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Weekly Tribes 2014 – Restorative Practice

Tribes and Restorative Practice – What a Great Fit!

A feature article in the upcoming Reaching All by Creating Tribes Learning Communities book reprint, ‘restorative practice’ means to believe that decisions are best made and conflicts are best resolved by those most directly involved in them.  The restorative practices movement seeks to develop good relationships and restore a sense of community in a disconnected world.”  Pg 7, Costello, Wachtel and Wachtel. The Restorative Practices Handbook for Teachers, Disciplinarians and Administrators: Building a culture of community in schools.  2009.

You can read the article here: http://tribes.com/about/tribes-and-restorative-practice/

You can get the Restorative Practices handbook here: http://store.iirp.edu/the-restorative-practices-handbook-for-teachers-disciplinarians-and-administrators/

Last week, in an 8th grade class, I used the Tribes agreements, a community circle and a restorative agenda.  Proactive, productive, influential, and appreciative are words that come to mind to describe what happened.  A non-attentive, uninterested, and unjust group of students transformed before my (and their) eyes; everyone wanted a more respectful and peaceful classroom and a good list of 10 ways to achieve it (all personal statements of ‘I will’) were formed and recorded.

The teacher will follow through with beginning each day with a ‘check-in’ about feelings and goals, and a ‘check-out’ statement summarizing what went well, what was learned, etc.

For more information on Restorative Practice visit www.iirp.edu

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