Restorative Justice in Education with Nicholas Bradford

Restorative Justice is about accountability and making repairs. It’s about emotional intelligence and building relationships. It’s about investing in people with time and patience.

Listen in to this week’s podcast to learn more about Restorative Justice in Education including what it can look like, and how it can change a school’s disciplinary system to a system with redemption built-in.

To help you with some notes you may want to take while listening:

In this episode, Nicholas Bradford shares 4 questions that drive a restorative justice conversation:

1. What happened?
2. What was the thinking?/ What were you trying to accomplish?
3. Who was impacted and how?
4. How do we move forward?

He also shared 5 overarching principles of Restorative Justice:

1. Conflict Happens; let’s talk about it
2. Engage all stake holders
3. Empower the author and the victim
4. Value Empathy; Connection over shame
5. Develop Agency

Additionally, (although this is not the official layout of a Restorative Justice system) an RJ system typically includes:

• Preventative Work:
  • Relationship- building
  • Self- Reflection
  • Social and Emotional Intelligence
• Intervention Work:
  • Self-Reflection
  • Accountability
  • Recognizing Impact
  • Making it Right (if needed)

Learn more about Nicholas Bradford’s work at: https://www.nationalcenterforrestorativejustice.com/  https://www.linkedin.com/company/nationalcenterforrestorativejustice/