Video Review: An Introduction to Restorative Practices at Endeavour High School

The video is a wonderful story of how restorative justice can work
effectively in settings where the people are willing to commit to it.
The story is mostly told via interviews with the students, teachers,
and administrators. All of them speak about what they see as positive
about the programs, although most of the focus is on how it has helped
the students.

A mother and a daughter in particular relate how they
think her behavior has improved. When the daughter also talks about an
inner sense of calm being present in her that was not there before, it
serves as a strong example of how restorative justice effectively done
can create inner transformation.

Another student describes the circle policy that the teachers use in their classrooms as giving
her a place where she feels safe and comfortable expressing her
feelings. The air of confidence pervading her manner seems a far cry
from the sense of sullenness or cynicism that one might expect a teen
attending a so-called troubled school to have.

Although short, only 18 minutes, this introductory is hopeful and uplifting as the
students acknowledge the good restorative justice has done
in their lives and the hopes they have about implementing what they
have learned in the future.

“An Introduction to Restorative Practices at Endeavour High School” is available from the International Institute of Restorative Practices for $30.