On Teaching Mediation

In this article, I will delineate the issues and explore the implications of resolving them in different ways. Part I develops a taxonomy of variations in models of mediation. In Part II, I analyze choices and constraints in course design. In Part III, I specify the choices I have made in structuring my own course in mediation.

I will relate those choices to the context of my school, to my students' backgrounds and interests, and to my competencies and goals. The initial version of this paper was written for my students to read as they entered my course. Pedagogically, the text oriented them to the course and gave them an overview of its content. Just as importantly, the paper (together with the court syllabus) disclosed to the students the "treatment" I proposed to administer to them at a time they could still enroll in other courses if they should chose to do so.

In Part IV, I will address mediation teachers' professional responsibilities; there is an ideology of professional service that informs my approach to these matters that I hope to make explicit.