In 2003, I attended training on restorative justice in education. The training was conducted in Minnesota through a grant. I fell in love with the process of using restorative justice Circles in the classroom. I first began using Circles in my advisory group at an alternative high school in 2003. We conducted Circle by using a Talking Piece, a rock that had been gifted to me by a friend from the reservation. When one of us held the Talking Piece it was our turn to speak, when we didn't hold the Talking Piece it was our turn to listen. At first, my students were hesitant. We started out with easy questions to answer about our weekends, our hobbies, and our favorite foods or movies. As students began feeling more comfortable, I used readings of poems or quotes to begin our Circles. The poems or quotes set the stage for more complex questions about struggles within our lives, things that we wanted to change, and our ideas about success. My relationship with my students began to transform. I knew much more about them and they knew more about me. We all began to look forward to Circle and held it at least twice weekly, more often if a student was struggling or if something happened in school that we needed to talk about. Circle enabled us to handle adverse situations more openly and honestly. Our whole staff was trained on using Circles, including our administrative team. Many teachers used Talking Circles in advisory. Some chose not to. Many students who heard about Circles from different advisory classes wanted to come and find out what it was about.
My colleagues, Angel and Randy, and I began using Circle during our summer school programs. During this program, we spent one week in the classroom learning about Westward expansion, biology, camping skills and Native American history. Then we would hit the road and travel by van from Minnesota to South Dakota and then Wyoming. We held Circle each evening and we witnessed a diverse group of students begin to transform their ideas about each other, about school, about their teachers, and about themselves. Masks fell away and students openly reflected on what they had learned that day, how the trip was changing them, and what struggles they were facing back home. Over a three year period I conducted interviews with students who attended the program. What students had to say about Circle was astounding. One student said, "In Circle we could speak about anything. When you had the rock, or the object in your hand, no one else could speak and everyone paid attention to you. And, I don't know if it was a rule or anything, but I think it was just instinct for people to know not to go out and talk about people's issues behind their back or to anybody else. So that just opened up a big door for everyone. And everyone got to realize who they really are with Circle." Another said, "Through Circle I learned the importance of togetherness." (For more stories from our summer school program check out my book Re-engaging Disconnected Youth: Transformative Learning through Restorative and Social Justice Education.) Circle became a foundational element for my practice as a teacher. It built feelings of connectedness time and again, no matter what background my students came from.
I moved to Wisconsin and began teaching at a traditional middle school. I honestly wasn't sure how middle school students would handle Circle. For the past three years, I have held Circle during my Homebase time and I have seen the same positive results. Plus, my middle school students have taken ownership of the process, have trained other Homebase groups, and have participated in creating a video to tell other teachers about Circle. One 8th grade student said in an interview, "In Circle, there's a safe place to talk and to actually be heard. I don't get that anywhere else." Another 8th grade boy said, "I feel like I'm a better listener now. And it felt good to talk and to know that I wasn't being judged by anyone in our Circle."
I'll blog more about Circle, as I have been advocating for more teachers to begin using Talking Circles in their programs. The students understand that there is something sacred in the process, they learn to listen and to share, and they feel more connected to their teacher and to each other. They also learn that they can express emotions at school and that there is a safe space to work through struggles. As a teacher, I have learned just as much as my students through the process. I've learned how to really listen without nodding or smiling (all signals that I often use in my teaching), I've learned to be still during a busy day, I've learned that the minds of my students are complex and beautiful, I've learned that students from both urban areas and small towns, and both alternative and traditional, like to have space to express themselves without facing judgment. It is a beautiful process.
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