Marla Marbley, Knoxville Center for Student Success (KCSS) and Emily Walls, Trewyn Therapeutic Center, recently underwent training in restorative practice.
Thank you for the opportunity to attend this conference. This conference taught its participants the logic behind the work we as justice advocates do on a daily basis and the practices required to implement restorative care. The aim of this training is to "Develop community and manage conflict and tension by repairing harm and restoring relationship.”
On day one we learned about self-care, setting norms and the Discipline Window. The Discipline Window implies that people are at their best when people of authority do things with them.
On day two we explored Fair Process, the Psychology of Affect, the Compass of Shame and Restorative Circles.
Fair Practice involves engagement (voice), Explanation ( understanding), and Expectations (decisions). It is the theory that people will buy in if the process is fair.
The Psychology of Affect spoke to how your words should be used to heal and not to destroy.
The compass of shame taught that there are basically four places' people retreat when shamed. Harm to self, others, withdrawal or avoidance.
Restorative circles come in four types: proactive before an issue has occurred; responsive after an incident has occurred; listening when one person has been harmed and fishbowl which is used to gather information for a particular issue. They can be run sequential with everyone having a voice, non-sequential with one speaking only if they desire.
On the third day, we put our lessons to use by practicing and facilitating the different circle types.
I leave this training with a desire to learn more and a better understanding of how necessary these practices are for restorative justice, corporate America and personal recovery.
Marla Marbley
Overall, this training taught me the importance of building trust and creating supportive spaces for interaction between staff, students, peers, coworkers, families, offenders, and those harmed by offenders to interact with each other to promote strong interpersonal relationships and build safe, nurturing communities.
Participants are provided meaningful opportunities to be accountable for their actions and restored back into the community.
The training introduced Restorative Circles and its use in the classroom to promote a healthy learning environment in which students take responsibility for their actions. Circles in the classroom promote inclusion and allow students to hear and learn that others have similar issues, and they are not alone.
Conflict circles help resolve issues among those in conflict, whether school related, within families or non-related individuals.
Fishbowl circles allow those who are struggling in a certain area of work or life to receive suggestions and advice from others to develop solutions for their problems.
Listening Circles provide support and a willingness to hear other thoughts and feelings about a topic without direct feedback or criticism. This allows everyone a chance to be heard so that others know where each one stands on a topic, but respect and support is still given. Restorative Practices can be used in schools, work, homes, sports, mentoring groups, etc... and it should be used intentionally.
Building trust and developing relationships are necessary for the development of safe communities. Using restorative practices encourages accountability, forgiveness, rehabilitation, inclusion, peace, and respect. All of these practices promote healthy relationships and ultimately safer, more nurturing communities.
Emily Walls
