Restorative Practices for Educators
***new guidelines from government recommend shifting school policies away from zero tolerance towards initiatives such as restorative justice and peer mediation***Read the article from the Christian Science Monitor website.
What are Restorative Practices?
Restorative practices is a new field of study (which has grown from Restorative Justice) that has the potential to positively influence human behavior and strengthen civil society around the world.
The fundamental premise is: People are happier, more cooperative and productive, and more likely to make positive changes when those in positions of authority do things with them, rather than to them or for them. In a classroom, Restorative Practices can be used to address harm and conflict, but can also be applied pro-actively to deal with and prevent the seeds of conflict. Restorative Practices have demonstrated positive outcomes in schools. At West Philadelphia High School, this chart shows serious behavioral incidents by type in two school years, before and after implementing restorative practices: 
These findings are taken from:
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Jean Klasovsky a teacher from Chicago, talks about her Restorative Justice experiences with students in the classroom.
HOW do restorative Practices help teachers and students?
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