RESTORATIVE JUSTICE: An Effective Model for Discipline

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RESTORATIVE JUSTICE An Effective Model for
Discipline

• Doug Cochran-Roberts, M.A., LPC
• School Psychologist and Counselor
• Corvallis Primary School

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TODAY

• What is Restorative Justice (RJ)?
• How is it different from traditional disciplinary
  measures?
• Why take the time to use it?
• What does it look like in everyday situations?
• Examples of informal and formal practices

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What Do You Know About Restorative Justice?

• Share with your neighbor

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What Is Restorative Justice?

• Think relationships, not just the rule and the
  consequence

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Traditional Discipline

• The focus is on breaking a rule and receiving the
  consequence
• The consequence often has nothing to do with the
  effect on relationships
• The hope is that better behavior comes from the
  lesson learned because of the consequence

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Discipline With RESTORATIVE JUSTICE

• The purpose is to help the student understand the
  effect of their behavior on relationships
  (empathy)
• It provides a method of accountability and repair
  to those relationships
• It helps build the needed skills for better
  behavior

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Daniel Golemans EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

• Be aware of and manage difficult feelings
• Motivate one self
• Recognize the feelings of others and understand
  the effect of my behavior on others
• Get along with others

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Traditional vs. RJ

• Other students toys found at home
• Choice words for the teacher
• A class meeting is disrupted
• Throwing a chair across the room
• Two students chronic fighting on the playground

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Traditional vs. RJ

• Out of seat, noncompliance and fighting on the
  bus
• The second grade bully
• Stealing from the teachers desk
• Stealing from students cubbies
• Making faces at the teacher when her back is
  turned

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Motivation For Keeping the Rules and Behaving
Better

• Why is it different with the ones we care about?
• Driving the speed limit on Highway 93

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The Beginning Of Restorative Justice

• The Maori Tribe in New Zealand
• Group Conferencing in Australia
• (Introduction video)

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The History of Restorative Justice

• The process was copied from a tribe in New
  Zealand.
• It was used in the juvenile justice system as an
  alternative to the traditional court system.
• The family group conferencing process was
  developed.

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The History of Restorative Justice

• It was brought to US and used extensively in
  Minnesota
• Group conferencing was used in the schools
• The continuum of informal and formal restorative
  justice practices are being developed

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An Example of A Formal Restorative Justice
Practice

• Group Conferencing in a Secondary School Setting

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Restorative Justice A Paradigm Shift

• Traditional
• Offense is viewed as breaking a rule
• Punishment is effective in changing behavior
• Accountability is defined as taking punishment

• Restorative Justice
• Offense is viewed as affecting a relationship and
  community
• Punishment alone is not effective in changing
  behavior
• Accountability is defined as assuming
  responsibility by repairing the harming

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Restorative Justice A Paradigm Shift

• Traditional
• The victims are peripheral to the process
• The community is on the sideline

• Restorative Justice
• Victims are central in the process of resolving
  the offense
• The community acts as facilitator in restorative
  process

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Restorative Justice Think Relationships, Not
Just Consequences

• When there is wrongdoing, it is not just about
  providing the consequence (accountability to
  those affected)
• When there is wrongdoing, relationships are
  harmed and need to be restored
• Wrongdoing doesnt just break rules, it
  weakens and hurts relationships, the sense of
  order and feelings of being safe in a classroom,
  playground or school

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Restorative Justice Think Relationships, Not
Just Consequences

• The offender needs to
• hear how his behavior affected the victim
• repair the harm and be reintegrated
• The community order needs to be re-established

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Basics Of Restorative Justice

• It is built on a compassionate approach to
  wrongdoing
• The offender must admit his offense and be
  willing to hear how it affected another
• It is built on healthy shame through questions
  to the offender and the victim about the incident
• It leads to the reintegration of the offender

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Basics Of Restorative Justice

