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In our last issue of the Journal we featured an article by Dr. Helen Cowie on how peer helping is being used to reduce bullying in schools in Great Britain. Dr. Cowie and her colleague, Sonia Sharp, have produced a video and accompanying booklet to help train peer counsellors. The video, Time to Listen, is useful for a wide variety of professionals and anyone interested in training young people to effectively challenge bullying in schools.
The video is divided into three sections. The first portion examines the nature of bullying, the need for a whole school policy, the roles students can play, and the need for schools to create a climate where bullying will be reported. The second section of the video documents teacher and student experiences at Chaucer School in Sheffield (England) as they describe the peer counselling service they called the Bully Line. Section three provides practical guidelines for training young people in basic peer counselling skills.
Dr. Cowie and her colleagues as well as the students and staff featured in the video are to be applauded for documenting the results of their bullying reduction work. All the persons in the video are actual participants in the program. No actors here. The video has a nice balance between talking heads reporting on their opinions and experiences, examples of actual training, and practical illustrations of how students can help one another. The cost for the video and the accompanying materials is £25.00 (plus a charge for postage). However, the video has been produced in a European video standard that is different than the standard used in North America. This is a minor problem and can be rectified by a local video service technician. To order the video and materials, send a cheque to Dr. Helen Cowie, Department of Psychology and Counselling, Roehampton Institute, Whitelands College, West Hill, London (Great Britain), SW15 3SN.
Peer Resources conducts computerized literature searches of published articles, books and other resources associated with peer helping. Peer leaders create resources at the local level which can prove valuable to other peer programs. Particular resources, worthy of special mention, are featured in this column.
| "Trouble shared is trouble halved." |
While the authors have plenty of relevant training content to share, they have also attended to helping students process what they are learning. Each lesson includes debriefing questions, guaranteed to maximize student learning. Training sessions have been divided into activities for the junior level, middle level, and secondary level students. For trainers attracted to particular activities, the lessons can be adapted to fit different levels. This manual has been written by experienced practitioners commited to the delivery of high quality peer services. The material reflects a concrete, ready-to-use approach. Persons who want to know the rationale for the peer models or learn about program issues and concerns will find little detail, but the authors do provide a bibliography of other references. The price for the manual is only $14.95 and can be obtained from the address above, or phoning (416) 395-4909, or sending an e-mail message to Fran Chaplin.
| "Love is a fruit in season at all times, and within reach of every hand." |
The manual provides details about starting a peer program and includes a useful chart that shows how peer helping activities, roles, and training relate to virtually all school subject matter areas. The bulk of the manual is devoted to training sessions that focus on learning interpersonal communication skills. Each session is laid-out in a consistent format: brief rationale for the activity, an ice-breaker to get things going, the activity itself often presented with variations, discussion prompts, and closure.
A unique feature of this manual is an activities section to help students learn about the practical issues associated with students services such as understanding school guidance services and personnel, how to make timetable changes, and gaining information about post-secondary education. Two other unique features are an appendix with a checklist to help peer program advisors clarify their own roles and peer program goals and a sample peer helper schedule which gives a concrete example of what a typical peer helper would be doing over the school year.
This manual is worthwhile for teachers and counsellors who are considering initiating a peer program. The manual can also help peer tutoring programs increase their attention to the interpersonal aspects of tutoring, but will not provide much detail about starting and maintaining a subject matter based tutoring program. This is not a drawback, as all too often peer tutoring programs ignore the importance of interpersonal skills in tutoring. Persons who want a more comprehensive approach to conflict management will need to seek other resources. The cost of the manual is $14.95 and can be obtained from the address listed above.