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IamaScoutAMA wrote

We're trying to teach non-violent communication and peer mediation with my scout group.

We focused on separating feelings and actions when comparing "stories" when we're trying to resolve a conflict.

It's sad how little vocabulary people use when dealing with emotions, when there are 100s of them.

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ziq wrote

what kind of conflicts arise with children? It must be easier to apply these methods with children because they don't have as many learned behaviors that they have to work hard to unlearn.

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IamaScoutAMA wrote

Most conflicts arise regarding chore distribution in their teams of 6.

we only spend 3-4 weeks total a year with them and try to tackle multiple themes at a time so our scope is not extraordinary.

I find it easier to apply with 14+ than with children or younger adolescents since anything linked to language quickly becomes quite abstract and too theoretical for them. Older scouts "get" what I'm trying to teach them and have the ability to (hopefully) reuse it when not with us. Young scouts will do the activity and comply to the rules, but wont remember it: playing in the woods, carving stuff with their knives, building fires, getting dirty and interacting with others will have as much of a positive impact as what we adults prepare for them.

It's a slight exaggeration to say this, but I feel like scouts are being prepared to become old scouts, at which point the education really begins.

That's why I prefer letting the "less woke" adults look after the younger ones while tackling the older ones myself: it's more fun to find games that check whatever value i want to teach them while making them have fun, and I feel like I have a greater impact here.

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IamaScoutAMA wrote

not all scouts share this point of view, I know at least one guy that prefers younger kinds since he finds them more pliable.

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