RESPONSIBILITY. FORGIVENESS.

The ability to see the wrongdoing from every angle is essential to the process, making restorative justice another example of how we ask our students to understand events from multiple perspectives. In addition, Shady Hill’s emphasis on building a strong, trusting community aids our restorative justice approach. The powerful communal bond we build in our classrooms can withstand occasional ruptures, and the trust we build makes repairing differences easier. Grade V Gradehead Tracy Eisenberg gave an example of trust building in the classroom, “At the beginning of the year, we spend a significant amount of time getting to know our students as individuals; not just as learners, but as human beings.” This caring foundation helps form the scaffolding necessary for the parties to respect and trust one another enough to be vulnerable in a restorative justice setting.

Restorative justice is not just a process that can be used in schools, it can be used in situations involving two adults, two children, or in a group. It helps resolve conflict in a positive way, while encouraging people to develop rational skills to understand a situation, follow a process, and resolve it. “These are skills that students and adults can use for the rest of their lives,” said Tracy. “The outcome can be very moving when the students take ownership, acknowledge harm, and graciously accept apologies.”