What being a Bacon's Peer Mediator means to me
Being a peer mediator was one of the best things I did at school. It was such an important part of my school life. Being a peer mediator was about resolving conflict and restoring peace. It was also about helping fellow students sort problems out for themselves. The peer mediators at Bacons were extremely well respected and established in the school. I felt incredibly proud being part of such a strong team.
Having the opportunity to work outside school in my Community alongside Calm Mediation mediators.
Working in the community was initially daunting. I was worried that the adults wouldn’t listen to what I had to say and would feel offended by a 17 year old trying to sort out their conflict. However, I absolutely loved it. I felt very proud of our team. In honesty, working with adults in the community cases was very similar to the process of working with the children! Having the opportunity was incredibly rewarding and I am so grateful to Calm Mediation for believing in me. It gave me lots of confidence in my practise and strengthened me as a person.
How having this opportunity benefited me as a person
Being a peer mediator taught me lots of things. Patience and listening skills were the main ones. It was so important to listen carefully to the students you were mediating, and doing this all of the time made it easier. It gave me lots of confidence as the mediation team were so well respected. Working as a tight knit team helped my teamwork and communication skills loads.
Mediation skills have helped me now that I am a teacher
Being a mediator is not something you just do once, it’s with you forever. As a teacher, whenever I see children having conflicts it is my natural instinct to help them resolve their issues. Patience, listening skills and confidence are essential to being a teacher and have helped me lots.
Thank you Calm Mediation.
The peer mediation team at Bacons would not have been what it was to us at the time without Mel Bruce Calm Mediation (formerly Southwark Mediation). Having regular contact with Mel made us feel so incredibly supported. Whenever we had any questions, she would always help us out. Watching Mel mediate was a humbling experience and we learnt so much from her. The training that we received was fantastic. We were treated like adults and actually listened to properly. They were the core foundation of our peer mediation team and all past mediators are so grateful for the work that Mel Bruce and Calm Mediation did to support us and help us grow as mediators.
Kezia Hezog was a Bacon’s Peer mediator; she is now a teacher in a primary school in Cambridge.