Reflections of our June Nature Walk

It was time for the third round of our Singapore Democratic School nature walk! The main topic of this walk was conflict resolution in democratic schools. A diverse group from different backgrounds arrived. Once we all gathered at Botanic Gardens MRT, we headed towards the Children's Garden.

As soon as we settled on the grass at the foot of a small hill, we saw conflict unfolding. Children from two families who joined were having a conflict at the playground. One child was visibly upset. The mothers' reactions were praiseworthy. They observed, thereby signalling their presence, but didn't intervene. It is a lesson for young children that they are responsible for managing their own feelings and resolving conflicts with others.

This was a helpful bridge to understanding how conflict is handled within democratic schools. Democratic schools value Self-Directed Education, which means that students are in charge of what, how, and when they learn. Advocates of Self-Directed Education see learning opportunities in everything we do. Conflict is also an important learning opportunity, as it allows us to articulate our frustrations and learn more about other people's points of view. In essence, conflict is part of the curriculum in a democratic school.

Conflict is too important to completely delegate to a teacher. In traditional schools, the teacher often serves as prosecutor, jury, and judge. Conflicts among students disrupt the traditional classroom. That's why teachers aim to resolve any conflicts quickly, so the lesson plan can continue. The upside of this arrangement is efficiency, but what it misses is justice, agency, and an important learning opportunity.

Democratic schools have different procedures to deal with conflict. One procedure is called the conflict resolution circle. In such a circle, all participants gather and take turns to talk. There are usually three rounds of discussion. What happened? Why did it happen? What can be done to avoid this from happening again? This setup allows everyone to share their perspective. During the last round, an outcome is attempted that meets everyone's needs.

Other democratic schools have jury duty. In such democratic schools, there is a Judiciary Committee (also named JC). Students and at least one staff member serve on this JC on a rotating basis. They receive written complaints against school rule violations. Once a complaint is received, they decide whether a school rule has been broken. If this is the case, both witnesses and the defendant are gathered in for questioning. Once all the evidence is gathered, the defendant can state whether he is guilty or not guilty. If found guilty, the JC will decide on an appropriate consequence (for example, a warning or loss of certain privileges). If the defendant claims to be not guilty, the case is brought before the whole school. The JC acts as the prosecutor, and everyone who attends the School Meeting serves as the jury.

The conflict resolution circle and the Judiciary Committee are completely different approaches towards conflict resolution. The conflict resolution circle approach is built around finding consensus and mutually agreeable solutions. The Judiciary Committee's job is to ensure that school rules are respected and that violations are appropriately punished. Both approaches allow children not only to defend their viewpoints but also to learn about others' viewpoints. Because children are held accountable by their peers, bullying rarely happens in democratic schools.

Once we covered conflict resolution in democratic schools, other topics came up. How long have these democratic schools been around for? Where do graduates end up? And what is the difference between 'unschooling' and democratic schools? All these questions gave us new ideas for further improving the FAQ on the Singapore Democratic School website. We thank everyone for joining us, and we hope to see them again on our journey to open our school.