Restorative Justice

1) I thought that the restorative practices were extremely successful for all three different scenarios in the videos. I was impressed with how much it reduced the aggressiveness in the school climate. The first video talked about changing the climate and attitudes. By having the children sit in circles they were able to build positive social cultural attitudes. Even the teacher admitted to reducing her aggressiveness. Students talked about being able to express their feelings and having other respect them. 2) I enjoyed how they viewed discipline behavior in a different context. In the second video they talk about dealing with issues based on a situation level rather than "these are the rules and this is the punishment" view. It taught children about what is appropriate in a social context and what isn't. 3) I was impressed to see how effectively these practices worked for all age groups. All the videos were different situations and age groups, however, these restorative practices seemed to be appropriate for all situations. People were focused on asking how they felt rather than what they heard or knew. At the end of the third video there was a moment of forgiveness and as a viewer I could tell that tensions were disseminating in the atmosphere. Questions I might have: !) How could I make this effectively work in a environment with young children who are still very egocentric? 2) As a leader of these restorative practices, what behaviors would I have to practice and model in order to make a circle successful about being open and responsive?