Restorative Justice - first try

"What is a restorative response to harm or conflict? Those affected are invited to share:

1. What has happened.

2. What the impact has been on those involved: i.e. who has been affected and in what ways they have been affected.

3. What needs to happen to put things right or to make things better in the future.

This framework is based on sound learning theory regarding how people relate to each other and how best to meet the different needs that can arise from conflict or harm. To facilitate such a process requires the ability to:

• establish a respectful rapport with people;

• listen and respond calmly, empathically and without interruption or judgment to all sides of an issue;

• inspire a sense of safety and trust;

• encourage people to express their thoughts, feelings and needs appropriately;

• appreciate the impact of people’s thoughts, feelings, beliefs and unmet needs on their behaviours;"

Information taken from http://www.educ.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/restorativeapproaches/RA-in-the-UK.pdf on Tuesday May 12th, 2015.

Today was my first go at restorative justice. I had a class that on the previous day, had a violent and emotional rollercoaster. Student A was the common factor in each of the 3 fights of the previous day, and he had openly admitted to feeling uneasy when he came to school

CONTEXT:

These 3 fights were fast, and explosive. Student A was a smaller, outspoken lad who would always get the best of the other boy verbally. Student B was a larger boy, both in height and size. His reactions were the reactions to spark a fight, but he was always the first to walk away from the physical interactions.

So yesterday, the Deputy Principal came down to the class, and spoke to the whole class. His method was simple, and powerful. The 8 boys sat quietly listening to every single word - it was a really cool interaction to witness and learn from. The Deputy Principal spoke to them all about the event, first asking what had happened and why. He spoke calmly, quietly and at a neutral tone. The boys told the truth - as it had aligned with my report back to the DP - and they seemed eager to discuss the events.

Student A had stormed home, and Student B had waited in class and cooled off. Student B was part of the restorative discussion and spoke openly about what had been said and done.

The DP listened and did not interupt once. He did however, probe deeper into the story that Student B was sharing and was slowly starting to bring the rest of the class into the discussion.

The DP asked the rest of the class things like,

"Student D, is that what happened?"

"Student F, did you feel safe when this was happening?"

"Student F, did you know what to do?"

The whole class were having a fully facilitated conversation, and it was almost like a councilling session for all involved. That was the end of the day.

MY SESSION:

The next day, I bought the events back up, and my Teacher Aid suggested that we remove the chairs from the classroom to emphasize that the behaviour - although resolved - was NOT acceptable. I thought this was a very good idea.

When I was discussing the events with the boys, I used a prop that naturally ignited the issue again. The prop was a book called "The Red Beast" and described anger as a beast that can flare up, take over, and slowly go back to sleep again. This was a really good tool, and by the time the book was finished, the boys were calm, and listening.

We had a small discussion about anger, how we can tell when it arrives, and how it makes others feel. Student B was in class, and again, contributed to the onversation with references back to the previous day without apparent embarassment or shame.

The other students shared their was to deal with their anger, and listened to one another respectfully.

I asked questions like:

"Student C, when Student A + B were fighting, what were you thinking in your head?"

"Student B, when you were angry yesterday, was it hard to think clearly?"

"Student D, what methods do you use for calming down?"

I also shared with them my own methods and examples of when I had been in a bad space and how trivial the triggers had been.

It was a nice discussion.

Overall, the session that I took with them was more of a reference to the day before, and a moving forward talk. The DP had hit the issue immediatly, and had spoken through the events at a more relevant time, touching on the points that are best discussed immediatly.

I enjoyed my effort, and am keen to get involed in more restorative procedures. I think this is definalty a good way to create relationships, and to learn more about people and their emotional needs.

#Pastoralcare #Criteria1