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To honor MLK free web training teaches teens skills for nonviolence
SAN FRANCISCO - January 10, 2007
Ripple Effects, makers of software to positively change social behavior, today announced the launch of Practicing Non-violence, a free web-based student training program. It systematically teaches skills modeled by Martin Luther King. The goal is to prepare students to meet the unique challenges of a society that is both free and diverse. Ripple Effects CEO and social-emotional learning expert Alice Ray developed the site. "If Martin Luther King's legacy is to endure," says Ray, "we need to empower today's teens, not only with his vision of personal transformation and political change, but with the practical skills to translate that vision into an ever deepening social reality."Practicing Non-violence (go to www.rippleeffects.com and click on the image of MLK) is divided into three parts. "Managing Feelings" deals with personal transformation, the first step in a non-violent life. "Developing Tolerance" deals with interpersonal relationships in a diverse society where social conflict is inevitable. "Doing Democracy" focuses on participating in social structures, especially structures of government, to develop a more inclusive, more just, less violent society. 26 lessons distributed through more than 900 illustrated screens, include story-based scenarios with discussion questions, explanation of core concepts, behavior training, interactive games, and practice opportunities to develop specific skills. Teens can complete an online self-profile to find out where they stand in terms of power and prejudice. Several lessons include first person true stories, including an Asian boy who was a victim of a hate crime, an Egyptian girl, who responded to taunts with humor and ethnic pride, and a former hate crime offender who describes what motivated him--and how he changed.Practicing Non-violence can be used for universal promotion of non-violence with all students, for prevention of violence among students who have special risks, and for intervention with individuals who may be perpetrators - or targets - of hate and intolerance. Teens can also explore it independently. -more- "Conflicts around the globe attest to the difficulties in upholding respect for diversity and protection of individual freedom at the same time. The skills needed to meet that challenge aren't being measured on standardized tests, but they are as important to the survival of democracy as anything that is." says Ray.Practicing Non-violence draws from Ripple Effects line of award-winning, evidence-based software programs that positively change student behavior. These media-rich programs are used in more than 400 school districts, after-school, and community programs nationally, and have garnered 30 major awards. To reach the free Practicing Non-violence program, go to www.rippleeffects.com and click on the image of Martin Luther King.
For immediate release:
Contact: Sarah Berg, Ripple Effects, 415-227-1669 x 307 |
