“Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change we seek.” —Barack Obama “All that you touch You Change. All that you … [Read more...]
The Conversation of Dissent in a Restorative Community
One of the most common challenges that organizations face when implementing Restorative Practices is what is perceived as resistance to the restorative approach. They ask questions such as “How do we increase staff buy-in?” and “What do we do with ‘negative’ people who are … [Read more...]
The Circle as an Assessment Tool
The notion of teachers using circles to improve pedagogy has been a frequent topic in my work lately. I believe some teachers have a difficult time conceptualizing the use of circles in the classroom. Far too many well-intentioned teachers seem to try to locate the practice … [Read more...]
Affective Statements and the Adultification of Black Girls in Schools
Every time I facilitate restorative practices trainings for schools, I almost always know where the pushback will begin. I am able to get through the Social Discipline Window and talk through the two paradigms (Punitive vs. Restorative) with little to no challenging. I … [Read more...]
How are the Children Doing?
“In youth we learn, in age we understand.” -Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach Over the summer, I had the pleasure of attending the Advanced Training of Champions’ seminar as an intern for Akoben. In my first encounter with this work, I participated in one of the communication … [Read more...]
