Ask the Keeper
In Ask the Keeper, our senior trainer and staff developer Marieke van Woerkom answers your questions about restorative circles and other restorative practices. Send us your questions about restorative practices, including about particular challenges you’re facing as you use these approaches in your school. Tell us what’s happening, and we’ll do our best to help!
Well-facilitated circles can give students a chance to listen and share their thoughts and feelings about difficult or emotional subjects. Here are some suggestions for facilitating a circle in which strong emotions surface.
We've been doing circles at my school as a study skills course since the start of the year. It's been challenging when students act out, not respecting the talking piece. It impacts the rest of the group and their willingness to share. Do you have any suggestions of how to handle disruptive behavior...
We've been doing circles at my school as a study skills course since the start of the year. It's been challenging when students pass, pass, and pass again. This passing seems to get contagious at times. Do you think it would work to tell students that they can't pass for more than a go round or two...
Our students do circles once a week on our special Friday schedule. I haven't run any of them because I am teaching at that time. I've seen them done very well, but in some circles students simply cannot be managed. We also have "responsibility time," when we can request to speak with a child after...
We've experimented with different circle sizes, and I believe there is such a thing as too big a circle. What do you think is an ideal size for circles?
This is our third year using circles as part of our middle school after-school program. We've had some powerful experiences in circles and it's really helped strengthen our community. But I've found that students sometimes get impatient with the talking piece going around in order. Do you think it's...
Many educators come to our Restore360 trainings interested in new ways to handle disciplinary issues in school. They may have found the punitive approach doesn’t work particularly well and want to limit suspensions, which can be harmful to our young people. They’ve been told that restorative circles...
Restorative circles have transformative power: They can create community where none existed before. They can connect students to each other and to the rest of the school community in meaningful ways. They can create safe, welcoming spaces to build trust and hone our skills. They can help us take on...
In our feature Ask the Keeper, senior trainer and staff developer Marieke van Woerkom answers your questions about restorative circles and related practices in schools. Send your questions to: keeper@morningsidecenter.org.