Restorative Practices Handbook for Teachers, Disciplinarians and Administrators

by Bob Costello, Joshua Wachtel, Ted Wachtel

The Restorative Practices Handbook is a practical guide for educators interested in implementing restorative practices, an approach that proactively builds positive school communities while dramatically reducing discipline referrals, suspensions and expulsions. The handbook discusses the spectrum of restorative techniques, offers implementation guidelines, explains how and why the processes work, and relates real-world stories of restorative practices in action. Introduction New Thinking, New Practice, New Result; Chapter 1 Restorative Practices in the Classroom; Chapter 2 Restorative Practices and Discipline; Chapter 3 Leadership and School Change

Genres: Education, Nonfiction, Professional Development, Teaching

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[erxca · Rating 5 out of 5]

very useful, practical guide on how to facilitate conflict, build restorative practices and create a culture that doesn't shy away from the emotions that arise from conflict. applicable to any industry/group/organization, not just teaching. highly recommend for folks that want to re-frame their ideas on discipline, especially as a supervisor or leader.

[forthefamilyssake Hailey White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Required reading for the upcoming Charlotte Mason Institute retreat I’m headed too later this month. The first half of the book was good, but felt like became a bit repetitive and I lost interest. The main take away for me was the idea of circle time for diffusing problems and insight into what others have to contribute. Even though the book is intended for the education system, I think Corporate America would benefit immensely from these practices.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Required reading for the upcoming Charlotte Mason Conf. Very meaty. A book to read a little at a time to let you have time in between readings to think about...krb 6/12/18

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great ideas for most schools. It’s frustrating that every suggestion in the book magically worked first try. There’s only one page devoted to “when things go badly.” I would like more assistance for these tougher situations, as these are the students I work with daily.

[Adam Zingsheim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an essential text and a must-read for educators. In an educational system where academics and social-emotional learning are too often seen as competing priorities, The Restorative Practices Handbook reminds us of the importance of relationships in what we do. The concepts of doing "with" and not doing "to" or "for" transcend the classroom and have far-reaching implications in our relationships with others, as is the idea that decisions are best made and conflicts best resolved by those most directly involved with them.

While data show that punishment and exclusionary discipline are ineffective in leading to lasting positive behavioral change, we need to take more time to invest in alternatives. Restorative Practices offer a powerful alternative. This text does an excellent job of laying out a summary, a plea, and a roadmap for getting started. This includes the importance of building positive relationships, learning the impact of one's behavior to have empathy for those it has affected, learning how to model affective statements, moving beyond "I'm sorry," utilizing restorative circles, and practical leadership steps to lean into building more restorative systems.

While I've received training in circles and Restorative Practices, I had never before read this particular text. I appreciated that this book supports both beginners and more seasoned staff. I'm not an expert, but I'm not a beginner, either. I found this equally helpful as I would had I read this earlier on in my career. The ideas of high control and high support, the nine innate affects (as the basis of our emotions), and the compass of shame were immediately applicable in my work. The reminder of the importance of fair process in leadership was also powerful.

Restorative Practices have been referenced more frequently in alignment with core Positive Behavior Supports and Interventions (PBIS) work, Multi Leveled Systems of Support (MLSS) universals, culture and climate initiatives, alternatives to suspension and expulsion, and various culturally responsive teaching texts. The idea of building positive relationships, building empathy, and explicitly teaching and modeling effective problem-solving and communication skills are common threads in these areas. Owning one's relationship with others is another, avoiding excluding oneself from that important work while focusing on building that with students. I urge anyone looking for a resource to better themselves as educators, individuals, and leaders to consider this book.

[Shanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives specific strategies for implementing Restorative Practices in schools. The authors describe how RP can be implemented to resolve a variety of classroom discipline issues. All of the examples are from high school, so I am having trouble picturing how this would work with primary-aged children.

[Amy Lajiness · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read through this book after attending IIRP's two day Intro to Restorative Practices training. It is really easy to read and provides a lot of practical examples of how to implement a variety of restorative practices at a school site. Highly recommended!

[Jodi]

Another book from my retired teacher friend. This book was a good reminder to involve students who are misbehaving in discussing what is going on when they misbehave, how it might make others feel, and how they can do better.

[Chelsea Tarin]

What a great resource after an RP training. I began implementing RP in my classroom last week, and am looking forward to sharing what I’ve learned and what I am seeing in my classroom to my colleagues.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource for school administrators or anyone who deals with discipline and interpersonal conflict of children or adolescents. It's a great tool to use to reframe behavioral incidents and facilitate restorative conferences.

[David Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This handbook is a thought-provoking and useful guide to a change that is very welcome for schools. If we are lucky, it may help the culture at large to one day come to grips with a whole new way of addressing problematic behavior and fraying social ties.

[Jestine Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a physical copy of this book.

Being a restorative practices trainer, this was a great book to integrate into the training for the practices. Restorative practices are a great way to develop relationships in classrooms.

[Matt Sautman · Rating 3 out of 5]

As far as restorative justice books go, I found this one easier to put down. Some great ideas are here, but this works better as a reference to skim through as a refresher when working towards restorative goals than as an overall cover-to-cover read.

[Andrew Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read other books and taken other classes on Restorative Practices. This book is 80% of what you need to know

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Broad audience and nothing esoteric: Concise, both research and practice based, with explicit ideas, and suggestions of nuances.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise, easy-to-read explanation of how restorative practices work. This book gave me lots to think about in setting my classroom expectations for the upcoming school year.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very concise and practical resource of tools I can use to implement restorative practices into my own classroom. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and I'm glad it was recommended to me.

[Tabitha Vohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely helpful concepts.

I'm going to implement these into next year's classes and see what happens!

[Emma-Kate Schaake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential learning, basic book.

[Jacinto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want more PD like this. Concise, actionable and with no needless abbreviations!

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introduction to restorative practice in schools.

[Cordelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and engaging. A very useful book

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good read for educators. Really makes you think about things you say when talking to students.

[Laura Smith Ramsborg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, practical information on restorative practices, especially affective questions & statements and the compass of shame.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic Information on Restorative Justice and several case studies.

[Allie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this for a restorative practice training at work. It is really heavy on anecdotes and not hard evidence, but an easy read.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meaningful connections and building relationships!

[Michelle Deml · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is short, to the point, and useful.... I recommend it for anyone wanting to explore restorative practices for their school

[Liz Corbett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this first, reading Restorative Circles now. I like these ideas

[Daisy Galindo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very very very redundant