“Compassionate Listening,” hosted by Dr. William Jacobsen and Barbara Simmons, takes place Aug. 1-2, from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. This two-day workshop gives participants skills in the kind of deep listening that can help in their daily lives – at work and at home. These skills have been used to help find the answers that lie within.
Jacobsen is an instructor in Arcadia University’s international peace and conflict resolution master’s program, a practitioner specializing in conflict transformation, and senior facilitator with the Compassionate Listening Project. He has conducted workshops in the Middle East, in prisons, and in communities throughout the tri-county region. Simmons has been with The Peace Center for 32 years, and is executive director emeritus as of July 1.
Cost is $120. Register at thepeacecenter.org/upcoming-events/compassionate-listening by July 20.
“Racial Equity – Cultural Humility,” hosted by Simmons and Gayle Evans, takes place Aug. 8-9, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (includes a one-hour lunch break). This workshop explores how our biases, along with systemic racism, have created a divide in our society that makes conversations about racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia and all the other “isms” difficult.
Evans, director of community engagement and leadership at The Peace Center, brings her perspective as a fifth-generation African American in Bucks County to the workshop. Simmons shares her knowledge from numerous years of traveling and working around the globe experiencing and learning about other cultures. Both have spent many years working in higher education.
Cost is $120. Register at thepeacecenter.org/upcoming-events/racial-equity-cultural-humility by Aug. 1.
“Restorative Justice in Education,” hosted by Simmons and Evans, takes place Aug. 14-16, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (includes a one-hour lunch break).
Restorative Justice in Education is a process used to address conflict and violence in schools and help restore classroom peace. Research has shown that suspension and detentions are ineffective tools to address relational issues that create bad behavior. Emotional wounds block students from learning “the discipline lesson” so they repeat the behavior that got them into trouble in the first place.
Restorative Justice provides a way to repair the harm from the offense, crime or violation, so that classroom relationships can be restored. When harm is repaired, the community is restored, the victim is empowered, and the offender is returned to the community with dignity, deeper understanding, and effective tools for meaningful engagement within the community. The overall objective of Restorative Justice is to improve school climate, help youth develop more effective decision-making in the future, foster positive relationships with adults and peers, increase resilience, and facilitate successful conflict resolution.
Cost is $325. Register at thepeacecenter.org/upcoming-events/restorative-justice-in-education by Aug. 5.
The Peace Center is located at 120 W. Maple Ave., Langhorne.
