Download - Introduction to School Peacemaking Circles
Introduction to School
Peacemaking Circles
Lee Copenhagen, LCSWBARJ Project Trainer with the support of the Minnesota Department of Corrections and National Institute of Corrections
Overview of Circles (Pranis, 2005)
A Peacemaking circle is a way of bring people together in which: Everyone is respected Everyone gets a chance to talk w/o interruption Everyone is equal Spiritual and emotional aspects of individual
experience are welcomed
Overview (cont.)
Peacemaking Circles are useful when two or more people: need to make decisions together have a disagreement need to address an experience that resulted in
harm to someone want to work together as a team wish to celebrate wish to share difficulties want to learn from each other
What Are School Peacemaking Circles?
A Process for bringing students/teachers/staff together as equals to talk about the offense
Provides an atmosphere of respect & concern for everyone
Face-to-face encounter to repair harm Led by trained Circle Keepers Participants decide Circle outcome
What are Circles? (cont.)
Voluntary for victim Admission of responsibility by offender Incident-based, behavior-based Looks at underlying causes Focuses on empowering participants Comes to consensus agreement
Circles in Practice (Pranis , 2005)
Ceremony Guidelines Talking Piece Facilitator or Keeper Consensus Decision-Making
Old School Approach to Offenses:
Questions asked:
What laws/rules were broken?
Who did it?
What punishment do they deserve?
New guiding questions
1. Who has been hurt?
2. What are their needs?
3. Whose obligations are they?
4. What are the causes?
5. Who has a ‘stake’ in this?
6. What is the appropriate process to involve the stakeholders to put things right?
(Zehr, 2002).
Restorative discipline:
Recognizes the purpose of the misbehavior Addresses the needs of those harmed Works to put things right Aims to improve the future Seeks to heal Uses the collaborative process
Stutzman & Mullet, 2005).
Typical Stages of the Peacemaking Circle Process
Acceptance – community & affected parties determine if circle is
appropriate Preparation -
separate circles for various interests are held Gathering –
All parties brought together Follow-up –
Regular communication and check-ins
KEEPER
HUMANSERVICES
PROBATIONOFFICER
SUPPORTER
OFFENDER
KEEPER
FAMILYMEMBER
COMMUNITYMEMBER
SUPPORTER
VOM Peacemaking Circles
VICTIM
POLICE OFFICER
FAMILYMEMBER
COMMUNITYMEMBER
Where Circles Fit in Schools
Circle Opportunity
ISS OR IMMEDIATEL
Y
PRE- RETURN TO CLASS,
PROGRAM
CLASSROOM ROLEPLAYS,
TEACH RJ SKILLS
SUSPENSION
EXPULSION
RE-ENTRY TO DISTRICT
Applications for Schools
Managing classroom behavior Handling school discipline Repair teacher / student relationship
after theft of Ipad Repairing harms inflicted between students Providing space to begin talking about long
standing conflicts from middle school Face to face talking in time of social
networking & texting
New Applications for CA Schools
AB 1729 Chaptered September 12, 2012 Amends Ed Code 48900 about bullying Amends Ed Code 48900.5 adding specific
alternatives to suspension, including: Conferences Referrals to counselor, psychologist, social
worker CWA, and school support staff Participation in a restorative justice program Program for prosocial behavior or anger mgmt A positive behavior approach with interventions
Crime is a wound.
Justice should be healing.
Understanding the Participants
Victim / Offender
Mediation Circle
Umbreit (2000)
Restorative Circles Addresses Shared Interests
OffenderInterests
VictimInterests
SchoolCommunit
yInterests
Victim/Offender/School
Restorative Approach Questions (Zehr, 1990)
What is the harm?What needs to be done to repair the
harm?Who is responsible for this repair?
Stakeholder Identification Questions
Who was harmed? Who caused the harm? Who else may have a stake in the
process?
Understanding Victims: Four Major Impact Areas
PhysicalEmotionalPsychologicalFinancial
Victims’ Physical Responses
Physical shock, disorientation, numbness Physiological reaction to “fight or flight or
freeze” instinct: Adrenaline begins to pump Body relieves itself of excess materials Heart rate increases Hyperventilation, sweating, etc Heightened sensory perception Exhaustion
Needs of the Victim
SAFETY & SECURITY
VENT & VALIDATE
REMAIN NON-JUDGMENTAL
FOLLOW-UP
KEEPPROMISES
RETURNPHONE CALLS
PREDICT & PREPARE
PROBLEMS & PLANS
EMPOWER
TREAT WITH DIGNITY AND RESPECT
Helpful Responses
The problem is the problem
Support the victim
Reject stereotypes and myths
Appreciate natural and formal support systems
Actively collaborate
Examine your own attitudes, understanding and knowledge
Tolerate ambivalence, anger and roller coaster feelings
Allow victim to work through his or her own problems
Do offer support and information so victim can gain a sense of his or her own power
Be willing to deal with complicated and difficult cases
Be realistic in all aspects
Understanding Offenders:
What are your attitudes about adolescents & offenders?
Bazemore and Terry (1998) model suggests that the juvenile justice system has been dominated by two primary methods: Rehabilitative
treatment models and approaches Punitive
punish, control and contain
Restorative Goals
To help the offender change: What they think (content)
How they think (process)
How they behave (behavior)
Applying Restorative Theoryin Peacemaking Circles
Who are the offenders?
What might be the excuses they would use?
What should you be attentive to when preparing for the circle?
How might those who are related to the offender be affected?