• It can involve the family and friends of the
  offender and the victim (group conferencing)
• It is based on the belief that wrong doing
  affects the community and needs to be addressed
  in community
• The victim is helped to feel better and have some
  resolution, which is viewed as an important as
  helping the offender

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The Three Elements of Restorative Justice

• Accountability (consequence)
• Community Protection (feelings of safeness)
• Competency Development (increasing skills in the
  offender to not offend again)

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When Working With The Offender

• Foster awareness of the feelings of others
• Avoid scolding and lecturing when scolded they
  defend and dont hear the feelings of others as
  well
• Actively involve the offender, rather than just
  sitting passively and acting like a victim

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When Working With The Offender

• Accept ambiguity when the fault is unclear
  encourage offender to take ownership of their
  part of the conflict and proceed
• Separate the deed from the doer often the
  offender didnt mean to harm or are surprised
  they did something like that
• See every instance of wrongdoing as an
  opportunity for learning

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The Continuum of RJ

• Restorative justice practices are on a continuum
  - from informal to formal
• Mild offenses need informal restorative practices
• Informal practices can be done on the spot
  through statements or questions or impromptu
  conferences
• Serious, chronic offenses require more formal,
  involved steps

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The RJ Continuum
Informal
Formal
Affective Statements
Affective Questions
Small impromptu conference
Formal conference
Large group
(A statement about feelings)
(A question about feelings)
(Restorative Justice questions)
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RJ Practice in A Small Group

• At an alternative school (video)

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Application Of Restorative Justice Practices

• Real Disciplinary Situations
• Comments/Questions

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Restorative Practices Continuum
Informal
Formal
Affective Statements
Affective Questions
Small impromptu conference
Formal conference
Large group
(A statement about feelings)
(A question about feelings)
(Restorative Justice questions)
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Affective Statements

• Jason, you really hurt by feelings when you
  acted like that. And it surprises me, because I
  dont think you want to hurt anyone on purpose.
• Nick, you make it hard for me to be the best
  teacher I can be when you are talking to your
  neighbor.
• Sally, I get scared when you stand on the monkey
  bars like that.

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Affective Statements

• William, you make it hard for Mrs. Hanson to
  serve luncheons when you argue about eating
  whats on your plate.
• Sam, you make it hard for your class to be first
  to get their lunch when you are turned around in
  line and talking with your friend.
• Your turn ?

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Affective Questions

• How do you think Mark felt when you said that?
• What do you think your friends feel about you
  when you cause them to miss out on extra time are
  recess?
• Would you be willing to tell Jimmy what it is
  like for you when he interrupted your
  presentation?

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Affective Questions

• How do you think Mandy felt when you laughed
  when she was reading?
• What do you think I felt when you didnt come
  in from the playground with the other kids?
• Your turn ?

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Restorative Justice Questions

• For the victim
• 1) What were you thinking when it happened?
• 2) How did you feel about it?
• 3) What does the offender need to do to help
  repair the harm?

• For the offender
• 1) What happened?
• 2) What were you thinking at the time?
• 3) Who did you think as been affected?
• 4) In what way did you affect them?

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Dougs Latest Version for Younger Kids

• For the offender
• What happened?
• What did you do that caused harm to others?
• How do you think they felt?
• What could repair the harm?

• For the victim
• What happened?
• How did you feel about it?
• 3) How could _____ help make things better for
  you and your group/class?

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Small Group Conference

• Impromptu or planned, the offender meets with
• a small group of classmates

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Examples of Small Group

• An office referral for throwing food in the
  cafeteria and a restorative practice before
  returning to the lunchroom
• A conference with librarian or P.E. teacher after
  disrupting the class before the next library
  time or participation in gym class
• A conference after a class meeting or before the
  next class meeting
• Your turn ?

