Mail Tribune News - School kids learn to check violence

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School kids learn to check violence Children in all 14 elementary schools in Medford are learning alternatives to violence this week, thanks to SAVE Day and materials donated by the Jackson County Medical Alliance. SAVE Day (Stop America's Violence Everywhere) has been observed on the second Wednesday of October since its inception in 1995. The day gives elementary schoolteachers and child development specialists a chance to focus on conflict resolution through role-playing, coloring books, puppet shows and mural painting. The Medical Alliance has donated 1,300 "I Can Choose" coloring books for SAVE Day -- enough for each second-grader in the district, said Meredeth Weber, alliance president. "We feel this is a health-care issue," Weber said. "Violence is preventable, but it is an epidemic." The "I Can Choose" book teaches children they have several choices in responding to anger or violence -- from verbalizing their displeasure to enlisting help from an adult. Mail Tribune Copyright �  The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA