Teachers

Many teachers have had good experiences with the implementation of restorative practices in their classrooms. These resources both discuss such experiences and provide insights for including restorative principles and values into the classroom.

Restorative Justice in schools, further reading resources!

from Kris Miner's post in Restorative Justice and Circles: The newest item published for school based restorative justice: http://www.acschoolhealth.org/Docs/Restorative-Justice-Paper.pdf I would also recommend:

Intertwined: Community conflict management in the school

from the website of Forsee Research Group: The 27 minute film created within the programme targets secondary school students essentially, with the most important aim of supporting the responsiveness to alternative dispute resolution (ADR) with audiovisual tools. The above is realised primarily through the demonstration of the fundamental principles of ADR in educational situations, moreover, the film also cites a non-violent resolution of a specific in-school case, presenting the steps, methods and tools applied in the process. We intend to make the audience think and reflect on their own conflict resolution practices: to re-enforce their positive practices and to face ‘violent’ dispute resolution routines either applied or sustained by them. The film is presented by trained moderator pairs in the frame of a film and discussion workshop, through a pre-defined theme.

Judge Irene Sullivan on learning a lesson in restorative justice from teenagers

from her entry on Juvenile Justice Information Exchange: In mid-May I traveled from my home in Florida to Evanston Township High School, just north of Chicago, to meet with students, school social workers and law enforcement officials. My intention was to talk to them about my nine years of service as a juvenile judge and the stories of the kids in court I wrote about in my book, Raised by the Courts: One Judge’s Insight into Juvenile Justice. Boy, was I in for a surprise! Instead of talking I was listening. Instead of teaching I was learning. Instead of being the center of attention, I was one person in a circle of 12. Instead of sharing my experiences with others, I listened while others shared some very personal and painful experiences with me. Instead of talking about guilt or innocence, crime and punishment, I found myself focused on the word “harm:” identifying the harm, acknowledging the harm and repairing the harm.

The restorative approach in Nova Scotia: A partnership of government, communities and schools

from the article by Mary Shafer and Laura Mirsky on IIRP.org: ....There is now a significant interest across Nova Scotia to bring the restorative approach to schools. Said Pat Gorham, director of crime prevention for the Nova Scotia Department of Justice, “Our provincial government is trying to find out what the capacity might be for RJ in Nova Scotia, identifying frameworks that might be put into place for schools that want to participate. The work has largely been from the community up. All pilot programs are at the local level, with individual school administrators opting to commit to a restorative approach, supported by regional RJ agencies.” The Tri-County Restorative Justice agency exemplifies this integration; it handles diversion of police-referred youth, and it founded Bringing Restorative Justice into Schools, the first project to develop a program using restorative approaches within schools in Nova Scotia. This program trains students throughout the province as RJ facilitators.

Campbelltown Primary School's justice for all sees grades rise and behaviour improve

from Amy Noonan's article in Adelaide Now: Deputy principal Graeme Shugg said the effect of restorative practices at Campbelltown was immediate. "Teachers reported change within two weeks in their classes," he said. "We empower kids to question and take responsibility for what they've done and repair the harm and allow the victim to have a say. The bottom line is, the people involved in the problem are the best people to solve the problem." Suspensions dropped from 86 in 2003 to just 33 last year. In 2003, students were sent to the principal for discipline 683 times. Last year there were 76 referrals to the office.

Bully

from Tom Cavanagh's blog Restorative Justice, Culture of Care in Schools, and Restorative Practices in Schools: This book contributes to the existing literature in the fields of restorative justice, bullying, and school violence by presenting what might be called case studies regarding a female student and male student who are harmed by bullying. These case studies or stories focus not only on those harmed by bullying but also those causing the harm, as well as onlookers, educators (particularly teachers and counselors), administrators, and members of the affected community.

Creating rules or creating values, the difference in a restorative classroom

from Kris Miner's post on Restorative Justice and Circles: ....Rules can be what student do when the teacher is watching. Values are ways of behaving, knowing what we should be doing, versus behaving in a way we want to, or even have to. You’ve got to put the motivation for behavior on the INSIDE. You need a shared concept of community in a classroom. INSIDE that little community is shared concepts of treating each other. INSIDE those little people in the class, you instill the values for behavior.

Restorative justice in schools

a Teachers.tv presentation of RSA lectures: A group of experts look at restorative justice, a practice which brings together the victims and the perpetrators of conflict in order to find an agreed resolution.

Equity leaders learn how to take restorative justice beyond the circle

from Rob Faulkner's article on Media@HWDSB: When the term “restorative justice” is used in education circles, many educators will think of, well, circles. The best-known tool associated with the RJ approach is likely the blame-free, multi-party conversation in the round that lets the person who caused harm and the person harmed find a solution. But it’s certainly not the only way to use RJ.

