INSIDE SCOOP
COMMENTARY
PARENTING
SPEARS’ PREGNANCY RAISES ISSUES PAGE 3 CHRISTMAS REALITIES PAGE 4 YOUNG AND VIOLENT TEENS PAGE 7
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 25, 2007
Visit us online at smdp.com
Volume 7 Issue 37
Santa Monica Daily Press A FEAST FOR THE EYES SEE PAGE 9
Since 2001: A news odyssey
THE MERRY CHRISTMAS ISSUE
HOLIDAY SEASON
DECKING THE HALLS Local homes get all dressed up
PHOTO ESSAY BY BRANDON WISE PAGE 8
Brandon Wise news@smdp.com
Old-fashioned school mediating BY MELODY HANATANI Daily Press Staff Writer
JAMS Rodney Johnson sat back in his seat, listening as the two junior high school students sitting before him bickered about a fight that had occurred earlier, a tiff sparked by name calling. One of the students turned to Johnson, annoyed, remarking “I don’t like this side of you.”
It was the first dispute that the eighthgrader had resolved as a peer mediator at John Adams Middle School, an awkward first experience considering the altercation involved two of his good friends. “I’m at work right now,” he responded at the time. “I’m a professional.” The aspiring professional basketball player is among the more than 25 students that participate in the Peer Mediation and Conflict Resolution Program at John Adams
GABY SCHKUD (310) 586-0308
Band & Orchestra Instruments
RENT-TO-OWN (310) 453-1928
The name you can depend on! www.704-15th.com
Middle School, an extra-curricular activity where students, not teachers, resolve the variety of conflicts that can arise among adolescents during a volatile developmental time, from relationship and friendship break-ups to even something as seemingly minor as looking at another student in the “wrong way.” Erica Zacharie of the Los Angeles County Bar Association operates the program at both Lincoln and John Adams middle
1901 Santa Monica Blvd. in Santa Monica www.santamonicamusic.com
schools, training and working with more than 60 students between the two locations. The program aims to eliminate the instances of fighting between students, teaching at a young age that discourse is a better way to resolve conflict rather than resorting to physical violence. Students are selected to serve as arbitrators rather than teachers, expanding the comfort level for the SEE PEER PAGE 8
“Place your holiday orders today! Open 24 hours Christmas and New Years.” 1433 Wilshire Blvd at 15th St.
(310) 394-1131