When the term “restorative justice” is used in education circles, many educators will think of, well, circles. The best-known tool associated with the RJ approach is likely the blame-free, multi-party conversation in the round that lets the person who caused harm and the person harmed find a solution.
But it’s certainly not the only way to use RJ.
Unlike traditional a punishment model, restorative justice deals with harm by focussing on the restoration of relationships. It includes the community in making decisions about how to move forward. It diminishes conflict, increases communication and has low recidivism rates, proponents say.
And beyond the circle, those at yesterday’s RJ workshop – facilitated by Tanja Roglic, a special assignment teacher for Safe Schools – spent a full day covering the basics of restorative justice, with plenty of role play and discussion about its use in schools.
They practiced asking open questions to improve dialogue; they ran scenarios to highlight the importance of perception, and how the same facts can lead to different perspectives; they heard how creating a history of wrongdoing may delay a solution.
The approach, the presenters noted, does not replace Safe Schools legislation, which has a firm list of offenses for which suspension may or must be pursued. But as a student returns, RJ can help to restore their relationships with affected parties.