COVER STORY - "Restorative justice"
By Tracey Edstein.
Imagine you are attending a school reunion 25 years after graduation. Conversation inevitably turns to the pranks you were involved in, when you were caught and when you got away with it (or thought you did). Sooner or later, there will be a ‘how hard done by were we?’ session with colourful tales of harsh punishment, strict discipline and a teacher who frightened everyone. At least some of those participating in the conversation will have happily sent their children to similar (if not the same) schools because they want them to be educated with ‘discipline’.

Now, fast forward to 2029. Your son or daughter is attending a class reunion. Stories are being recounted to friends. Will they derive perverse pleasure from the hardships they survived OR will they recall ‘talking circles’ to encourage openness and honesty, teachers who promoted good relationships, maybe even beyond schooldays, and the 3 Rs of Relationships, Responsibility and Relevance?

They might, if they attended St Peter’s Campus, All Saints College or San Clemente High School Mayfield. These schools have introduced Restorative Justice as part of a pilot programme in the diocese supported by Marist Youth Care’s Lyn Harrison, educational psychologist and Restorative Justice Co-ordinator Maurizio Vespa, and Br Tony Leon, director of Champagnat House.

In addition, St Francis Xavier’s College Hamilton and St Pius X High School Adamstown have chosen to begin introducing restorative practices. In recent months, the staff of each school has attended a professional development course, followed by further opportunities for executive staff.

In 2005, thanks to funding from the national Safe Schools Project, two more schools will move in a similar direction using the Real Justice model pioneered by Terry O’Connell. Many Australians became aware of Terry’s work through the ABC documentary Facing the Demons (1990).

Restorative Practices in the school setting mirror, to some extent, the Restorative Conferencing with perpetrators and victims of crime which has received publicity in recent years. The principles of inclusivity, flexibility, problem solving, empowerment, vision and optimism apply in both settings. In addition, the terms that recur have a very ‘gospel’ flavour - relationships, healing, forgiveness and reparation, growth - that is surely appropriate in Catholic schools.

Restorative measures help students to learn from their mistakes, reconcile and resolve problems with others. As Tony Kelly, principal of San Clemente, explained, “At the very heart of this work is the belief that students can be a wonderful resource to school communities. When they have had a falling out with their peers or have made errors in judgement, students can rebuild and repair the damage to their relationships. The students who are trained become a key link to an adult in the school. They can also build and provide opportunities for disengaged students in schools to feel connected and able to talk to an older student in their school community.”

Restorative measures can effectively address a wide variety of harm done in school settings including truancy, bullying, alcohol and other drug use, harassment and other cases. Schools are currently doing many things that are restorative in nature from simple methods of how to communicate with an individual or groups to detailed programmes and community collaborations.

So how does all this work on a day to day basis? When there is significant conflict between students or teacher and student/s, a range of strategies is available. The simplest of these is to ask affective questions. It is important that the language used here and in succeeding strategies is non-confrontational and offers options rather than ultimata.

The circle provides a simple structure for a group of people and a facilitator to deal with a problem. The essential premise is that only one person speaks at a time. Through guided talking and listening, members of the circle increase their understanding of an issue and collaboratively attempt to find a way forward.

If necessary, a restorative meeting which follows a prescribed structure takes place. An important part of the procedure is a consideration of the strengths of the person who has acted inappropriately and the striking of an agreed positive plan as a way forward.

A final strategy is the restorative conference which can involve as many as twenty stakeholders and is managed by a facilitator external to the school. Again, an agreed ‘way forward’ plan on which all participants ‘sign off’ is critical.

Respected adolescent psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg says that young people “need a benign dictatorship, somebody who will set limits and boundaries” and Restorative Justice aims to do just that.

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