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Professor shows undergraduates the value of working with children By Karen L. Trimbath
Throughout his career, Dr. Jeffrey Parker (standing), associate professor of psychology, has spent his career helping undergraduate students learn how to teach children relationship skills. During a conflict resolution retreat, children from the Mt. Nittany Middle School successfully used good communication skills to get themselves out of a human knot and into a circle. photos by Dave Shelly Penn State Image Resource Center	At a daylong retreat, students from Mt. Nittany Middle School laughed as they twisted their arms around their teammates and turned themselves into human knots. Their goal was to use good communication to help get them out of the knot and form a full circle — an exercise meant to bring together children from all walks of life, said Dr. Jeffrey Parker, associate professor of psychology, who led the retreat.   “A group of people has its own essence, just like a big human knot,” Parker told the children after the exercise ended. “But when you break the knot apart, you find individual people. You can’t separate these things.”   Like a human knot, a school contains both groups and individual children — all of whom must learn to become responsible and respectful to each other, according to Parker, whose research involves teaching children to communicate, share and resolve conflicts.   He believes in the value of his work so much that he is training a new generation of undergraduate students to enter professions that serve children. One of his courses is a practicum that combines learning with community service to area children enrolled at the West Branch School in Morrisdale, near Philipsburg, Pa. In addition, his students have planned and staffed conflict resolution retreats like the one for Mt. Nittany Middle School.   “This type of community outreach represents the very best of teaching, research and student experiences,” Parker said. “Both the practicum and the retreats meet a need in schools to address the social climate. And these are terrific learning experiences for my students.”   Diane Twomley, a library paraprofessional at Mt. Nittany Middle School, agrees that schools have to show children the value of diversity and tolerance. As a representative with Planet Peace, an organization at the middle school that fosters good relationship skills among children, Twomley was one of several school officials present at the retreat. The school is part of the State College Area School District in State College, Pa.   “We have to start somewhere and try to change kids’ attitudes towards others in a positive way,” she said. “Kids are so tender at this age, and they lack the response tools that we adults have. We can show them how to handle conflicts, gossip or teasing.”   During the spring practicum, students developed lessons that built children’s social skills and presented them weekly to fifth- and sixth-grade students at the West Branch School. Selected topics included competition, jealousy, rumors and gossip, and respect, among other issues.   Parker’s students also collaborated on developing the retreats aimed at middle school children. Among the planned activities were skits and role-playing activities, collages made by the children to express their individual uniqueness and discussions on popularity and crowds.   Parker praises his students’ dedication and teamwork in their efforts to change children’s lives.   “They all did a terrific job, particularly during the retreats,” he said. “I was extra proud of them, but not surprised that they handled everything so well. They performed the same heroics during the semester when they worked at the West Branch School.”   One of Parker’s students, junior Erica Wampole, a psychology major from Allentown, Pa., spent part of her Fridays during the spring semester working in a West Branch classroom and also helped plan the retreats. Because of her experiences, she now wants a career aimed at helping children.   “The kids enthusiastically shared their lives with me, and we all became very close,” she added.   Wampole recalls a touching moment during the Mt. Nittany Middle School retreat, when all the children volunteered to sign a pledge promising to consider other people’s feelings and to include those who were different from them.   “We all had tears in our eyes,” she said. “In one day, the barriers between these children had been knocked down. It was wonderful. We had planted the seeds for change.” An outreach program of the College of the Liberal Arts