Different Ways of Reacting to Conflict

What we will be doing today: We will be trying to understand that conflict is not always a danger or threat, but also an opportunity, the ways we most often react to conflict and successfully deal with it.

	SPUNK. "Spunk" is a word from the wellknown book Pipi Longstocking. Everyone in the circle gives it their own meaning to: for somebody it can be a ball or a balloon, for somebody else a bird, or something good to eat. Through pantomime the children show their own meaning for SPUNK and pass it on to the person beside them, until it returns to the first one in the circle. Conflict is not just a danger, it can also be an opportunity. Conflict tends to be resolved; this is a condition of tension which calls for renewed support and not losing one's equilibrium.
	Conflicts from the post box. Each pupil takes out of the postal box one example of a conflict (which the children themselves described in a previous session). They are divided into three groups, so every group agrees among themselves which example of conflict and which resolution of the conflict they will choose to act out in front of the others. Each group decides among themselves who will play which roles; but always such that there is one member who announces the action with the words "Once upon a time ... in such and such a place .... so and so . . . met each other. Here is what happened there." The facilitator will use the technique of "freezing" to interrupt the process of role playing at one moment and will pose to each group of players various questions (How do you feel now? What is your goal? What do you wish to achieve? What is your need? How would you like this to be resolved? Etc.)
	Animal fantasy. The children close their eyes, direct their attention to their breathing, relax, and try to visualize what the teacher is saying. "Imagine that you are in the form of some animal. How does that animal appear? . . . Direct your attention to the environment in which you are situated. How do you move? What is around you? , , , Now imagine a person with whom you are in some conflict, also in the form of an animal. That animal now comes near you. . What do you do? . , . What happened? . . . . Now slowly open your eyes, here we are again, in the room." Round table discussion: In which animal form did you imagine yourself? What other animals appeared on the scene? What did they do? How did you react to their arrival? How do you feel afterwards? Are you satisfied with what happened? While the pupils are describing their images, the teacher notes on the board the various types of their reactions, under two headings, for example: After this we can talk about the various ways or styles of confronting conflict (see drawing). The children can themselves select symbols (ani-mals) for each style: adaptation, compromise, running away, etc. At the end we give the most space to the conversation about cooperation, the position in which both sides are winners.
	Travel bag. Pack a bag with five things which you would take to another country and which you would use to explain what things are like in your country (city, place, school). The children write this down on paper and then chat in pairs about what they have written. Round table discussion: Which things would you pack and take with you to the foreign country? Which things have you in common? How would you describe one of this things? In which country would you like to travel the most? Which neighboring countries did you choose? What song would you most like to sing to the people you visit? Sing it now.