Restorative justice: Journey to Belonging

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Restorative justice Journey to Belonging

• Brenda Morrison
• Center for Restorative Justice,
• Simon Fraser University

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Restorative justice A river

• It is good to have an end
• to journey towards,
• But it is the journey that matters
• in the end.
• Ursula Le Guin

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Status and School Violence(National Research
Council, 2003)

• One message that comes through loud and clear in
  the deadly school rampage cases is that
  adolescents are intensely concerned about their
  social standing in their school and among their
  peers. For some, their concern is so great that
  threats to their status are treated as threats to
  their very lives and status as something to be
  defended at all costs (p. 336)

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The Council recommends that

• Young people need some places where they feel
  valued and powerful and needed this is part of
  the journey from childhood to adulthood. .
  Holding spaces and pathways open for them may be
  an important way of preventing violence (p.
  336).

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Decline of Social Capital (Putnam)
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Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health

• Independent of race, ethnicity, family
  structure and poverty status, adolescents who are
  connected to their parents, to their families,
  and to their school community are healthier than
  those who are not

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Connectedness as a protective factor

• Violent behavior
• Emotional distress, suicidal ideation and
  attempt.
• Substance abuse (cigarettes, alcohol and
  marijuana)
• Early sexual activity

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Values to guide the journey (Sharpe, 2004)

• Inclusion
• Democracy
• Responsibility
• Reparation
• Safety
• Healing
• Reintegration

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individual
family
community
society
world
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Everyone has a piece of the truth

• Inclusive solutions are wise solutions. Their
  wisdom emerges from the integration of
  everybodys perspective and needs. These are
  solutions whose range and vision is expanded to
  take advantage of the truth held not only by the
  quick, the articulate, the most powerful and
  influential, but also of the truth held the
  slower thinkers, the shy, the disenfranchised and
  the weak (Kaner et al, 1996).

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Restorative Justice (Zehr, 2002)

• Who has been hurt?
• What do they need?
• Whose obligations and responsibilities are these?
• Who has a stake in this situation?
• What is the process that can involve the
  stakeholders in finding a solution?

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Restorative Justice Becoming Whole

• Restitution fix the mistake/repair the harm
• Resolution keep it from happening again
• Reconciliation healing begets healing

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Victims Positive Effects

• Restorative Justice (vs court)
• Apologies Increased (86 vs 16)
• Vengence Reduced (50 vs 9)
• Fear Reduced (up to 5X less)
• Post Traumatic Stress Reduced

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Safe Schools Pyramid of Practices
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Informal to Formal Restorative PracticesWachtel
and McCold (2001)

• Affective Statements
• Affective Questions
• Small Impromptu Conferences
• Large Group Circles
• Formal Conferences

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Jigsaw of Just Schools(Hopkins, 2004)

• Restorative enquiry
• Restorative discussion in challenging situations
• Mediation
• Victim/Offender Mediation
• Community Conference/Problem Solving Circles
• Restorative Conferences
• Family Group Conferences

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Multi-layered Conferencing ModelThorsborne
Vineguard (2004)

• Proactive Conferences
• (Teaching and Learning)
• Classroom Conferences
• Reactive Conferences
• (Responding to Wrongdoing)
• Individual conferences
• Small-group conferences
• Whole-class conferences
• Large-group conferences

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Integrated Social and Emotional Learning (Blood,
2004)

• Universal
• Develop social and emotional capacity through
  enhancing accountability, responsibility,
  cooperation and personal potency.
• Targeted
• Corridor conferencing, mediation, problem solving
  circles
• Intensive
• Restorative conferencing

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The Massey Way - Synergize

• Massey High School (New Zealand)
• Restorative Chat (in classrooms)
• Restorative Thinking Program (for classroom
  referrals)
• Class Conferences (when whole class is being
  affected by conflict)
• Mini Conference (in-school conference)
• Full Monty (Family/Community conference)

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Building the Skill Base Start Early

• Pre-school InterventionTalk-it-over-chairs
• Talk through problems in the classroom
• Develop listening skills
• Identify and recognize emotions
• Take responsibility for behavior
• They are for saying, Sorry, like for messing
  up a project or pushing someone. You have to
  figure out how to be kind

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Developing the skill base

• Primary-school Interventions
• Active Listening Skills
• Conflict Resolution Skills
• Social and Emotional Skills
• Decision Making Skills (short/long term)
• Peace Education

