The Little Book of Restorative Teaching Tools: Games, Activities, and Simulations for Understanding Restorative Justice Practices (Justice and Peacebuilding) (Paperback)
Description
Engaging Practices for Integrating Restorative Justice Principles in Group Settings
As restorative practices spread around the world, scholars and practitioners have begun to ask very important questions: How should restorative practices be taught? What educational structures and methods are in alignment with restorative values and principles? This book introduces games as an effective and dynamic tool to teach restorative justice practices. Grounded in an understanding of restorative pedagogy and experiential learning strategies, the games included in this book provide a way for learners to experience and more deeply understand restorative practices while building relationships and improving skills. Chapters cover topics such as:
- Introduction to restorative pedagogy and experiential learning
- How a restorative learning community can be built and strengthened through the use of games and activities
- How to design games and activities for teaching restorative practices
- How to design, deliver, and debrief an activity-based learning experience
- In-depth instructions for games and activities for building relationships, understanding the restorative philosophy, and developing skills in practice
An ideal handbook for educators, restorative justice program directors and trainers, consultants, community group leaders, and anyone else whose work draws people together to resolve disagreements or address harm, this book will serve as a catalyst for greater creativity and philosophical alignment in the teaching of restorative practices across contexts.
About the Author
Lindsey Pointer is a restorative practices educator, researcher, and practitioner. She has a PhD in Restorative Justice from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, where she helped design and implement the Restorative University initiative. Lindsey is a former Fulbright Fellow and Rotary Global Grant recipient who is passionate about experimenting with new applications of restorative principles and processes and understanding how restorative practices work to transform communities. She has worked internationally with communities in a range of contexts to support the implementation of restorative practices in an engaged, responsive, and fun way. She currently lives in Colorado.
Kathleen McGoey is the executive director of Longmont Community Justice Partnership (LCJP), a nonprofit that implements community- and schools-based restorative practices programs and training. Kathleen’s previous experience leading a peacebuilding program on the US-Mexico border sparked her passion and commitment to utilizing relationship-based methods for transforming conflict. She published her first book in 2013 after completing an MA in International Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. She lives in Longmont, Colorado.
Haley Farrar is a restorative practitioner and educator at Victoria University of Wellington and Aspen Restorative Consulting. An attorney and former Fulbright Fellow, she now works with individuals and organizations aspiring to implement restorative practices in their lives and communities. Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Haley currently lives in Wellington, New Zealand.
How to read more
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How To Read More
If you love reading, but for some reason you read less and less, know that everything is fine. It happens.
Our lives today have so many things that distract us - how can we not put books away when all these movies, TV shows, YouTube videos, social networks and endless surfing in online stores are around ...
Yes, it's really hard to resist, but you certainly can!
In this article, we want to share with you some tips to read more often and more successfully.
These are some notes and some practices that we have collected for our SUNDOG BOOKS readers club.
And maybe it will bring more books into your life!
Why do we want/need to read more?
To start reading more, you have to understand why you need it.
And you will be surprised, but your goals can be quite varied:
- for work
If you read a lot on duty, then you definitely need to speed up the process. The logic here is simple: read faster → work faster → more time for books for yourself.
- for education
you need this for your educational career or sometimes you just want to read to learn. And, with all the new alternative ways to gain knowledge (podcasts, online courses and videos), the book still does an excellent job of this task too.
- for self-development
all exercises for increasing speed, one way or another, improve cognition and memory.
- for fun
because good books always = fun!
Book lovers have an additional special goal for reading more often. If you love literature, you will understand what we mean: you want to catch everything - to follow modern literature, and not forget about the classics, look into non-fiction and children's publications. And there’s so much you want to reread! The goals are ambitious, but attainable if you read a lot.
And so - How to read more:
We will tell you about the methods that we use ourselves. Perhaps some will suit you as well.
15 minutes a day
You've probably already heard this rule: if you want to start a healthy habit, devote 15 minutes a day to it. Once upon a time, we all read irregularly, in jumps and starts. Sometimes we cannot open a book we have begun weeks ago. Therefore, you should decide to create a rule: devote at least 15 minutes a day to reading. Try reading before bed, or maybe during lunchtime, or even when you are having your morning coffee.
You will see progress immediately. You will notice that almost always your 15 minutes will grow into half an hour or more. But the most remarkable thing is that in three weeks your hands themselves will be looking for a book.
50 First Pages
This method advises - If the book hasn't hooked you from the first 50 pages, put it aside! Life is too short to read uninteresting books.
It is necessary to change the approach to books. At first it will be hard for you to stop and put the book down. Even if we put the book away, it will seem to reproach us from the shelf, mocking us as quitters. But in the end we should come to one simple thought: if it doesn’t hook your attention, you should not force yourself to read it.
***Fifty pages is not a bad test. Not the most objective, but definitely effective. It helps to determine whether it interests you or not, and whether to spend time on things that do not excite.
Reader's Diary
This should be used to improve the quality of reading - to make it more conscious. For starters, it can be a simple notebook with headings:
- Author
- Year of publication
- Main characters
- Scene
- Plot
- Theme
- Quotes
And, yes, a reader's diary is not a thing about quantity, but about quality. But, it can also motivate. When you open your diary and start looking at quotes (especially quotes), you immediately really want to read.
Maybe a Book Bet?
Several people can participate. Members of the betting group can come from friends, family, and also your colleagues. And of course you can set your own rules for participation, but we'll give you a simple example:
Everyone in the group should read and review a book over the course of a month with weekly updates. Anyone who does not finish a review buys the book for all other participants for the next month.
Speed Reading
Another effective way to increase the amount you read is speed reading. The logic here is simple - the faster you read, the more books you can enjoy.
*There are many online courses on speed reading, and you can also study on your own using instructional books. But, it is worth noting that this is a serious learning process that will require some effort on your part.
Outcome
Reading every day is quite attainable, the main thing is to try to make it a habit.
Sometimes, instead of heading for Facebook, try opening a book and soon you won’t even remember why you needed to wander around social media.
And also - don't forget about audiobooks. They are a cool way to take the load off your eyes sometimes and just immerse yourself in the story. Some books are really strong in voice acting.
