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Peer mediators and school bullying

Posted January. 06, 2012 04:31,   

한국어

A seventh grader at Jingeon Middle School in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, had been bullied since early last year. He was taciturn but sometimes talked to himself. Because of this, he was teased and bullied by classmates. One classmate, however, came to his rescue. Designated a peer mediator, the classmate arranged a meeting between the bullying victim and his tormentors.

In the meeting, the victim calmly described how he suffered and his tormentors explained why they bullied him. After listening to the victim, the bullies apologized to him, saying they did it for fun and were unaware that he suffered so much. In turn, the victim said he would deal with his problems. Since then, they have grown close to each other. A similar incident happened at Seowon Middle School in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, in October last year. When a female student was bulled by other five female students, a classmate stepped forward and helped them reconcile.

Ten middle and high schools in Gyeonggi Province introduced a peer mediation program last year. If a student is bullied, a peer mediator helps him or her by arranging a meeting with the bullies. The schools have selected a peer mediator for each class and given them 30 hours of training on conflict resolution. At each school, the mediators have resolved 10 bullying incidents on average over the past six months. First used by Bryant High School in New York in 1983, the program has proven so effective in dealing with bullying that many schools in the U.S. have adopted it. According to statistics, the success rate is 86 percent, higher than that of expert-led programs (80 percent).

When conflict occurs in class, classmates know the situation best. Those who can lend a helping hand to a bullying victim who suffers in silence are classmates as well. Early reconciliation can easily resolve bullying. A peer mediator at Jeongsan High School in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, and another at Ilsan High School in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province are known to be seriously considering becoming experts on conflict resolution. Kang Yeong-jin, a professor at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul who introduced the peer mediator program to Korea, said, “If students are given a little bit of training, they can resolve problems better than expected,” adding, “Having a tormentor play the role of mediator is also very effective.”

Editorial Writer Heo Seung-ho (tigera@donga.com)