WHEREAS, Philadelphia is experiencing a wave of gun violence and the number of shootings and homicides has grown steadily since 2007, including more than 100 children who have been shot in 2020 alone, and this already significant number is increasing rapidly; and
WHEREAS, Many young people use violence as a first and last resort to deal with conflict because they have not been trained and educated on alternative methods to deal with the normal amount of conflict that is a part of daily life and because many experience anger related to exposure to traumatic events; and
WHEREAS,
Conflict resolution training seeks to create opportunities for students and other members of the school community to recognize that conflict is a natural part of life and that it can be resolved peacefully. Students will learn to develop awareness of their own unique responses to conflict, understand the diversity with which others respond, learn and practice the principles of conflict resolution and the skills of peaceful problem-solving processes, empower themselves to be individually and cooperatively responsible for resolving conflicts and integrate these responsibilities into their daily lives; and
WHEREAS, Conflict resolution teaches young people to deal with conflicts in a number of ways, including competing, avoiding, compromising, collaborating, and accommodating, each to be used in different circumstances; and
WHEREAS, It is incumbent upon the School District of Philadelphia and the Board of Education to do everything in their power to ensure Philadelphia is a City that teaches our children to use safer methods of dealing with conflict; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, The City Council of Philadelphia, Will hereby
authorize the Committee on Education to conduct hearings exploring the benefits of mandating conflict resolution training at all curriculum levels.
End