a safe learning environment for students and create more safe spaces for everyone. We believe that Peer Mediation is more than just resolving conflicts or assisting parties in resolving their issues; it also provides outlets for students to discuss, communicate, connect meaningfully, and create the most peaceful and conducive educational environment for all. (𝘌𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘗𝘦𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵 𝘔𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘥 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵, 𝘚𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘚𝘶𝘳 𝘋𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯.) 🅴🅽🅳