Restorative Justice

 



                                     Justice Served!

       Dawn Forgione



    The restorative justice room at my school was, for the most part, a mystery to me. I knew that it was a place for students who were either fighting or had gotten into trouble, but never gave it much thought beyond that. Eventually, my curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to find out really what was going on behind those closed doors. Turns out, a lot!

    Typically schools use outdated discipline models that focus on punitive measures that don't address the core of the problem. Detention and suspension are disciplinary consequences that are meant to deter a student from not repeating the infraction, however, suspension causes students to lose valuable learning time and detentions don't address the actual problem. (We Are Teachers)

    More and more schools are turning to restorative justice as a means of mediation and taking responsibility for one's actions rather than a punishment that is essentially meaningless and usually leads to repeated offenses. 

    See the model below, taken from We Are Teachers, of two schools. One in which punitive measures are used and the other, in restorative practices. The outcomes are remarkable. 



According to the Oakland Unified School District effective implementation of restorative justice takes a three-tier approach. 

Tier I: Prevention

    Tier I is based on prevention. Restorative circles include students and either teachers or facilitators and involve supporting one another, sharing feelings such as fears or aspirations, problem-solving, and creating a sense of inclusiveness and respect for one another. Together a contract is established with everyone's input so students take ownership of the rules they created, which in turn will make them more likely to follow. 

Tier II: Intervention

Tier II occurs when there has been an infraction or when someone has caused harm to another. In this case, there is a mediator who facilitates the discussion about what happened, encourages taking responsibility, and how to go about fixing or repairing the harm done. It is a judgment-free zone where there is no taking of sides.

Tier III:Reintegration

Tier III comes into play when a student has not attended school for a period of time either because of suspension or truancy. This tier helps the student reintegrate into school life by providing the necessary support while also encouraging accountability. Without this support, a student will most likely repeat the offense or become truant again. 




When compared to traditional punitive measures, restorative justice practices actually encourage students to take responsibility for their actions rather than denying them. They teach real-life skills, how to problem-solve, communicate in a productive way and promote empathy. They also limit the amount of time a student is removed from school either for suspension or expulsion and decrease the likelihood of further truancy. (We Are Teachers)

Use the following links to learn more about restorative justice and ways to implement it in your classroom or at your school!

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/restorative-justice-tips-for-schools-fania-davis

https://www.ousd.org/restorativejustice

Watch this video to see restorative justice in action!

https://youtu.be/RdKhcQrLD1w









 









Comments

  1. Andrew RyczekNovember 14, 2022 at 5:29 AM

    I really enjoyed this article as it touches many important points that I agree with. When thinking of suspension, especially at the higher levels of education students love missing school whether it’s just a play video games or do anything else that interests them other than school work and school itself. By Havana what is called in this case, “restorative justice“ it helps keep students in line and understand why they’re in trouble, but they don’t have to miss school. This is huge and I think every school should start putting this in place.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dana LawlorNovember 15, 2022 at 12:58 PM

    What an interesting article. This makes so much sense to increase school climate. Suspending kids for bad behavior but not addressing why the behavior happened and how to prevent it has never made any sense to me. Having an approach to help students become more self aware and spend less time out of school is a good step forward.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mary AtkesonNovember 28, 2022 at 5:40 PM

    This is really interesting to me because I work in lower school and so quite a bit different from upper school, but I think there are many things to take away. Restorative Justice sounds like a good idea especially when we have so many students who are still used to actually being back at school. It makes so much more sense to me that we would talk with students to figure out problems and deescalate situations rather than simply slap a punishment on them. These students, whether in lower, middle, or upper, are still children who are learning how to regulate themselves. We should be giving them opportunities to reflect and make up for behavior.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Maddi TurnerNovember 29, 2022 at 7:46 AM

    I know some schools offer Restorative Justice trainings, and my undergrad university offered it to education students too. I think it is really important that we work with our students and give them opportunities to grow through acts of service, social emotional learning, and peer mediation. Giving students such a harsh punishment where they are removed from school., only hurts them in the long run and doesn't do anything to actually help the child. I am happy to see that this is becoming more popular in schools. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AbbyNovember 30, 2022 at 2:36 PM

    This was so interesting as it was my first time hearing about Restorative Justice. It sounds like a great idea to implement as you are teaching and helping students learn how to problem solve instead of just punishment or rewards. It is very difficult for students to regulate their emotions and if given the opportunity to settle down and talk through their problems with guidance you do see changes in their behavior. What an interesting read!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kaitlyn LoganDecember 13, 2022 at 5:40 AM

    The school I student taught at used restorative justice. Everyday at the end of the day we did restorative circles where teachers and students (in homeroom) did a greeting, a share out, and a community building activity. The purpose being to teach students how to talk to each other and how to exist in a community. Detentions were very rare, and if they were given, they were lunch detentions. Students created behavior plans with a teacher after an incident occurred. This was a way for students to be included in the process. The system was still very new and had a lot of kinks that needed ironing out, but it was a great start!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Test Anxiety: What Are the Effects?

Image
 Test Anxiety: What Are the Effects? What Is Test Anxiety? "Test anxiety is actually a type of  performance anxiety  — a feeling someone might have in a situation where performance really counts or when the pressure's on to do well.  "   -Kathryn Hoffses Test anxiety, a lot of the time, is that nervous feeling people may get before a test. But more often than not that nervous feeling can escalate to the point where it interferes with performance. This typically happens because our bodies are releasing adrenaline . Read more about what test anxiety is here . Test anxiety is becoming more and more common in schools and a lot of time can have a lot of physical or emotional effects. This video from We Are Teachers   explains the facts of testing anxiety. What Are the Effects of Testing Anxiety? Emotional Effects: Stress Fear Helplessness Disappointment Mind going blank Racing thoughts Difficulty concentrating Fidgeting Physical Effects: Headaches Nausea Ra...
Read more

How Makerspaces Benefit Students

Image
                    What is a Makerspace? Makerspaces are rooms or open spaces where students are provided opportunities to use a wide variety of materials to explore and experiment. Teachers can teach STEAM lessons and projects that challenge students' thinking. Projects in a makerspace can be as simple as students using cardboard to build, but what's important is it encourages students to be creative, inventive, and think critically about their designs.   What are the benefits?  Growth Mindsets! Makerspaces are great for cultivating growth mindsets where students understand that failure is just part of the process of learning and growing. One school in D.C discusses how implementing makerspaces has brought "Joyful Learning" to their classrooms. It has also helped their student's social and emotional well-being as students are given the space to explore in a free and open-ended way with things they are curious about....
Read more

Teacher Burnout and the Great Resignation

Image
Teacher Burnout: More like Teacher Exploitation What is teacher burnout?  Teacher burnout is a psychological condition that leads to exhaustion, depersonalization, and decreased teacher achievement and self-worth due to the mounting pressures, responsibilities, and work, teachers are currently facing for the low-paying salary they have put up with for decades. “Although often portrayed as the capacity for individual resilience, burnout can also be the result of unusually demanding school environments that lack appropriate organizational supports or limits.” - Doris Santoro and Olga Acosta Price As a result… the profession is experiencing a “Great Resignation” and there are shortages across the nation that are extremely hard to fill.  Yet, the education system is evidently avoiding the extremely fast-approaching turnover cliff and has failed to do anything to prevent or alleviate the symptoms of teacher burnout.  What are the mounting pressures on teachers? Forced to work ...
Read more