News & Announcements
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This piece, titled "Restorative practices at home: A method used in some schools seems a useful tool in mommy’s toolbox," by Aimee Lewis Strain appeared July 3, 2012 in the San Carlos Patch. Strain began wondering about restorative practices when she read an article about its application in San Francisco schools. Here, in this creative column, she talks about how she attempted to resolve a conflict with her 7-year-old son not with a conventional punishment but rather with a conversation modeled on what she'd been reading. Strain gave us permission to re-post the entire piece here on the Restorative Practices Blog.
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Here's the text of IIRP President Ted Wachtel's latest blog at Huffington Post.
The bullying by middle school students of Karen Klein, a school bus monitor in upstate New York, captured on video and viewed by millions online, sends a distressing message about the state of civility in our society.
Since the video of the incident "went viral," news reports say that Ms. Klein has received an outpouring of support, including contributions of hundreds of thousands of dollars to send her on a "dream vacation." At the other end of the spectrum, the boys and their families have reportedly received death threats. In response, some of the boys and their parents issued letters of apology to Ms. Klein.
Our hearts go out to the poor abused woman, and we decry the boys' atrocious behavior. This deplorable incident, however, presents an ideal opportunity for learning and healing. A much more complete and meaningful resolution for all parties could be achieved by means of a process known as a "restorative conference." A structured meeting run by a trained facilitator, the conference would bring together everyone affected by the incident: Ms. Klein, her friends and family, the boys, their family members, other children who witnessed the incident, to talk about what happened, how everyone has been affected and how to repair the harm.
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photo by Dru Bloomfield / Flickr Creative CommonsThe Harvard Business Review in its June 2012 issue published an article called "Leadership Is a Conversation" by Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind. They start by saying the old "command-and-control" model of business administration has given way to other models.
They write:
"Smart leaders today, we have found, engage with employees in a way that resembles an ordinary person-to-person conversation more than it does a series of commands from on high. Furthermore, they initiate practices and foster cultural norms that instill a conversational sensibility throughout their organizations. Chief among the benefits of this approach is that it allows a large or growing company to function like a small one. By talking with employees, rather than simply issuing orders, leaders can retain or recapture some of the qualities—operational flexibility, high levels of employee engagement, tight strategic alignment—that enable start-ups to outperform better-established rivals."
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Henry's Story - Facing the Music
Photo from RJC
As I waited for Rachel to arrive I was absolutely terrified. I knew what would happen but it was terrifying doing it – actually facing her. She was the one I stole from. It went right to my guts. I knew then that this just wasn’t me – I had to change. I think back on that day and it gives me the attitude that I need to never go back to how I was before.
At 14 I moved schools and it was soon after that when a friendpressured me into trying ketamin for the first time. It became my addiction. I left school with 1 GCSE. I left my family to live with a friend in a caravan. I thought I was alright because I was next to my drugs, I could get them easily and that was what I cared about.
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Martin Wright Speaking at the European Forum Conference for Restorative Justice Upon Receiving the AwardThe Restorative Justice Council reports (note the link below for a free download of Wright's "Toward a Restorative Society"):
In recognition of his outstanding contribution to restorative justice, Martin Wright, was presented the European Restorative Justice Award by the European Forum for Restorative Justice.
Dr Wright is a founding member of the Restorative Justice Council, seminal restorative justice author and practicing restorative justice facilitator.
A leading penal reformer in the UK Martin Wright is a former Director of the Howard League for Penal Reform and Policy Officer at Victim Support. His academic titles include Librarian of the Cambridge Institute of Criminology, Senior Research Fellow, De Montfort University, Leceister and Honorary Fellow of the Institute for Conflict Resolution, Bulgaria.
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Dignity in Schools posted this piece by Derek Slaughter, a high school student from Baltimore, Maryland who is involved in a national student movement to draft a Student's Bill of Rights. This strikes me as a significant move by youth to establish their own rights. I found some information about this movement here. Slaughter here argues for explicit mention of the "right to restorative justice" in this prospective "bill of rights."
Justice for All
By Derek Slaughter
Throughout my educational career, I have heard my peers say that things aren’t fair or that they have been unjustly punished in schools. Administration being overzealous to implement extreme disciplinary action is a common theme in schools throughout the country, which I have observed in my travels. For this reason the National Student Bill of Rights movement believes in installing restorative justice systems in communities and schools.
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Photo by Paul Sableman, Flick Creative Commons
On May 9, 2012 a piece titled, "Jovenes Unidos Win Landmark Discipline Reform" was posted on the group's web site. It details a new law passed in Colorado which seems to do away with "zero tolerance" policy in schools – where children are summarily suspended or expelled for certain offenses.
Late Wednesday evening, the Colorado General Assembly passed Senate Bill 46 - the safe schools through smart discipline bill - as an amendment to the Colorado School Finance Act. The passage of SB 46 bill represents a landmark victory for the State of Colorado and Padres & Jóvenes Unidos, whose members have organized for over two years for a legislative solution to end zero-tolerance policies and racial disparities in school discipline practices.
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This morning the RJC has sent an email "asking all our members to support our call to Government to enact restorative justice legislation" by Friday, June 22, 2012 (TODAY), and to take advantage of this "opportunity to make restorative justice available to all victims of crime."
The email states:
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Reporting from the American Humane Conference on Family Group Decision Making this morning, Ted Wachtel writes:
Nigel Richardson gave an excellent opening keynote that relied on the critical themes of restorative practices for helping children in the two cities where he has served as director of Children's Services: Hull and Leeds, UK.
The title of his keynote was "Only Connect...Transforming Life Chances — How Serious Are We?"
He began with the quote from E. M. Forster's book, Howards End: "Live in fragments no longer. Only connect."
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From the Oakland LocalThe Oakland Local has this thorough piece, "Oakland leads ways as restorative justice techniques enter education mainstream". It begins:
Jacob Mathis was a classic underachiever and troubled child.
The 15 year old’s grade point average was just 0.77 and by his own accord, he had “extreme anger problems” stemming from his relationship with his stepdad. His emotional turmoil often spilled over into school and affected his conduct in the classroom. After an incident in which he was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and making criminal threats, he was sentenced to probation.
Mathis’ life changed for the better after his probation officer recommended he enroll in a summer program at East Oakland teen and young adult center Youth Uprising - it utilized restorative justice, a community-focused, therapeutic process that addresses youth violence by helping perpetrators understand the roots of their anger and grasp how they have done others harm.
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