Conflict Management, what is it?

According to West High Behaviorist Ray Pamilton, “Conflict is a group that brings [students] to a safe space… to bring students together and talk about how they felt.”

The program, while being around for some time now, is unknown to a good portion of the student population, so many don’t even know how a conflict meeting goes. According to West High teacher Scott Behnam, “You come in and everyone is in a circle, and what we do is we really just communicate. We express our feelings and things that are bothering us and through empathy and compassion find a middle ground.” Behnam also went on to say that, “F.A.C.E.S., the behavioral specialists, really helps our students in terms of behavior, understanding and overall feeling equitable.”

How do you know if a situation should be brought into conflict management? According to Behnam, situations that should be brought into conflict consist of: “Bullying, anything on social media, fights, etc. Stop by P23 on campus if you or anyone else you know is in need of conflict management!”