Focus: A Restorative Circle on Being a Teenager
Time: 9:30 min
Who and Where: MetWest High School, Oakland
Grade Level: High School
Description
As you watch the restorative circle unfold on screen, the teacher and her students talk the viewer through the various key components and steps of a restorative circle—i.e. circle prep, the opening ceremony, circle values, a meaningful talking piece, story telling go rounds, and a closing ceremony. The video shows students and their teacher sitting in a circle, around a meaningful center piece that they build together by contributing meaningful artifacts to it. The teacher talks about her role in circles as a circle participant and models it as the video unfolds. “Letting the circle alternate between serious and light. We can laugh in certain moments. We can allow this to become lighter, so that we can also stay more resilient in the circle.”