News & Announcements
IIRP President John W. Bailie, Ph.D., provides a brief overview of how restorative practices could provide a framework for responding to extermism.
A colleague recently recommended a great classic clip by John Cleese on the benefits of extremism. Please have a look…
As Mr. Cleese insightfully points out, the primary benefits of extremism consist of:
- Providing moral justification for otherwise immoral behavior
- The promise of easily obtained self-worth derived from simply adopting the “correct” ideological views
- Projecting blame for all of one’s fears, failures and/or insecurities onto an external threat (usually a group of people)
As the pendulum in U.S. schools continues to swing away from punitive discipline policies toward a more holistic approach to improving school climate, a host of presentations at the 23rd IIRP World Conference, Learning in the 21st Century: A Restorative Vision, will explore elements of this development.
Featured speaker Pamela Randall-Garner, Ed.D., Senior Staff Advisor for the Collaborating Districts Initiative of CASEL (Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning), will focus on several important aspects of these efforts in her presentation, “Building Supportive School Communities,” including social and emotional learning (SEL) for students and staff, equity for students of diverse backgrounds and the role of restorative practices to support those efforts.
Two candidates for the IIRP Graduate School Master of Science in Restorative Practices, Claire Sinclair and Melissa Ash, have been awarded the first Shawn Suzch Scholarship.
The IIRP faculty choose the scholarships recipients on the basis of their answers to these questions: How have you demonstrated persistence in the face of adversity? How are you applying what you’re learning to help make the world a better place? and How would a $1,000 scholarship help you in the pursuit of your studies?
For the past three weeks I’ve been co-teaching a course on conflict resolution at Teachers College, Columbia University. We are preparing some of the top teachers in the country to become top school administrators. Proficiency in giving constructive and effective feedback is a core interpersonal skill for anyone moving into a senior leadership position and a hot topic in my class at Columbia.
Management literature is replete with advice on how to better confront staff and encourage behavior change in employees. Even when you’re the one who sits in the big chair, giving critical feedback to others can be difficult and even intimidating. No one (ok, almost no one) enjoys causing others discomfort, even if it’s in their best interest.
Over the course of my life, I have been blessed with many excellent teachers and learning experiences. My marriage tops them all. Here are just a few things I’ve learned that have also impacted my relationships at work.
Restorative Works Year in Review 2025 (PDF)
All our donors are acknowledged annually in Restorative Works.