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Circle Forward: Building a Restorative School Community

Carolyn Boyes-Watson , Kay Pranis, Nancy Riestenberg (Foreword) & 2 more

Circle Forward is a resource guide designed to help teachers, administrators, students and parents incorporate the practice of Circles into the everyday life of the school community. This resource guide offers comprehensive step–by-step instructions for how to plan, facilitate, and implement the Circle for a variety of purposes within the school environment. It describes the basic process, essential elements and a step-by-step guide for how to organize, plan, and lead Circles. It also provides over one hundred specific lesson plans and ideas for the application of Circles in the following areas of school life: • Learning and establishing a Circle practice • Establishing and affirming community norms • Teaching and learning in Circle • Building connection and community • Promoting social-emotional skills • Facilitating important but difficult conversations • Working together as adults • Engaging parents and the wider community • Developing students as leaders in peer Circles • Using Circles for restorative discipline WHAT EDUCATORS ARE SAYING ABOUT CIRCLE FORWARD: “Seeing the announcement about the ebook version of Circle Forward prompts me to drop you a line to say what an outstandingly excellent book it is. I took it away on holiday with me, and have been working more closely with it over the past two days – and I am so hugely impressed by it. The theoretical discussion (especially in the Appendix) is brilliant, and the practical guidelines for employing circles for a wide array of issues are invaluable. It presents itself as a kind of cook book for delving into when needed, and that is how I am sure I will use it in the time ahead. But I am already recommending it widely. “Please convey my deep appreciation to Carolyn and Kay. They have produced a masterpiece.” —Professor Chris Marshall, The Diana Unwin Chair in Restorative Justice, School of Government, Victoria University of Wellington I am very grateful to Kay and Carolyn for their commitment to creating healthy communities for all young people, for their wisdom, and for their generosity. I cannot wait to share this wisdom with our schools—the teachers, administrators, students and their families, student support staff, educational assistants, volunteers, cooks, janitors, bus drivers, and school board members. This book is such a gift! — Nancy Riestenberg, author of Circle in the Square, School Climate Specialist, Minnesota Department of Education It takes skill to author a book that is both inspiring and practical. Kay and Carolyn provide a strong theoretical foundation for Circles and include extensive information about how teachers might utilize Circles in their schools and classrooms. The modules containing models for various types of Circles are extremely helpful and the appendix contains so many valuable resources. As a teacher educator looking to assist teachers as they develop both the knowledge and skills needed to effectively facilitate Circle processes, I am so excited about this book. — Kathy Evans, Assistant Professor of Education, Eastern Mennonite University, active in furthering Restorative Justice in Education (RJE), Harrisonburg, Virginia As a former schoolteacher and school administrator, I see this book adding positively to literature being written on this topic. You have given our teachers practical methods for using Circles in their classrooms and for creating an Ecosystem of Care in schools. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with our educators! — Robert Spicer, Restorative Justice Consultant and Community Activist: Restorative Strategies, Chicago, Illinois

Discipline that Restores: Strategies to Create Respect, Cooperation, and Responsibility in the Classroom

Ron Claassen, Roxanne Claassen

No education library should be without Discipline That Restores: Strategies to Create Respect, Cooperation, and Responsibility in the Classroom, a monumental effort to articulate a reproducible step-by-step process to increase cooperation and mutual respect in schools by coauthors Ron and Roxanne Claassen. Discipline That Restores (DTR) uniquely blends theory, strategies, and best practices of Conflict Resolution Education, Peacemaking, and Restorative Justice and is illustrated with a multitude of case studies to form an effective discipline system. Understanding the core issues of getting students to cooperate has never been so clear and concise. DTR supports the positive behavior of all students and is especially effective with those students who are most resistant to authority by involving them in processes that empower them to be responsible and accountable. DTR transforms discipline into learning experiences that decrease stress, improve effectiveness, and build relationships.

Making Things Right: Activities that Teach Restorative Justice, Conflict Resolution, Mediation, and Discipline That Restores