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Larger Group

• A group of selected peers, teacher and parent
• During a class meeting
• A meeting with the other students on the bus
• Meeting with the community

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Examples of A More Formal Conference

• Meeting with the parents and the student who
  said, Im going to kill you and along with the
  parents of the two students who were the victims.
• Meeting with the parents, paraeducators and the
  student who was touching paraeducators in
  inappropriate areas
• A conference with a selected set of kids about
  defiance and disrespect to the teacher
• Class meeting when all the stolen toys were
  returned after the mother found them

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Formal RJ Questions and Process for An Office
Referral

• A serious offense or chronic disruption to the
  classroom

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Examples of Formal RJ

• Billy was identified as a bully by other second
  grade students and they were afraid of him. This
  was after an incident in which Billy got too
  rough when playing and was referred to the office
  for the second or third time.
• A number of students confessed to their talking
  too much when setting goals during a class
  meeting. However, their talking continued and
  many in the class were frustrated.

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Examples of Formal RJ

• Danny pushes Teresa while on the monkey bars to
  try to make her scared and she falls and splits
  her head open
• Jimmy gets mad and throws a chair across the
  room. No one gets hurts but it scared everyone,
  including the teacher
• Toys were taken from the class over a three week
  period until a parent calls the teacher saying
  she found them in her sons room

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Examples of Formal RJ

• Will got mad at his first grade teacher and
  called her a G-D bitch during calendar time
• Some items were stolen from a third grade
  teachers desk and the whole class got involved
  trying the find the items until a student found
  them in Saras cubbie. This was the third time.

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Examples of Formal RJ

• A 4th grade student was constantly making faces
  at his teacher without her knowing until a couple
  of students had the courage to tell the teacher
  and the counselor at a class meeting
• Ginger and Carla are chronic offenders on the
  bus. The bus driver had to stop the bus to deal
  with them.

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Examples of Formal RJ

• Bob and John are constantly arguing and pushing
  each other on the playground. Soccer games have
  been terminated a number to times because of
  their fighting. They have been referred to the
  office for disciplinary action a number of times.

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More Application Of RJ

• Other Disciplinary Situations
• Comments/Questions

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Building A System of RJ Practices

• Build the continuum to work with mild to serious
  offenses
• Train and model for teachers it doesnt come
  naturally
• Have a core group of educators to share the load

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Building A System Of RJ Practices

• Inform parents and get parent permission, if
  needed
• Increase the voice of the community through
  class meetings
• Provide encouragement and support to chronic
  offenders through class and peer support plans

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References (Theory)

• Braithwaite, J. (1989) Crime, Shame and
  Reintegration. Cambridge Cambridge University
  Press.
• Nathanson, D.L. (1992) Shame and Pride Affect,
  Sex and the Birth of the Self. New York Norton
  Company.
• Moore, D.B. (1997) Pride, shame and empathy in
  peer relations new theory and practice in
  education and juvenile justice. In K. Rigby and
  P. Slee (eds.), Childrens Peer Relations.
  London Routledge.

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References (Practical)

• Wachtel, T. (1997) Real Justice How We Can
  Revolutionize Our Response to Wrongdoing.
  Pipersville, PA The Pipers Press.
• Real Justice Training Manual (1.215.340.9922)

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Websites

• www.realjustice.org
• SaferSanerSchools, a program of the International
  Institute for Restorative Practices, Bethlehem,
  PA.www.safersanerschools.org
• Center for Restorative Justice Peacemaking,
  University of Minnesota, http//2ssw.che.umn.edu/r
  jp
• eforum_at_restorativepractices.org

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Websites

• The Centre for Restorative Justice, Simon Fraser
  University, www.sfu.ca/crj
• Restorative Justice, Australian Institute of
  Criminology www.aic.gov.au/rjustice

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Morning Goals

• Understand and apply the social discipline window
• Become acquainted with and start applying the
  paradigm shift from traditional discipline
  approach to a discipline approach with
  restorative justice
• Understand and apply the continuum of restorative
  justice practices

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TIME TO REFLECT

• What do I want to remember?
• What do I want to do with this information?