Fletcher Mediation Training:
From Small Claims Courts to International Negotiations

Natalie Parke, MALD 2008
 

Theory merged with practice for Fletcher School students who participated in a mediation training last fall at The Fletcher School. The group reconvened on Thursday, March 1, 2007 for a roundtable discussion and review of their experiences as emerging mediators. Lauren Gaum, MALD ’08, noted, "I saw the Mediation Practicum as a way to gain skills and experience that I can then transfer into the international arena. It was only after the training, however, that I discovered that the skills I learned would be valuable on a day-to-day basis in both my personal and professional life."

Gaum was among twenty Fletcher students who participated in the mediation training. Mediation Works Inc. (MWI), a Boston-based organization, led the 32-hour training during two full weekends at the beginning of the fall semester. Victoria Bennet, a coach with MWI, has helped lead in many trainings, and says she is always impressed by Fletcher students. "Fletcher students pick it up so fast," she explained, "By the time they arrive in court, they’re ready to hit the ground running."

The intensive training sessions, which involved lectures, discussions, role plays, and lots of coffee, prepared participants to mediate in Massachusetts small claims courts. An individually-initiated practicum followed the fall training; participants had the option of completing the practicum—two observations and two co-mediations—in order to become a trained mediator, in accordance with Massachusetts Law.

Participants found, however, that the utility of the skills they gained extended beyond Small Claims Court. Dr. Eileen Babbitt, Fletcher Professor of International Conflict Management Practice, was a founder of Fletcher’s partnership with MWI. She noted that mediation "is not just a skill you turn on and off. It becomes a way of living. You listen, speak and observe differently; it’s a whole shift of awareness. There are a million opportunities to use these skills, because they’re the skills of life."

Babbitt was a guest at the March 1 roundtable, and she discussed the ways in which students could put their mediation skills to use in their careers in international relations. The fast-growing field of Alternative Dispute Resolution means that students will find opportunities in many different settings, from environmental negotiations to Track I international negotiations.

David Hermann, MALD ’07, served as the Student Liaison between Fletcher and MWI. Having participated in the 2005 MWI training, he has continued to mediate regularly in Massachusetts Small Claims Courts. For him, the benefits of the training were not just personal: "In the end, it’s all about the people we’re serving. It’s such a privilege for me to go out there into the courts and make a difference in people’s lives and give something back to the local community."
 

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