Category Archives: teaching resource

Wise Words from Men to Men

Posted on by
Reply

Men Stopping Violence is a strong presence here in the Atlanta, GA, area.  They’re all about accountability and responsibility, and their programs draw on the higher instincts in men to end violence and abuse of women.  Chapter of MSV are all over the world.
[amazon_enhanced asin="0814740383" /]

Men Stopping Violence is not a “bumper sticker” organization.  They’re not about “lock ‘em up and throw away they key.”  They are not afraid to do the hard work of helping men of all ages look deep into themselves for their own reasons for committing violence against women.  It’s painful, courageous work.  It’s a lot harder than simply putting offenders in orange jumpsuits and warehousing them in jails.

Sometimes the first step to making peace is simply not committing violence.  Sometimes that first step is not so simple.  Training and peer support helps immensely.  It’s about creating a culture of care.

preventing domestic violence and violence againsst women through peer counseling and support

Men Stopping Violence worldwide offers training and counseling to prevent violence against women.

Men Stopping Violence worldwide is an indispensable resource in addressing the causes of violence, looking first within to the hidden justifications for the abuse and humiliating treatment of women.

“Bully” Helps Middle Schoolers Confront School Violence

Aside

 

Matthew Kuehlhorn

You might not think of a middle school counselor as a “seat-of-the-pants peacemaker.”  If your child is facing daily bullying, you might see him in a different light.  If your child is withdrawing from life, suddenly uncommunicative, maybe you think about talking to the school administration.  If you are lucky, you will find someone like Matthew Kuehlhorn.

Matthew Kuehlhorn is a Colorado middle school counselor who is passionate about helping create a community of care in schools.  He is exploring ways of implementing Restorative Justice methods in his workplace — your child’s school.  At my invitation, he submitted the following.  Recent postings in fairnessworks.p1r8.net have featured examples of programs which implement restorative, peacemaking methods.  Matthew’s efforts are a timely example of what an individual can do to help create peace.

Matthew is passionate about a graphic novel entitled, Bully.  I hope you will check this out and find ways to implement his peacemaking passions into your own local school.

Bully is an educational illustrated novel.

An illustrated novel

The book is designed to “Ignite the Voice Within” classroom, as he terms it.  Bully is an illustrated novel that teaches relationship building skills and introduces restorative justice practices and theory.

Bully is an amazing story where characters talk directly to middle school readers. The story is emotionally charged and very real for students in today’s classrooms.

After speaking with an educator who used this book in individual sessions, Matthew says, she remarked:

“I have had readers tell me that they have not finished a book in five years. They love this book and have a high interest in finishing it. The book offers great conversation topics which can affect student behavior in our school–for the better!”

Students report this book being like “real life” and the feedback has been amazing.

Bully is 130 pages, which are broken into five sections with “Ignite Now” lessons offered.  Lessons teach:  how to listen, how to tell our story so it gets heard, how to feel empathy, and the book concludes with introducing talking circles and restorative justice.

The book is authored by Teresa Milbrodt, a published short story author and Creative Writing Professor at Western State College of Colorado.  Compelling illustrations were created by Nathan Kubes, a freelance artist, also in Gunnison, CO.

What other people say about Bully:

“I had students, who had not finished a book in years, unable to put this book down.”
Middle School English Teacher

“This is like Real Life”
7th Grade Student

“I recommend this book for students, parents, teachers, counselors, administrators and those people interested in education.”
Dr. Tom Cavanagh

Dr. Tom Cavanagh

 

Dr. Cavanagh, whose current focus is on creating a “Culture of Care” in schools,  has published a review of Bully which can be viewed at:

http://restorativepracticesinschools.blogspot.com/2010/11/new-book-addresses-bullying.html

If you are a school teacher or counselor, and have ideas about reaching the potential peacemakers in your local community, please share your comments below.  I’d suggest this mental exercise:  what Google searches would your students’ parents enter to find help for their concerns troubled teens?

[amazon_carousel]

Restorative Justice Lesson: What a take on “an eye for an eye”!

Posted on by
2

If you click no other link today, please click on this one: on “Paintball Justice.”  You can download a pdf of the paper, if you feel especially geeky.  (Hint: feel geeky.)

Dr. Tom Cavanagh’s new blog merits a few moments of your time!  You may be familiar with “The Paintball Case,” but if you aren’t, you’re in store for an amazing example of how Restorative Justice can give an entirely new, 21st Century, application to the ancient Hebrew law of proportionality in retribution, “An eye for an eye.”

