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Restorative Justice

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Restorative Justice is focused on the belief that those affected by harm can work together to repair it and that this collaboration leads to true accountability. In 2000, the Ontario Ministry of Education introduced the Safe Schools Act (Bill 81), designed to increase respect and responsibility and to set standards for safe learning and safe teaching in schools‖ (p.1 of the Act). Educators and administrators responded to this legislation in a variety of ways. Some schools emphasized mandatory consequences for student actions as outlined in the Act; others focused on progressive discipline; and still others introduced preventative measures such as anti-bullying, conflict resolution and community-building programs (Safe Schools Action Team, 2006). …show more content…
Both of these models are facilitated by a trained mediator and bring together affected parties to develop an appropriate response to the conflict. These programs teach students how to peacefully resolve conflict, hash out misunderstandings, and prevent further conflict. Peer mediation involves trained student mediators who assist their peers in settling disputes. Students are trained (by the paid staff person in their area) in mediation strategies and apply restorative problem-solving techniques. Mediation can help keep many minor incidents from escalating into more serious incidents. More importantly, peer mediation gives students a set of skills that can be applied to future …show more content…
Schools have the difficult job of educating, inspiring, supporting, and disciplining their students. This job gets increasingly more difficult given limited resources, fears of violence, competing priorities, and higher testing expectations, all with what seems to be increasingly smaller budgets. In addition, young people may face multiple pressures and responsibilities, such as teen parenthood, mental health issues, poverty, lack of adult role models and negative peer influence. Schools may be resistant to moving from a more punitive to restorative response to conflict and misbehavior, as the system we know (however ineffective it may prove to be) is always easier than the one we do not know. Restorative responses may be seen as ineffective or too lenient on students who continually break the rules, or try to take advantage of the system. Restorative practices are, in practice, much harder for students because they are held accountable for their actions and must think about, address, and take action to repair the harm they have caused. Restorative programs take more time than the traditional disciplinary actions of suspension and expulsion. While the initial time investment may be substantial, restorative practices can ultimately save time by preventing or diffusing problems early. In the long run, all of the above-mentioned risks are worth it - given the potential outcomes we could see in our

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