Includes 32 Detailed Lesson Plans with Prepared Projections and Handouts

Dr. Ron Claassen , Roxanne Harvin Claassen

Making Things Right is designed to be used in several ways: 1. To train students to become mediators and peacemakers in their classroom and at home and as peer mediators for their school. 2. To train students to understand and participate in a restorative justice/discipline structure in the classroom based on the book Discipline That Restores: Strategies to Create Respect, Cooperation, and Responsibility in the Classroom by Ron and Roxanne Claassen. 3. To train parents who want to understand and use a constructive conflict management strategy in their families. Making Things Right is divided into three sections. The first section consists of the lesson plans for each of thirty-two activities. The second section is called Projections and Handouts (larger print makes them easier to read when projected). The third section consists of the Student Folder Items. The time listed for each activity is an approximation and provided to help the teacher determine how they want to combine or use individual activities to fit their time frames. Making Things Right is designed to be used both for whole-class trainings in which lessons are taught on a daily basis spread over several days for one to two weeks, and for two-day student mediator training seminars. Our preference is to use the lessons with the entire class so all have the skills and strategies to be peaceful problem solvers. It is especially helpful for educating students about the theory, skills and strategies used in Discipline That Restores, also by Ron and Roxanne Claassen. Discipline That Restores gives teachers and administrators the knowledge and skills for implementing restorative justice discipline in the classroom and school. It is important for students to have as much knowledge of this structure and process as their teachers and school administrators so all are better able to constructively resolve conflicts together. Lessons are designed to help students learn and become equipped to understand and implement conflict and peacemaking theory, skills and strategies. Students will learn some theory and be encouraged to develop their own theories for why we are interested in learning about new strategies for problem solving, and they will participate in lessons that will teach a specific process to use for problem solving and peacemaking as individuals in relationship with others and as mediators. Making Things Right provides activities that build student understanding of the mediation process and gives students a chance to practice the process through roleplay. This training will enable students to develop practical skills that will help them respond constructively to conflicts in many areas of their own lives as well as help others. Punishment for misbehavior causes resentment to grow, and what appears as evil intent is a consequence of that resentment. Punishment damages relationship at least a little and sometimes a lot. We have discovered that the most effective way to respond to misbehavior is to gain the cooperation of each person involved – it is rare that misbehavior involves only one person –then to sit down with them and help them solve the problem. Responding this way transforms an otherwise destructive event into a teaching and learning situation for everyone involved and builds relationship. Personal experience has shown that students, kindergarten and above, can understand and respond constructively; students grade four and above can readily understand and use these concepts in their own interpersonal conflicts and as mediators. Roxanne used this curriculum for many years with her 8th grade students and with parents. Many have used this curriculum to train high school students. All teachers make some adaptations to best use it with their audience.

 

Restorative Circles in Schools: Building Community and Enhancing Learning

by Bob Costello, Joshua Wachtel Ted Wachte

Restorative Circles in Schools: Building Community and Enhancing Learning is a practical guide to the use of circles in schools and other settings, as well as an in-depth exploration of circle processes. The book includes numerous stories about the way circles have been used in many diverse situations, discussion on the use of proactive, responsive and staff circles, and an overview of restorative practices, with particular emphasis on its relationship to circle processes. Contents: 1. Two Stories 2. Restorative Practices Circles, Restorative Justice and the IIRP Social Discipline Window The Restorative Questions Restorative Practices Continuum Fair Process Psychology of Affect A Note About Ritual 3. Proactive Circles Why Circles? Getting Started with Circles Types of Circles Talking Pieces Check-in and Check-out Integrating Circles with Course Content Behavioral Expectations Games Other Proactive Circles Three More Points 4. Responsive Circles Something Happened in Class Singling Out Students Patterns of Behavior On the Bus The Baggage We Carry Dangerous Situations Deaths Why Do Circles Work? Reacting to Something Good That Happened Restorative Punishment? Formal Restorative Conferences 5. Staff Circles Using Circles to Learn About Circles Staff Meetings Using Circles Conflicts with Teachers Toxic Environments Schools with Residential Facilities Unintended Consequences Circles with Administrators Community Circles and Other Possibilities Afterword References Resources Join the IIRP’s Restorative Practices eForum About the IIRP About the Authors

 

Restorative Practices Handbook for Teachers, Disciplinarians and Administrators

Bob Costello

The Restorative Practices Handbook is a practical guide for educators interested in implementing restorative practices, an approach that proactively builds positive school communities while dramatically reducing discipline referrals, suspensions and expulsions. The handbook discusses the spectrum of restorative techniques, offers implementation guidelines, explains how and why the processes work, and relates real-world stories of restorative practices in action. Contents: Introduction New Thinking, New Practice, New Result; Chapter 1 Restorative Practices in the Classroom; Chapter 2 Restorative Practices and Discipline; Chapter 3 Leadership and School Change

 

The Little Book of Circle Processes : A New/Old Approach to Peacemaking

(The Little Books of Justice and Peacebuilding Series) (Little Books of Justice & Peacebuilding)

Kay Pranis

Our ancestors gathered around a fire in a circle, families gather around their kitchen tables in circles, and now we are gathering in circles as communities to solve problems. The practice draws on the ancient Native American tradition of a talking piece. Peacemaking Circles are used in neighborhoods to provide support for those harmed by crime and to decide sentences for those who commit crime, in schools to create positive classroom climates and resolve behavior problems, in the workplace to deal with conflict, and in social services to develop more organic support systems for people struggling to get their lives together.   A title in The Little Books of Justice and Peacebuilding Series.

 

The Little Book of Restorative Justice: Revised and Updated (Justice and Peacebuilding)

Howard Zehr

Howard Zehr is the father of Restorative Justice and is known worldwide for his pioneering work in transforming understandings of justice. Here he proposes workable principles and practices for making Restorative Justice possible in this revised and updated edition of his bestselling, seminal book on the movement. (The original edition has sold more than 110,000 copies.) Restorative Justice, with its emphasis on identifying the justice needs of everyone involved in a crime, is a worldwide movement of growing influence that is helping victims and communities heal, while holding criminals accountable for their actions. This is not soft-on-crime, feel-good philosophy, but rather a concrete effort to bring justice and healing to everyone involved in a crime. In The Little Book of Restorative Justice, Zehr first explores how restorative justice is different from criminal justice. Then, before letting those appealing observations drift out of reach into theoretical space, Zehr presents Restorative Justice practices. Zehr undertakes a massive and complex subject and puts it in graspable from, without reducing or trivializing it. This resource is also suitable for academic classes and workshops, for conferences and trainings, as well as for the layperson interested in understanding this innovative and influential movement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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