To many of us “post-moderns,” the retributive practice of lex talionis may seem simultaneously common sensical, fair, yet still barbaric.  When you consider the preceding historical practice went something like this —  an entire tribe must give it’ s life for an offense of any kind against one’s own tribe — lex talionis sounds awfully reasonable.

Dr. Tom’s blog  case of Paintball Justice shows the amazing outcomes that can emerge from an offender who, in a community of accountability and restorative justice, offers an amend that is far greater than any court might impose.  It’s a worthwhile lesson for the criminal justice system.

Please share your responses here by commenting on this posting.  If you find it helpful, tell Dr.  Cavanagh.  (Self-promotional note:  tell him you saw it on www. fairnessworks.p1r8.net.)  He may be reached at cavanagh.tom@gmail.com.

Spoiler alert.  Read the pdf before reading the following:

District Court Judge Fred McElrea, of Auckland, New Zealand, a pioneer in the application of restorative justice processes in the courts, made these comments about “The Paintball Case”:  “I think this a great case study – informative, educative and insightful.  What was most impressive was the boy’s offer to donate part of his eye if that would bring back her sight.  The second reaction I have is to marvel at the way in which restorative justice helps build community bonds that were not there before – for example, the common interest and empathy of the two families.  Lastly, it brings home how simple it really is to get these things going!  That is because this sort of process is second nature to most people, whereas the court process is an artificial, ritualized procedure that obscures people’s real feelings and desire for reconciliation.”

RJ Peacemakers: Time to Show Your Stuff

Posted on by
Reply

Kris Miner, exhibit coordinator of the conference, has released exhibit booth information for the upcoming 3rd National Conference on Restorative Justice, June 8-10 in Raleigh, NC. Deadline for receiving your signed contract and full payment is coming up soon:  May 14, 2011.

Conference information will be continuously updated on the event’s website.  Prospective exhibitors may call Kris directly at 715-425-1100, or email her at the St. Croix Valley Restorative Justice Program,  scvrjp@gmail.com.

“The …Conference…offers outreach and access to key decision makers and restorative justice leaders.  Hours have been reserved exclusively for the viewing of exhibits, giving your organization to networking opportunities.  The exhibit area will be a ‘display of goods’ relevant to Restorative Justice.

Attendees will be exploring the ways in which RJ practices and principles can may used to meet local needs, including those outside the justice system.

 

Four Tips from the Olweus Bullying Program

Posted on by
Reply

A teacher in the public schools of metropolitan Atlanta, GA, shares these four tips, drawn from the Olweus Bullying Program:

1.  I will not bully others;

2. I will help others who are being bullied;

3. If I am being bullied, I will tell an adult at school and an adult at home; and

4. I will not exclude others (many children do not realize that this is actually bullying).

[amazon_enhanced asin="0631192417" /]

“Bullying is a real problem in schools. I feel like I am in a perpetual state of conflict resolution,” the classroom teacher says.  ”I have noticed that by setting an expectation that our class is kind and considerate and modeling that behavior for them — that the students seem to want to be more kind. My students develop a protectiveness for each other — kind of like brothers and sisters take up for each other,” she adds.

“We also allow students to discuss situations regarding bullying without telling any names during the meetings. The program has shed light on the bullying at our school and has limited the stigma of “tattling” on other students. An Anonymous perception survey was given to students to determine how effective the program has been. The results indicated that students are feeling safer and that bullying incidents are declining at our school.

I have noticed that students are not as passive about the mistreatment of others as much as in the past. Hopefully, our students will carry these values with them throughout their school and adult life.

[amazon_enhanced asin="B002FVHSRU" /]

7 Steps to Stopping Violence in Relationships

Posted on by
2

A seven-step tutorial for people involved in relationship conflicts is available online, free of charge,  from the Conflict Resolution Information Source.   Intended for educators and instructors, the course was designed by the Division of Continuing Education and Professional Studies at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Tragically, it is common for relationship conflicts to escalate to the point where there is a real danger of violence.   In these circumstances, the first priority is to protect the parties from one another. Only then is it appropriate to work through the Stop Fighting tutorial . . .

The tutorial tells How to Stop Fighting through these seven steps:

  • Step #1: Limit the Escalation Spiral (Quit digging the hole deeper.)
  • Step #2: Overcoming the Hurt — Replacing Humiliation with Respect
  • Step #3: Break Down Misunderstandings — Communicate Well
  • Step #4: Fighting Fairly: Developing a System for Handling Disputes
  • Step #5: Effective Negotiation
  • Step #6: Deal Constructively with Irreconcilable Differences
  • Step #7: Keep Your Eye on the Ball: Remember What’s Important