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Deepen the skill base

• High School Initiatives
• Psycho-drama (City at Peace)
• Integrated curriculum that explores diversity and
  conflict through the arts
• Compassionate Listening Project
• Truth and Reconciliation Projects
• Human Rights Project
• Booster shots

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Building Bridges Affirming partnerships

• Mackillop Model of Restorative Practice
• Students At home when I had a fight with my
  sister it really helped
• Teachers Ive become a better listener. I
  have discovered bigger issues behind the
  behaviours
• Parents Restorative practice has changed my
  life

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Building Bridges Affirming partnerships

• ROCA Creating places where change can happen
• A place where young people thrive and lead change
  
• A place where newcomer families can gather and
  find support
• A place that asks hard questions about violence,
  race, schools, community involvement and
  leadership
• A place where peace is promoted in our community
  and in our country
• A place where police, clergy, school
  administrators and elected officials train
  together in Peacemaking Circles
• A place of safety and celebration
• A place where young people learn and practice
  leadership skills
• http//www.rocainc.org

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Building and Affirming your Vision Safe School
Communities

• Villanova College Vincit Veritus -Truth Conquers
• Building and nurturing of community life
• Respect, understanding, relationships
• Partnership between students, teachers and
  parents
• A search for truth within oneself and others
• A shared approach to decision-making reflecting
  the collaborative and traditions of the Augustine
  Order
• Life-long learning

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School Connection The active ingredient

• Social and emotional development and the
  recognition of the relational nature of learning
  and change are the fundamentals of human
  learning, work and accomplishment. Until this is
  given proper emphasis, we cannot expect to see
  progress in making schools safer, drug-free, with
  fewer students who dont care and want to
  drop-out, or with better tolerance of people who
  are different. (Elias Weissberg, 2000, p. 264)

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Social and emotional learning

• SEL is fundamental to childrens social and
  emotional development, health, and mental
  well-being, ethical development, citizenship,
  motivation to achieve, and academic learning
  (Weissberg, 2004)
• Statement to U.S. Senate
• Committee on Health, Education, Labor and
  Pensions

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Universal Human Rights

• Where, after all, do universal human rights
  begin? In small places, close to home so close
  and so small that they can not be seen on any map
  of the world. Yet they are the world of the
  individual person the neighborhood he lives in
  the school or college he attends the factory,
  farm or office where he works. Such are the
  places where every man, woman and child seek
  equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity
  without discrimination. Unless these rights have
  meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere.
  Without concerted citizen action to uphold them
  close to home, we shall look in vain for progress
  in the larger world.
• Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 1962)

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Story telling, listening empowerment

• Storytelling is fundamental for healthy social
  relationships. To feel connected and respected
  we need to tell our own stories and have others
  listen. For others to feel respected and
  connected to us, they need to tell their stories
  and have us listen. Having others listen to your
  story is a function of power in our culture. The
  more power you have, the more people will listen
  respectfully to your story. Consequently,
  listening to someones story is a way of
  empowering them, of validating their intrinsic
  worth as a human being.
• Kay Pranis (1998)

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School District of Philadelphia

• The School District of Philadelphia School
  Reform Commission Declaration of Education. The
  academic achievement of all students in the
  School District of Philadelphia must improve. We
  believe all children can reach their learning
  potential and that the achievement gap can be
  eliminated. The School Reform Commission is
  responsible for that improvement and is obligated
  to prepare, ensure, and empower all students of
  diverse backgrounds to achieve their full
  intellectual and social potential in order to
  become lifelong learners and productive members
  of society. The Commission commits itself to
  raising student achievement through District-wide
  reforms and restructuring measures. We have done
  much but we have a long way to go. As a
  significant step on the continuing journey, the
  SRC issues this "Declaration of Beliefs and
  Visions.
• 1.We believe all children can learn at high
  levels. The School District of Philadelphia has
  the responsibility to provide the quality of
  education and a safe environment that allows
  every child to learn at high levels.
• 2.We believe all children can reach their
  learning potential and that the achievement gap
  can be eliminated.
• 3.We believe schools have an enormous impact on
  children's lives.
• 4.We believe the School District of Philadelphia
  can become a high performing organization.
  Sustainable reforms are possible only if parents
  have meaningful choices.
• 5.We believe that all children should be educated
  in a safe and orderly environment.
• Success is the only option.