Puppet Performers Teach Conflict Resolution to Manchester Students

Learning about the difficult topics of peer mediation and conflict resolution can be confusing for elementary students. Manchester educators invited some unique guests to help out.

The Blue Sky Puppet Theatre visited Ridgeway and Whiting Elementary Schools earlier this month to engage students on the issues through an interactive puppet musical, “Building Bridges."

“The show is a typical day in the life of a kid told through puppets," said Blue Sky puppeteer Gina Campbell before a performance at Ridgeway Elementary. "The play takes place in school and on the playground, and it shows the process of peer mediation and peaceful conflict resolution."

As the children entered the school's gymnasium, they took in the elaborately painted scenery. Before the play began, puppeteer Steve Hildabrand taught the students a song, complete with hand gestures, to encourage participation. Some of the uplifting lyrics sang were, “we can get there just by building bridges, from hand-to-hand and heart-to-heart.”

“This show is very interactive. The puppets talk directly to the children and ask questions. I also come out and sing and act out a song with the kids,” Hildabrand said.

In “Building Bridges," the main characters all encounter some type of conflict, from facing a school bully, participating in a playground fight or seeking more freedom at home. The focus of the play is modeling peer mediation and finding solutions to the problems through the use of four steps: telling the truth, listening, working on an agreement and sticking to the agreement. The puppets ask the audience to repeat the four steps as they act it out.

Hildabrand said that he can tell the play and its unique presentation reaches children, no matter their age.

“Younger children love everything, from scenery changes to the puppets," he said. "The older children tend to come in with the attitude that they are too old for puppets, but by the middle they are all singing along."

The play reinforces the fact that students at Ridgeway Elementary have a peaceful conflict resolution process in place.

“I have the children come talk to me and I act as a mediator," said Diane Berardo, guidance counselor at the school. "We all sit together and discuss the problem. We practice apologizing, telling the truth and communicating with each other peacefully."

“The students take turns, listen to each other and come up with ways to solve the problem,” Berardo said. “The students feel really good when they solve their problems together.”

Blue Sky Puppet Theater, which performs over 1000 puppet shows each year, is based in Maryland and has been in business since 1974. More information about the troupe is available online.