Gentle Teaching

Gentle Teaching, based on the writing and work of John J. McGee, is a nonviolent and non-aversive concept for caregiving that works to create feelings of safety and love in the context of a community of true companionship and interdependence.

McGee's work has been most often applied in settings where caregivers work with persons with mental illness, developmental disabilities, illnesses associated with aging, and in the criminal justice system. However, its implications are profound for general family life and human relationships as well.

Gentle Teaching Sites

Gentle Teaching International
The official home of Gentle Teaching International. Includes articles, stories, persons and organizations involved in Gentle Teaching, music and video clips, and even John McGee's latest books, Mending Broken Hearts, and Feeling at Home Is Where the Heart Must Be, published on the web in MS Word or Adobe Acrobat format, and available free for the downloading!

Gentle Teaching
This is the home page of a nonviolent approach for helping children and adults with special needs. It is maintained by the Foundation for Gentle Teaching in the Netherlands, but this section is entirely in English. It includes sections on Basic Values, Quality of Life, Sensory Integration (an important topic!), Defining the quality of life-profile, Psychology of Interdependence, and a Personal Teaching Plan.

Short summary of Gentle Teaching
A summary statement on Gentle Teaching incorporated into an overall philosophy of caring for persons with special needs, courtesy of Avenue II Community Program Services, Inc. a nonprofit organization based in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

Globe Star
"Mentoring a Spirit of Gentleness for Individuals with Disabilities" is the sub-title to this new site whose vision is to go beyond just Gentle Teaching to promoting a high "Quality of Life" for all persons.

Sites on Related Issues

Teaching Peace
A Not For Profit Agency dedicated to fostering attitudes, skills, and opportunities for living peacefully with self, others, and the earth.

Peace & Justice Support Network
A Mennonite Church USA resource containing a number of resources for families and churches on living a lifestyle of peace.

The Mandt System®
The Mandt System® is a systematic training program to help persons de-escalate when they or others they are working with have lost control. Developed by David Mandt & Associates of Richardson, Texas, the training presents non-violent alternatives when working with persons who may have a tendency toward violence due to cognitive disabilities, mental illness, abuse, or other factors.