Restorative Practices Overview Chart
Trained and experienced adults could initially implement Circles with a higher degree of effectiveness than could untrained or newly trained students. So why student led? The answer to that question sets up many of the choices in this framework: because whomever is leading the Circles is growing their familiarity with and fluency with the tools needed to effectively lead Circles.
To effectively lead these Circles, the facilitator must repeatedly and effectively use a set of tools that are essential for success in life: self-regulation, metacognition, active listening, empathy, accountability, and responsibility. For example, children who are unable to self-regulate are also unlikely to grow up to be adults who can live the lives they want for themselves or that we want for them. Unfortunately, this is also true for students who can’t think reflectively, demonstrate empathy, can’t actively listen, take accountability or be responsible. Training students to lead Circles provides them not only the knowledge, but also the opportunity to hone their skill with these tools.
For these reasons, despite the challenge, a student led approach is worthy of the effort. The more students get adept at creating a sense of belonging through facilitating Community Circles, the more likely they are to be personally accountable for their actions and demonstrate a style of leadership that also takes on community responsibility. The more students get adept at creating a sense of connection through facilitating Mediation Circles, the more skilled they become at self-connection – the path to self-regulation – while having to demonstrate the tools of empathy, active listening, and metacognition. And the more students get adept at creating a space of reparation through facilitating Restorative Circles, the more skilled they become at all of the above – even through moments of intensity and adversity.
These are all tools that successful adults learn and that our students deserve. And many of our students will learn these tools and gain fluency with them outside of school. But many of them also won’t. Student Led Restorative Practices is a strategy for not only teaching these tools, but for also creating the context in which students can gain fluency with them by getting to practice them over and over and over.
A Student Led Approach To Restorative Practices Uses These Basic Practices | Those Practices Cultivate These Tools | Those Tools Enable These Restorative Practices | Those Practices Cultivate These Tools | Without These Tools Adults Rely On… |
Self Connection Practice | Self-Regulation | Community Circles | Belonging | Compliance instead of Belonging |
Awareness / Observe Breathing | ||||
Acknowledgement / Identify Feelings | ||||
Self Connection Practice | Metacognition | |||
Acknowledgement / Identify Needs | ||||
Aligned Action / Declare Commitment | ||||
Interpersonal Connection Practice | Active Listening | Mediation Circles | Connection | Authority instead of Connection |
Awareness / Observe Participant | ||||
Acknowledgement / Identify Feelings | ||||
Interpersonal Connection Practice | Empathy | |||
Acknowledgement / Identify Needs | ||||
Aligned Action / Declare Agreement | ||||
Awareness / Acknowledgement / Aligned Action | Accountability | Restorative Circles | Reparation | Punishment instead of Reparation |
Awareness | ||||
Acknowledgement | ||||
Awareness / Acknowledgement / Aligned Action | Responsibility | |||
Acknowledgement | ||||
Aligned Action |
This chart is from chapter 2 of, “Our Tools They Deserve.