Restorative justice workshop report

 

My Classroom's Journey with Restorative Practices

From the 7 January 2010 Restorative Practices E-Forum by Deanna L. Webb: When I graduated from college with a degree in special education, I was prepared to offer students specially designed instruction, program modifications and a variety of teaching techniques to match their individual learning styles, as well as tools and techniques they could use to be successful with academics. What I was not prepared for, however, was the need to fill in the blanks in their lives that were not a part of the typical academic school environment. This became especially evident when I began teaching in the emotional support setting. My students all lacked a sense of community, and consequently they also lacked a sense of accountability. During my first few years as a teacher in this setting, I struggled to connect with students and to keep them engaged in the school environment. Some students did very well, but I was unable to reach others. The tools I acquired in IIRP classes and then used in my classroom allowed me to build community and teach accountability and respect to a very challenging population of students.

Dignity in Schools Campaign releasing national resolution for ending school pushout

from the Restorative Practices eForum: Over 180 organizations from across the country, including the International Institute for Restorative Practices, have signed on to support the Dignity in Schools Campaign National Resolution for Ending School Pushout, a call to action for our school systems to end harsh discipline policies and law enforcement tactics that push too many young people out of school each year. The resolution calls for schools to implement positive alternatives that protect the human rights of young people and keep students in school, including "evidence-based discipline policies and practices, such as Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) and restorative practices.”

Implementing restorative justice: A guide for schools

Recently, the Illinois Criminal Justice Authority released the guide Implementing Restorative Justice: A guide for Schools as part of a series of resources created to help with the statewide implementation of restorative justice for working with young offenders.

Angela's tears - A presentation on the São Paulo RJ projects in Rio de Janeiro

From the post at the Restorative Circles Blog Yesterday was the first formal presentation of the São Paulo RJ project, 'Justiça e educação', to the justice and education communities in Rio de Janeiro. Most of those who have made these projects possible - in São Caetano do Sul, in Guarulhos, in Heliopolis, in Campinas and elsewhere - spoke, and even though the city was under the second day of torrential rain and it was the friday before a holiday weekend, there wasn't a free seat and many stood until the end.

A handful of school resources, addressing harm in schools, restoratively

from Kris Miner's entry on Restorative Justice and Circles: Using Restorative Justice or Restorative Practices in schools is a great way to address and prevent harm. There are many great programs and initiatives supporting our students. For today’s post, I’m gathering a few of the ones I’m aware of and the ones that I’ve found support or supply a lot of crossover with Restorative Justice.

New graphic novel on restorative practices in school

From Matt K.'s entry in Life Skoolz: Bully is Life Skoolz’s first graphic novel. The book is designed to teach relationship building skills and restorative practice rituals to Middle School aged children. It will be complete later this month and available for purchase by the middle of September.

Cowie, Helen and Myers, Carrie Anne and Hutson, Nicola and Myers, Carrie Anne and Jennifer, Dawn and Hutson, Nicola. Taking Stock of Violence in U.K. Schools: Risk, Regulation, and Responsibility.

This article documents the important issues of school violence and bullying in the United Kingdom. The authors provide examples of effective interventions for preventing violence and describe some methods, grounded in a restorative and emotional intelligence framework, that have been successfully adopted in U.K. schools. The authors conclude that if violence is to be addressed, a whole school approach embedded in the wider community is required. (authors' abstract)

Wachtel, Joshua and Costello, Bob and Wachtel, Ted. The Restorative Practices Handbook for Teachers, Disciplinarians and Administrators.

The Restorative Practices Handbook is a practical guide for educators interested in implementing restorative practices, an approach that proactively builds positive school communities while dramatically reducing discipline referrals, suspensions and expulsions. The handbook discusses the spectrum of restorative techniques, offers implementation guidelines, explains how and why the processes work, and relates real-world stories of restorative practices in action. (publisher's description)

. Peer mediation in primary school.

PowerPoint presentation from a workshop giving an overview of the use of peer mediation in primary schools.

Claassen, Ron. An Introduction to 'Discipline that Restores'

Ron Claassen describes a restorative disciplinary program used in a school in California. The program, "Discipline that Restores" (DTR), was developed by Ron Claassen and his wife, Roxanne, to apply restorative justice principles in a school setting. A teacher in the school, Roxanne uses the program in her class of eighth graders, and they provide training for other teachers in the school. In this paper, Ron Claassen explains the principles of "Discipline that Restores," sketches a model he developed to illustrate four options for handling conflict, and recounts how another teacher uses a modification of victim-offender reconciliation to deal with conflicts between students and teachers.