School Community’s Role in Circles
Speak to how the community is affected
Hold the offender accountable
Support completion of agreements
Identify resources to contribute to agreements
School Community’s Role With Victims
Support themValidate their experienceHold offenders directly
accountable
School Community’s Role With Offenders
Support them by looking at the behavior, not the individual
Help them understand how their behavior affects their community
Establish community norms
Provide a means for reintegration
School Community’s Role With Itself
Circle process builds community competency and problem solving - brings community together
School community members share the responsibility for dealing with school climate issues
Role of the Circle Keepers
Minnesota Department of Corrections
and National Institute of Corrections
Dynamics of Difference
White middle class (mainstream) culture has been imposed upon minorities
Used to judge intelligence, mental health, beauty, appropriate communication
Mainstream values applied to others draw mainstream conclusions
Cultural Competence . . .
Is the ability to work effectively with people whose culture is different from your own
Requires understanding your own biases
Requires understanding the differences of the people with whom you interact
Taking Care of Yourself As a Keeper:
Being Centered enables you to focus through others’ pain, frustration, extreme feelings, and ability or inability to reach agreement
Roles of the Keepers Create an atmosphere of respect and safety
for all
Create a tone of hope and optimism for constructive solutions
Guide the process to remain true to underlying values
Articulate the progress and accomplishments of the circle as it proceeds
Clarify unresolved issues to focus the circle’s energy
Participate as a community member
Basic KeeperCommunication Skills
Eliminate distractions
Demonstrate active listening
Suspend judgement
Be empathetic
Try not to assume
Be aware and tolerant of differences in communication styles
Allow speakers to vent
Model and teach use of "I" statements
Be aware of your emotions and biases
Acknowledge the speaker's emotions as existing and legitimate
Body Language
Eye contact to all
Physically centered, sitting with body balanced, able to see everyone easily
Alert, but relaxed muscles
Use body and eye contact to direct speaker to talk to all
How to Give Feedback: Communication Checklist
The problem is the problem
Separate behavior from the person
Give suggestions of alternatives
Acknowledge skills well displayed
Be honest, but talk with the intention of helping to improve
Look to learn for yourself
Allowing Emotional Expression
Keep facial expressions neutral or supportive Pass tissues to teary participants Check in on all participants Use silence: count 10 after a strong emotional
expression If participant expresses anger inappropriately,
remind them of ground rules
Problematic Facilitation Techniques
Talking for participants Interrupting Low skilled communicators Dominating participants’ discussion Allowing participants to look at keeper
and talk only to keeper
Co-Keeping
More difficult to coordinate scheduling Increases safety Allows hearing or seeing things one
person would have missed Helps facilitate difficult or complex
sessions Enables shared feedback, viewpoints
More thoughts of the Roles of the Keepers
Be compassionate, sincere, respectful Listen! Let people vent their emotions Stay neutral (“equally partial”), while
disapproving of harm done Be a facilitator, not judge or negotiator Do not be directive
Don’t counsel participants Be aware of community resources Model and teach communication skills Be able to work independently Be willing to keep records Be able to do a very basic readiness check
Be willing to evaluate yourself and
co-keeper
Stages of the
Circle Process
Circle Processes (Pranis, 2005)
Stage 1: Determining Suitability
Are key parties willing to participate? Are trained facilitators available? Will the situation allow the time required to
use the Circle Process? Can physical and emotional safety be
maintained?
Stage 2 Preparation
Identify who needs to participate. Who has been impacted? Who has resources, skills, or knowledge that might be needed?
Familiarize parties with the process Begin exploring the context of the issue
Stage 3: Convening all parties
Indentify shared values and develop guidelines Engage storytelling to build relationships and
connections Share concerns and hopes Express feelings Probe underlying causes of conflict or harm Generate ideas for addressing harm or resolving
conflict Determine areas of consensus for action Develop agreement and clarify responsibilities
Stage 4: Follow-up
Assess progress on agreements. Are all parties fullfilling their obligations?
Probe for causes of any failure to fullfill n obligation, clarify responsibilites, and identify next steps if the failure continues
Adjust agreements as needed based on new information or developments
Celebrate successes
Guidelines for a restorative conversation
Safe and Peaceful Schools
( Winslade & Williams, 2012)
Establishing the Conversation
Who is effected by what happened?
Who has a stake in seeing things put right?
Identifying the problem
What happened? What part did you play? What can we call it?
(the problem is the problem) What drew you into the trouble
Mapping the effects
How did it get you to feel? What did it get you to do? What did it get you thinking? How did it affect the way you are
with each other? How have other people been
affected?
Addressing the harm
What do you think of the way that this incident has affected people? Are you happy with that? Was it fair?
To the victim: If this situation were to be put right, what would
you need? To the aggressor:
How could we make sure this doesn’t happen again?
Forming the plan
Who will do what? When and where? How will we know it is done?
Role Play
Next steps
References
Pranis, K. (2005) Circle processes: A new/old approach to peacemaking. Intercourse, PA: Good Books.
Pranis, K., Stuart, B.,& Wedge, M. (2003). Peacemaking circles: From crime to community. St Paul, MN: Living Justice Press.
Winslade, J & Williams, M. (2012) Safe and Peaceful schools: Addressing conflict and eliminating violence. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Zehr, H (1990). Changing lenses: A new focus for crime and justice. Scottsdale, PA: Herald Press.
Lee Copenhagen, MSW, LCSW, is a nationally certified
restorative justice trainer and practitioner who has conducted
trainings in victim offender dialog, circle keeping, mediation,
delinquency prevention, and restorative justice. Lee has been
working on high school campuses for over twenty-five years in
many different roles including juvenile investigator, youth
probation officer, social worker, youth gang researcher,
teacher, counselor, family therapist, and parent.
www.cojustice.org