Hello Neighbors!
I recently signed up for a fall class in Newport and wanted to share to see if others were interested in joining. It meets Tuesday's from 5:30pm-8:30pm September12-December19. Carpools and brining dinner to class are encouraged :) For those parents with wee-ones, I'm happy to trade nights too, if childcare is something that is a factor. But about the class, I'm eager to learn and engage with an alternative justice system and how it can connect to our school systems. Could there be a different way to interact with one another that creates a fuller sense of community? I think moments of tension (of being wronged) are a raw and challenging place to start community building but maybe those moments also hold tremendous potential. It looks like it'll be a really discussion and interactive based class (thank goodness because 3 hours is a long time for me to sit in one spot...)
(Sterling students, you should check about credit! The teacher is a retired professor. Maybe it's too late for this, but maybe not!!)
Below is the course description and registration link. I'm happy to chat more about the course with anyone who has even the slightest curiosity. Also happy to chat if the fee is of concern.
Here's to continuing to grow!
~Krystal
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Course Description:
In order to make Restorative Justice work, we are going to have to step beyond many of the habits of our day.
This is no easy or routine task. If there is no judge, we may ask, no prosecution or defense, how are we to deal with law breaking? If misbehaving students are not to be suspended by the Assistant Principal, how are we to handle them?
The idea of doing away with professionals in most cases and instead handling misbehavior ourselves, in cooperation with those responsible for harm, all as members of the same community, seems far fetched at first.
Yet indigenous populations (Native Americans, Australian aborigines, etc.) have for centuries gotten along without jails. And restorative practices originating in their approaches are more and more proving themselves, today, in our own world as well.
This course offers both a theoretical and a practical introduction to restorative practices with an emphasis on preparation for actual service as volunteers on discipline and/or support circles in our own schools and community. Beyond readings, video presentations, and class discussion, it will follow the lead of other successful training models to rely heavily on "role play" exercises in helping students build the experience with Restorative Justice that will be required if we are to move beyond the grip of habit in thought and practice.
Nov 11, 2024, 5:45 to 6:15 PM
Table TennisNov 14, 2024, 6 to 8 PM
Wild Game DinnerNov 16, 2024, 5 PM