PeaceDNA Mediation: The Missed Classroom Transition
People
- Ms. Carter: Third-grade classroom teacher
- Mr. Lee: Elementary art teacher
- Dr. Ruiz: Assistant principal and neutral mediator
Conflict: Ms. Carter’s class arrived late to art three times in one week. Mr. Lee believes the delays disrupt instruction. Ms. Carter believes Mr. Lee criticized her in front of students without understanding the circumstances.
Step 1: Conditions
Dr. Ruiz meets privately with both teachers after school.
Dr. Ruiz: “My role is to guide the PeaceDNA process, not decide who is right. Are you both willing to speak honestly, listen without interrupting, protect student privacy, and work toward a peaceful solution?”
Ms. Carter: “Yes, I am willing.”
Mr. Lee: “Yes, I am willing.”
Dr. Ruiz: “We will use Kanji Listening—ears, eyes, heart, mind, and full attention. Each of you will complete your Position before we discuss remedies.”
Step 2: Conflict Positions
(Ms. Carter’s POV)
GQ2: What happened?
Dr. Ruiz: “Ms. Carter, what happened?”
Ms. Carter: “My class arrived late to art on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Friday, Mr. Lee told me in front of the students that I needed to respect his schedule.”
Dr. Ruiz: “How late was the class?”
Ms. Carter: “About five minutes on Monday, seven minutes on Wednesday, and ten minutes on Friday.”
Dr. Ruiz: “What caused the delays?”
Ms. Carter: “On Monday, a student needed help calming down. On Wednesday, our reading lesson ran late. On Friday, I was handling a student conflict.”
Dr. Ruiz: “Did you notify Mr. Lee?”
Ms. Carter: “I sent a message on Monday. I did not send one on Wednesday or Friday.”
Dr. Ruiz: “What happened when you arrived on Friday?”
Ms. Carter: “Mr. Lee was standing at the classroom door. In front of the students, he said, ‘You need to respect my class time.’”
GQ3: How did you feel?
Dr. Ruiz: “How did that affect you?”
Ms. Carter: “I felt embarrassed and disrespected. I also felt that my work with the students was being dismissed.”
Dr. Ruiz: “What concerned you most?”
Ms. Carter: “I was worried that the students would think teachers do not respect one another.”
Dr. Ruiz: “Did those feelings affect your response?”
Ms. Carter: “Yes. I told him, ‘Some of us have real classroom problems to handle.’”
GQ4: What do you believe or think?
Dr. Ruiz: “What did you believe Mr. Lee meant?”
Ms. Carter: “I believed he thought art was more important than the problems I was managing.”
Dr. Ruiz: “What information supported that belief?”
Ms. Carter: “His tone sounded angry, and he corrected me in front of the class.”
Dr. Ruiz: “What information did you not have?”
Ms. Carter: “I did not know what activities he had planned or how the late arrivals affected his other classes.”
Dr. Ruiz: “What effect did the conflict have?”
Ms. Carter: “The students became quiet and uncomfortable. A few later asked why Mr. Lee was mad at me.”
End-of-POV Rephrase for Yes: Ms. Carter
Dr. Ruiz: “Let me make sure I understand your complete POV.
Are you saying that your class arrived late to art three times? And that two delays involved student needs, and one happened because a reading lesson ran long. You notified Mr. Lee once but did not notify him about the other two delays?
And on Friday, Mr. Lee corrected you in front of the students. You felt embarrassed, disrespected, and concerned that the students were seeing conflict between teachers. You believed he did not understand or value the student issues you were handling. At the same time, you did not know how the delays affected his lessons and schedule?
You recognize that your response about ‘real classroom problems’ may also have disrespected his work.
Did I correctly understand the facts, feelings, beliefs, concerns, and effects from your point of view?”
Ms. Carter: “Yes.”
Dr. Ruiz: “Is there anything important I missed or stated incorrectly?”
Ms. Carter: “No. That explains my POV.”
(Mr. Lee’s POV)
GQ2: What happened?
Dr. Ruiz: “Mr. Lee, what happened from your point of view?”
Mr. Lee: “Ms. Carter’s class arrived late three times. Each time, I had to shorten or change the art lesson.”
Dr. Ruiz: “How did the delays affect your instruction?”
Mr. Lee: “On Monday, I removed the demonstration. On Wednesday, students did not have time to clean their materials properly. On Friday, I canceled part of a painting activity.”
Dr. Ruiz: “What did you know about the reasons for the delays?”
Mr. Lee: “I received a message on Monday. I did not know the reasons on Wednesday or Friday.”
Dr. Ruiz: “What happened on Friday?”
Mr. Lee: “When the class arrived ten minutes late, I told Ms. Carter that she needed to respect my class time.”
Ms. Carter: “You acted like a few minutes destroyed your entire day.”
Mr. Lee: “Classroom teachers always treat special-area teachers like babysitters.”
FOUL=Stop!
Dr. Ruiz: “FOUL. We need to pause.”
Dr. Ruiz stops the POV discussion immediately.
Dr. Ruiz: “Ms. Carter, saying Mr. Lee acted as if the delay destroyed his day minimized its effect on his work. Mr. Lee, saying classroom teachers ‘always’ treat special-area teachers like babysitters blamed an entire group. Both statements disrupted our respectful Conditions.”
