PROMPT: In teaching and in life, people sometimes face difficult situations about whether to intervene in a conflict between people, such as students or other teachers. Concerns about how one will be perceived, fear of personal danger, or sometimes even ambiguity about whether it is better to let the parties resolve the conflict themselves all can make the decision about whether to intervene a challenging one. In an essay to be read by an audience of educated adults, describe a situation in which you faced such a decision about whether to intervene, and explain how you handled the situation.
I have always believed in peace and justice. I guess my faith was tested on that faithful day I saw this crying boy on the corner of my street. His clothes were stained with dirt, and his eyes were red and filled with tears. I was moved with pity as I approached this slim and gangly boy. He explained how he is being chastised by two bullies in school. His small body stature has made him a target for these two bullies - James and John. He found it difficult to walk freely in school without being scared. I was moved with pity; I hugged him and decided to help him fight off these bullies. With those assurances, he cleaned up his tears and told me that his name was Jeff.
As I lay down on my bed listening to some cool music with my iPhone, I was lost in thought about Jeff's unfortunate predicament. The first thing that was whispered into my ears was, "Find another route for Jeff; it will help him avoid those bullies, especially on his way back from school." "Oh, that is a good idea," I said to myself. The next day, I met Jeff on my way to the classroom and explained another route he could follow on his way back from school. This will help him to avoid these bullies since they mostly follow the same route after school. He agreed with my suggestion and followed the alternative route. To my greatest surprise, they still found him since they were already familiar with most streets within the neighborhood. I felt worried and eager to help him.
What else can I do to help this boy? I asked myself. I needed to go back to the drawing board and re-strategize. I remember my old days of karate training when I was one of the best karate students. I decided to teach him karate to enable him to fight off these bullies. The following day, we met, and I started showing him all the karate moves he needed to defend himself. He practiced with me for two days, and I believed he was good. After school the next day, I saw Jeff sitting at the corner of the street with black eyes and dirty clothes. It was then I realized that two days of karate training was not enough for him to defend himself from these two bullies. Despite all these failures, I still assured him of my full support, and he can always count on me.
Having exhausted all my strategies, I made up my mind to fight for him. On Monday morning, as I went to school, I realized that Jeff had started avoiding people including me. Of course, I know the reason: the poor boy has gone through a lot at the hands of James and John. This increased my desire to help this poor boy. After school, I saw Jeff encircled by these two bullies; I shouted, "If you have to beat him, then you have to go through me first!" They were shocked; of course, I looked bigger than them, and I was ready to defend Jeff with every strength in me. The boys immediately retreated and left Jeff alone. From that day, Jeff became my best friend. Since the bullies always saw us together, they never bullied him again. He became a happy and free boy in school.
In conclusion, I have learned to assist in conflict resolution, though it sometimes comes with some negative consequences, like personal danger. But the joy I derive after the resolution of such conflict is immense
Holt Educational Consultant - / 14,835 
4783 Okay, your eventual solution was violence. That has no place in these peace loving times. Threatening to beat up the bullies is a show of strength, not protection for the bullied. Your approach was to bully the bullies. That is not conflict resolution. Conflict resolution requires the use of meetings, presentation of solutions, and an amicable resolution that did not require any form of threats of violence, or worsening the situation for another party. You will not get a very good grade with this presentation. It shows that your mindset is not peaceful. It shows that you are willing to use violence if it will help you achieve your end result. That is not how conflict resolution works.
