Source: (2006) Paper from “The Next Step: Developing Restorative Communities, Part 2,” the IIRP’s 8th International Conference on Conferencing, Circles and other Restorative Practices, October 18-20, 2006, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA.
Because I believe, like Wachtel and others, that restorative justice holds potential for
transforming educational environments, the purpose of my paper is to explore this gap in
understanding and perhaps come a step closer to finding an answer to ‘why’. In so doing,
there is a greater hope that restorative justice will become a way of life rather than a
model or a series of strategies that stay inside the classroom or courtroom. I will begin by
describing restorative justice principles and how they are being implemented in schools
through the broader emerging field of restorative practices. Then by examining the roots
of Zehr and Wachtel’s ideas I hope to identify among other things the worldview/view of
the person that has influenced the models they have developed. From here I ask a series
of critical questions that will lead into an exploration of my own ideas, illuminated by the
work of Freire (1970) and hooks (2003), as I attempt to answer the question “why is
restorative practice effective in educational institutions?†Though I do not expect to
uncover what has puzzled many for several decades, I do consider that my grappling is an
early step to further research I hope to carry out regarding the successful implementation
of restorative justice principles in elementary and high schools. (excerpt)
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