Mon, Aug 29, 2005

Tools for Teaching about The Third Side

The book The Third Side by William Ury articulates a way of looking at the conflicts around us not just from one side or the other but from the larger perspective of the surrounding community. The book explores ten “third side” roles that can help in the resolution of conflict: Provider, Teacher, Bridge Builder, Mediator, Arbiter, Equalizer, Witness, Referee and Peacekeeper. A website has been developed to support the goals of the book, and it includes a growing number of downloadable teaching-related resources including both a High School and University Curriculum, a High School “Third Side Activity”, a conflict simulation entitled the Sanford High Race Riot, and a powerpoint presentation providing a high level overview of the Third Side concepts. They are also collecting user contributions of exercises and modifications to the core materials.

Also of interest are a variety of online tools and exercises that can help you assess the level of conflict you are engaged in and to identify what third side roles could help most in that situation. All in all, a nice collection of free materials supporting the (still not-free) book.

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