Restore the Conditions
Dr. Ruiz: “Let’s return to Step 1. Take a breath and focus on this event rather than making claims about each other or other teachers. Are you both still willing to listen respectfully and work toward a solution?”
Ms. Carter: “Yes. I should not have minimized the effect on his lessons.”
Mr. Lee: “Yes. I should not have made a claim about all classroom teachers.”
Dr. Ruiz: “The Conditions are restored. Mr. Lee has not completed his POV, so we will return to it. We are not ready for Remedy.”
GQ3: How did you feel?
Dr. Ruiz: “Mr. Lee, how did the repeated delays make you feel?”
Mr. Lee: “I felt frustrated and overlooked.”
Dr. Ruiz: “What concerned you most?”
Mr. Lee: “I was concerned that students were losing instruction and that cleanup would run into the next class.”
Dr. Ruiz: “How did Ms. Carter’s response affect you?”
Mr. Lee: “When she referred to ‘real classroom problems,’ I felt that she did not see art as a real class.”
Dr. Ruiz: “Did those feelings affect your actions?”
Mr. Lee: “Yes. I spoke sharply and corrected her in front of the students.”
GQ4: What do you believe or think?
Dr. Ruiz: “What do you believe caused the conflict?”
Mr. Lee: “I believe the main problems were repeated lateness and a lack of communication.”
Dr. Ruiz: “What assumption did you make about Ms. Carter?”
Mr. Lee: “I assumed she did not care about the art schedule.”
Dr. Ruiz: “Do you know whether that assumption was true?”
Mr. Lee: “No. I knew only that the class was late and that I had not received a message.”
Dr. Ruiz: “What part of the situation could you control?”
Mr. Lee: “I could have spoken to her privately. I also could have asked why the class was late before making a judgment.”
Dr. Ruiz: “What effect did the conflict have?”
Mr. Lee: “It created tension in front of the students and made it harder to begin the lesson calmly.”
End-of-POV Rephrase for Yes: Mr. Lee
Dr. Ruiz: “Let me make sure I understand your complete POV.
Are you saying that the class arrived late three times, and each delay forced you to shorten or change instruction? And you received an explanation for the first delay but not the other two. You were especially concerned about lost learning time, safe cleanup, and delays affecting the next class?
Also, you felt frustrated, overlooked, and hurt by the suggestion that art was not a real class. You assumed Ms. Carter did not respect your schedule, although you did not know why two of the delays happened.
You recognize that you could have asked for an explanation and spoken with her privately instead of correcting her in front of students.
Did I correctly understand the facts, feelings, beliefs, concerns, and effects from your point of view?”
Mr. Lee: “Yes.”
Dr. Ruiz: “Is there anything important I missed or stated incorrectly?”
Mr. Lee: “No. That explains my POV.”
Dr. Ruiz: “Both complete POVs have now been spoken, heard, summarized, and confirmed. We can move to Remedy.”
Step 3: Remedy
GQ5: What remedy do you want?
Dr. Ruiz: “Ms. Carter, what remedy do you want?”
Ms. Carter: “I want concerns about my class transitions discussed privately, not in front of students.”
Dr. Ruiz: “What would help you prevent future delays?”
Ms. Carter: “I need a quick way to notify Mr. Lee when an urgent student need affects our transition.”
Dr. Ruiz: “Mr. Lee, what remedy do you want?”
Mr. Lee: “I want the class to arrive on time whenever possible. If there is a delay, I want a short message so I can adjust the lesson.”
Dr. Ruiz: “What would help when a delay cannot be prevented?”
Mr. Lee: “Even a message saying ‘five minutes late’ would help.”
GQ6: What remedy will you offer?
Dr. Ruiz: “Ms. Carter, what will you offer?”
Ms. Carter: “I will set a transition reminder five minutes before art. If we will be late, I will send a short message with the expected arrival time.”
Dr. Ruiz: “Mr. Lee, what will you offer?”
Mr. Lee: “I will acknowledge the message and adjust the opening activity when possible. If I have a concern, I will speak to Ms. Carter privately.”
Dr. Ruiz: “What will you both do when a student emergency makes communication difficult?”
Ms. Carter: “I will ask a nearby staff member or the office to notify Mr. Lee.”
Mr. Lee: “I will begin with a short activity and wait until later to ask what happened.”
Shared Agreement
Dr. Ruiz records the agreement:
- Ms. Carter will begin transitions five minutes before art.
- She will send a brief message when the class expects to be late.
- Mr. Lee will acknowledge the message when possible.
- Neither teacher will correct or criticize the other in front of students.
- Immediate student safety or emotional needs will take priority.
- Repeated scheduling problems will be discussed privately with Dr. Ruiz.
- The teachers will review the agreement after two weeks.
Dr. Ruiz: “Do you both understand and willingly accept this agreement?”
Ms. Carter: “Yes. I feel heard, and I accept it.”
Mr. Lee: “Yes. I feel heard, and I accept it.”
Red-Team Check
- Teacher perspective: Because Dr. Ruiz supervises both teachers, either person may feel pressure to agree. Dr. Ruiz must make room for honest disagreement without retaliation.
- Student perspective: Students should not be questioned about the conflict or asked to take sides. Their identities and personal needs must remain private.
- School-safety perspective: The schedule should not take priority over an immediate safety, medical, behavioral, or emotional need. PeaceDNA supports communication but does not replace school policies or professional responsibilities.
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